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LCQ21: Supporting single-parent families and new arrivals
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     Following is a question by Hon Claudia Mo and a written reply by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, in the Legislative Council today (April 24):

Question:

     Some grass-roots single mothers have pointed out that as they have to take up the dual role as the carers and breadwinners of their families, their lives are extremely difficult; and among them, those newly arrived for settlement in Hong Kong (new arrivals) are even ineligible to apply for public rental housing or Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) as they have not lived in Hong Kong for seven years. In order to make a living, most grass-roots single mothers take up low-skilled jobs with lower pay and very long working hours, and are thus unable to enjoy normal family and social lives, and there is also a lack of opportunities for them to develop their potentials. It is their hope that the Government can increase subsidised child care services and provide child care allowances for them. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(a) apart from providing training on low-skilled jobs, whether it will consider providing subsidies for grass-roots single mothers to learn skills which they are interested in and can provide better employment prospects, so as to help them get out of poverty; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

(b) whether it will consider granting living allowances and child care allowances to grass-roots single mothers, which are specifically designed for them, to obviate the need for them to work all day long in order to make ends meet, so that they may enjoy family life and work life which are better balanced and have the opportunities to develop their potentials; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

(c) of the measures in place to support grass-roots single mothers who are new arrivals; whether it will consider providing them with support on various fronts, such as economic and community support, etc., so as to meet their basic needs in daily lives and assist them in integrating into Hong Kong society and understanding their own rights; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

(d) given that quite a number of new arrival women can only take up low-skilled jobs because their mainland academic qualifications are not recognised in Hong Kong, whether the Government will consider providing subsidies for such women with higher academic qualifications to further their studies, so as to obtain academic qualifications awarded by locally-recognised institutions; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

(e) of the Government's total estimated expenditure on child care services and the detailed items concerned in the 2013-2014 financial year, and the estimated percentage of the number of new arrival women in the total number of female beneficiaries;

(f) of the details of the means test mechanism for approving fee reduction or waiver applications under the Neighbourhood Support Child Care Project (NSCCP), as well as the respective numbers of service users who were granted fee reduction or waiver since NSCCP and the after-school child care services were launched, as well as the respective amounts of fees reduced or waived;

(g) whether it will consider relaxing the means test requirements for the aforesaid two kinds of child care services to enable more of the indigent single mothers to benefit from such services;

(h) whether it will consider giving priority to single-parent families in using the aforesaid two kinds of child care services and in granting fee reduction and waiver; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
 
(i) whether it will consider adjusting the operating hours of the aforesaid two kinds of child care services so as to ensure that grass-roots single mothers can obtain such services also during weekends, school holidays and public holidays;

(j) whether it will, in calculating the amounts of allowances payable to CSSA recipients, consider exempting the income earned as home-based child carers under NSCCP, so as to encourage more women on CSSA to work as home-based child carers and enable more low-income families, especially single-parent families, to obtain child care services; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

(k) given that the provision of assistance to indigent people who have not received any support from the Government or other charitable funds is one of the operating principles of the Community Care Fund (CCF), and yet students subsidised by the After School Care Pilot Scheme (ASCPS) under CCF are confined to Primary One to Secondary Three students studying in public sector schools and Direct Subsidy Scheme schools who are from families on CSSA or have received full fee reimbursement from the student financial assistance schemes, and while schools may exercise discretion to waive the fees of other indigent students, the maximum number of such students must not exceed 25% of the total number of participating students, whether the Government will propose to CCF to consider including students who are ineligible for CSSA or full fee reimbursement as the target beneficiaries under ASCPS; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

(l) of the effectiveness of ASCPS since its implementation; the number of beneficiaries, the number of beneficiaries from families on CSSA, the number of students receiving full fee or half fee reimbursements and other relevant figures, broken down by the districts in which their schools are situated?

Reply:

President,

     The Administration attaches great importance to the service provision to single-parent families and new arrivals. By putting in place various measures, we help expedite their integration into the community, facilitate their adaption and enhance their capacity for self-reliance.

     My reply to the Hon Claudia Mo's 12-part question is as follows:

(a) By adopting a market-driven and employment-oriented approach, the Employees Retraining Board (ERB) offers a diversified range of training courses for all eligible employees in Hong Kong aged 15 or above and with education attainment of sub-degree or below. Eligible persons, including single parents and new arrivals, who fulfilled the entry criteria of the courses concerned may enrol in the courses according to their own interests and training needs. In this connection, priority will be accorded to applicants who are single parents with the need to look after children aged under 18.

     At present, over 800 training courses are provided by ERB, covering about 30 trade sectors and generic skills including languages, business numeracy, information technology, etc. Moreover, some of the courses have been approved by the Hong Kong Council for Academic Accreditation and Vocational Qualifications and uploaded to the Qualifications Register. Ranging from Level 1 to Level 4 under the Qualifications Framework, these courses provide trainees with a clearer idea of the direction and career path in obtaining the relevant qualifications.

     As regards course fees and allowances, full-time placement-tied courses targeted at the unemployed are offered by ERB free of charge. A retraining allowance is payable to eligible trainees who have attendeded a full-time placement-tied course with a duration of 7 days or more. While course fees are charged for the half-day and evening courses, applicants with nil or low income may apply for course fee waiver or subsidies.

(b) and (c) On financial assistance, the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) Scheme, as a means-tested safety net, aims to provide financial support for families in need to meet their basic needs. Special assistance is provided to single parents and family carers under the CSSA Scheme. Higher standard rates are provided for these groups (ranging from $1,800 to $2,250, which are respectively $315 to $405 higher than those for other able-bodied adults); and single parents are provided with a monthly supplement of $290, in recognition of the difficulties they face in bringing up a family.

     As a general rule, CSSA applicants must have been Hong Kong residents for at least seven years, except for Hong Kong residents aged below 18 who are exempted from this requirement. However, CSSA may be granted at the discretion of the Director of Social Welfare to any applicant who is in face of actual difficulties, despite not satisfying the residence requirements. The discretion will normally be exercised where a new arrival works to support his/her family members, in recognition of his/her efforts to become self-supporting.

     Besides, in April 2006, the Social Welfare Department (SWD) launched the New Dawn (ND) Project specifically for single parents and child carers on CSSA whose youngest children are aged 12 to 14 to assist them in seeking employment with working hours of not less than 32 per month, thereby preparing them for re-engagement in work with a view to enhancing their capacity for self-help, helping them integrate into the community and move towards self-reliance through employment.

     From January 2013 onwards, SWD has integrated and improved various employment assistance services under the CSSA Scheme by providing able-bodied CSSA recipients with one-stop integrated employment assistance services. Single parents and child carers on CSSA with their youngest child aged 12 to 14 are included as target users of services under the Integrated Employment Assistance Programme for Self-reliance (IEAPS). In addition to providing employment assistance services, NGOs will also provide other supporting services, such as information on caretaking of children, etc.

     On welfare services, the 65 Integrated Family Service Centres (IFSCs) and two Integrated Services Centres (ISCs) over the territory provide a spectrum of preventive, supportive and remedial services including family life education, parent-child activities, enquiry service, volunteer training, outreaching service groups and programmes, intensive counselling, assessment for compassionate re-housing, financial assistance and referral services for people in need (including new arrival single mothers). IFSCs/ISCs social workers with relevant experience and skills assess and address the welfare needs of single parents and single-parent families in the locality in a comprehensive manner, and provide them with appropriate services. The Government hopes to provide a spectrum of services by adopting the strategy of early identification and intervention, timely support, cross-sectoral collaboration and provision of specialised services, thereby facilitating positive functioning of families and supporting those at-risk.

     The Home Affairs Department (HAD) also provides support services for new arrivals from the Mainland to help them integrate into the community. The services provided include updating the comprehensive "Service Handbook for New Arrivals" on a regular basis, subsidising adaptation courses and community activities organised by local organisations, and conducting quarterly surveys to assess the service needs of new arrivals. Since 2011, HAD has introduced three initiatives, namely "District-based Integration Programme", "Expectation Management Programme" and "Ambassador Scheme" to strengthen the support services for new arrivals from the Mainland.

     To support parents who are unable to take care of their children temporarily (including single mothers) because of work or other reasons, SWD provides subvention to non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to run a variety of flexible child care services, including standalone child care centres and those attached to kindergartens which provide day-time care services to children below the age of three. Some of these centres also provide occasional child care services to support parents who need to deal with urgent or important matters, and some of them also provide extended hours services to assist parents who have to work longer hours. In addition, the mutual help child care centre service and the Neighbourhood Support Child Care Project (NSCCP) provide care services to children below the age of six. To ensure that families with financial difficulties can enjoy these services, SWD has been providing fee waiving or reduction to those families in need.

     Having regard to the pressure faced by single-parent families, the Administration has taken measures to provide them with support in areas of financial assistance, employment training, social welfare and child care so as to meet their needs and alleviate their pressure in discharging family responsibilities.  

(d) ERB offers courses at all levels, ranging from courses requiring no academic qualifications to those at sub-degree level. The courses should cater for the needs of different people. New arrival women who are interested in ERB courses and meet the entry requirements may enrol in the courses. For new arrival women with higher academic qualifications, they may choose to apply for preparatory courses for internationally recognised language proficiency tests or relevant local professional certification, so as to enhance their competitiveness.

     Besides, ERB provides tailor-made courses for new arrivals (including new arrival women). These courses aim to assist new arrivals in entering the local employment market and integrating into the community. Since some new arrival women are unable to apply for such courses as they have to take care of their young children, ERB launched a course of "Certificate in Foundation Skills for Employment" in 2010 and child care services are also provided for these trainees through NSCCP of SWD during the training period.

(e) In the 2013-14 financial year, the estimated expenditure of SWD in the provision of child care services is $79 million, which is mainly used for subsidising standalone child care centres, occasional child care services, extension of service hours, mutual help child care centres and NSCCP. As regards fee waiving or reduction subsidy scheme under ASCP, the estimated expenditure is $15 million. SWD has not collected any data on the number of women who benefited from such services, or the percentage of the number of new arrival women in the total number of female beneficiaries.

(f) to (h) Under NSCCP, applicants with service needs must pass both the means and social needs tests to obtain service fee waiving or reduction. Single-parent families already meet the criteria of the social needs test. According to the requirements of the means test, the applicant will be granted half-fee reduction if his/her monthly household income does not exceed 75% of the median monthly domestic household income. If the applicant's monthly household income does not exceed 55% of the median monthly domestic household income, full-fee waiving will be granted. From April to December 2012, a total of 3 305 children received fee reduction. Among them, 79% were granted full-fee waiving while 21% were granted half-fee reduction. The amount of subsidies received by the applicants may differ, depending on the service fee charged on them under NSCCP.

     As for fee subsidies under ASCP, applicants should also meet the requirements of the above means test in order to obtain fee waiving or reduction. SWD's subsidy for morning or afternoon session is $1,000 (full-fee waiving) or $500 (half-fee reduction) per month per person, while that for evening session is $750 (full-fee waiving) or $375 (half-fee reduction) per month per person. As at the end of December 2012, a total of 1 868 students have received fee reduction and 58% of which were granted full-fee waiving while 42% were granted half-fee reduction.

     The current means test mechanism of the two services above has been effective in helping needy families (including single-parent families) to obtain the service. While ensuring public funds are spent properly, the Government will consider ways to further reduce the financial burden of low-income families in using the services, with a view to supporting families with financial difficulties and social needs.

     At present, unused quotas and fee reduction for the two services are still available.  We will continue to review the service operation to ensure that the services can meet the demands from the community.

(i) The operating hours of the home-based child care service under NSCCP are from 7am to 11pm everyday; the centre-based care group opens up to at least 9pm in weekdays, and covers Saturdays and some public holidays. As for ASCP, these centres provide services in various sessions from Monday to Friday from 8am to 7/8pm; individual centres may also consider extending the service hours until late evening and providing services on Saturday or during summer vacation in response to the actual demand in individual districts to accommodate the working hours of parents. These two services are available in the morning, afternoon and evening sessions on weekdays, weekends and holidays (including school holidays).

(j) The difference between the total assessable monthly household income (including but not limited to employment income, assistance from relatives or volunteer subsidy (excluding travel allowance), etc.) of the CSSA recipient and his/her family and their total monthly needs as recognised under the CSSA Scheme is the amount of CSSA assistance payable. As regards the incentive payment granted to a CSSA recipient serving as a home-based carer, it is a kind of financial resources for his/her free deployment to meet daily household expenditure. As such, the incentive payment, just like other sources of income is included as the assessable income under the CSSA Scheme.

     However, the Disregarded Earnings arrangement under the CSSA Scheme allows part of the recipient's monthly earnings from employment to be disregarded (up to $2,500) when assessing the amount of assistance payable. SWD also extends it to cover other incomes/remuneration beyond paid employment relationship, in order to recognise their endeavour in building up a work habit.

(k) The After-school Care Pilot Scheme was introduced by the Community Care Fund (CCF) in the 2012/13 school year to subsidise schools and NGOs to identify the most needy students who come from low-income families. The Pilot Scheme aims to co-ordinate and integrate after-school learning and support activities. A total of 73 institutions (including 34 schools and 39 NGOs) have participated in the Pilot Scheme in the 2012/13 school year.

     The target beneficiaries of the Pilot Scheme are primary one to secondary three students from public sector schools (including special schools) and Direct Subsidy Scheme schools. They mainly come from families receiving CSSA or full-fee reimbursement from the student financial assistance schemes of the Student Financial Assistance Agency. Schools and NGOs participating in the Pilot Scheme have discretion to include other needy students (including students from two-working-parent, single-parent and new arrival families), but the number of these students should not exceed 25% of the total number of students.

     The Commission on Poverty approved the proposal of CCF Task Force in March this year to extend the Pilot Scheme for one year to the 2013/14 school year and enlarge the scope of beneficiaries to include students receiving half-fee reimbursement from the student financial assistance schemes in the 2013/14 school year. Participating schools and NGOs also have the discretion to include 25% needy students.

(l) The After-school Care Pilot Scheme was introduced in the 2012/13 school year.  According to the interim report submitted by the 73 participating schools and NGOs, some (36 in total) have encountered difficulties in student enrolment, resulting in an unsatisfactory number of student intake which is lower than that proposed to CCF, while some (20 in total) have admitted a greater number of student than they originally proposed. The Education Bureau will conduct a review one year after the implementation of the Scheme.  

     According to the interim report submitted by the schools and NGOs, the respective number of students who benefited under the Pilot Scheme in each district is as listed in Appendix.

     Of the 5 437 beneficiaries, 1 766 came from CSSA families, 2 692 received full-fee reimbursement from the student financial assistance schemes, and 1 015 participated in the Pilot Scheme through the use of discretion by participating schools/NGOs. The above 1 015 students include students receiving half-fee reimbursement from the student financial assistance schemes, and the needy students from two-working-parent, single-parent and new arrival families.

Ends/Wednesday, April 24, 2013
Issued at HKT 20:01

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