Comprehensive Social Security Assistance is not expected to be cut further in 2005-06, Secretary for Health, Welfare & Food Dr York Chow says.

Close watch on the movement of the Social Security Assistance Index of Prices will be kept to ensure the CSSA rates will be adjusted in time if the index rises above the prevailing purchasing power of recipients.

Dr Chow told lawmakers today the adjustment of CSSA rates over the past two years only reflected changes in the index up to March 2002.

"As at November, there was still room for adjusting the CSSA rates downwards by 1.4%," he said, adding there were 46,029 CSSA unemployment caseloads and 16,033 CSSA low earnings caseloads, making up 15.5% and 5.4% of the total CSSA cases.

On the rise

In the past year 5,256 CSSA cases changed from the unemployment category to the low earnings category. The number of such CSSA cases continued to double those which changed from the low earnings category to the unemployment category.

"This reflects the gradual improvement in our labour market and the effect of measures, such as the arrangement of disregarded earnings and the Support for Self-reliance Scheme, so that CSSA recipients have been steadily rejoining the workforce," he said.

Over the past two years, the scheme has been effective in assisting about 30% of the participants to secure paid employment.

In future, the Government will continue to assist CSSA recipients without full-time employment through the scheme. The Government is also reviewing its employment assistance measures for CSSA recipients, and initial results are expected by the middle of the year.

"We will listen to public views by consulting the working group on CSSA under the Social Welfare Advisory Committee and the Subcommittee on review of the CSSA under the Legislative Council Panel on Welfare Services."