Traditional Chinese Simplified Chinese Email this article news.gov.hk
Implementation arrangements for three assistance programmes under Community Care Fund announced
************************************************************

The following is issued on behalf of the Community Care Fund Secretariat:

     The Community Care Fund (CCF) announced today (September 30) the arrangements for the implementation of three assistance programmes, namely the "Subsidy for Comprehensive Social Security Assistance Recipients Living in Rented Private Housing", which will be relaunched; the "Special Subsidy to Persons with Severe Physical Disabilities for Purchasing Medical Consumables Related to Respiratory Support Medical Equipment", which is a new programme; and the "Special Subsidy to Persons with Severe Physical Disabilities for Renting Respiratory Support Medical Equipment", for which the application period will be extended. The three programmes are all administered by the Social Welfare Department (SWD). Details are as follows:

(1) "Subsidy for Comprehensive Social Security Assistance Recipients Living in Rented Private Housing"

     The programme, first launched in October 2011, aims at providing Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) households living in rented private housing and paying rent which exceeds the maximum rent allowance under the CSSA Scheme with a one-off subsidy, so as to relieve their financial burden as a result of the periodic increase of rent. The programme is now relaunched to further alleviate the financial burden of the households concerned.

     Beneficiaries should be, as at July 1, 2013, tenants of private housing receiving CSSA, whose monthly rental payment exceeds the maximum rent allowance under the CSSA Scheme. Each eligible one-person or two-or-more-person CSSA household will be provided with a one-off subsidy of $2,000 or $4,000 respectively.

     The CSSA recipients concerned are not required to submit applications. The SWD will identify eligible CSSA households according to the rental information previously reported by the CSSA recipients. The subsidy will be deposited directly into the eligible CSSA recipients' bank accounts for CSSA payment from late November 2013 onwards.

(2) "Special Subsidy to Persons with Severe Physical Disabilities for Purchasing Medical Consumables Related to Respiratory Support Medical Equipment"

     The new assistance programme aims at providing a special subsidy for a maximum of 12 months for purchasing medical consumables related to respiratory support medical equipment to persons with severe physical disabilities who are living in the community and are not receiving CSSA with household income not exceeding the prescribed limit.

     Beneficiaries should be, as at June 30, 2013, living in the community and receiving Higher Disability Allowance (HDA) under the Social Security Allowance (SSA) Scheme. When submitting applications, beneficiaries must be using respiratory support medical equipment yet without receiving any relevant subsidy for related medical consumables, and should be receiving HDA under the SSA Scheme, with the monthly household income not exceeding 150 per cent of the Median Monthly Domestic Household Income (MMDHI) and the annual household disposable financial resources not exceeding $180,000.

     The maximum rate of subsidy an eligible individual is entitled to for the whole period will be calculated based on the monthly household income at the time of application. There are three levels of subsidy, i.e. those with household income at or less than 100 per cent of MMDHI to receive full subsidy ($2,000 per month at most), those with household income in the range of above 100 per cent to 125 per cent of MMDHI to receive three-quarters of the subsidy ($1,500 per month at most) and those with household income in the range of above 125 per cent to 150 per cent of MMDHI to receive half of the subsidy ($1,000 per month at most).

(3) "Special Subsidy to Persons with Severe Physical Disabilities for Renting Respiratory Support Medical Equipment"

     When the programme was rolled out in January 2013, it provided a special subsidy for a maximum of 12 months for renting respiratory support medical equipment to persons who are aged below 60 with severe physical disabilities and living in the community and are not receiving CSSA with household income not exceeding the prescribed limit. The application period of this programme is now extended till December 31, 2013, with the age limit lifted and the monthly household income limit relaxed.

     Beneficiaries should be, as at June 30, 2013, living in the community and receiving HDA under the SSA Scheme. When submitting applications, beneficiaries must be renting respiratory support medical equipment yet without receiving any relevant subsidy for the equipment, and should be receiving HDA under the SSA Scheme, with the monthly household income not exceeding 150 per cent of MMDHI and the annual household disposable financial resources not exceeding $180,000.

     The rate of subsidy an eligible individual is entitled to for the whole period will be calculated based on the monthly household income and the annual household disposable financial resources at the time of application. There are three levels of subsidy (i.e. full subsidy, three-quarters of the subsidy or half of the subsidy) and the details are as follows:

Monthly         Monthly subsidy    Monthly subsidy
household       granted for        granted for
income          beneficiaries with beneficiaries with
                annual household   annual household
                disposable         disposable
                financial          financial
                resources of       resources over
                $100,000 or        $100,000 but not
                below              exceeding
                                   $180,000

At or less than   $2,500             $2,000
100% of MMDHI
(receiving full
subsidy)

In the range of   $1,875             $1,500
above 100% to                      
125% of MMDHI
(receiving three-
quarters of
the subsidy)

In the range of   $1,250             $1,000
above 125% to
150% of MMDHI
(receiving half
of the subsidy)

     The SWD will, starting from October 2013, issue letters to invite applications from persons with severe physical disabilities who may be eligible for programmes (2) and (3) above. Applicants are required to submit the completed application forms together with all necessary documents by post or by hand to the CCF Team of the SWD on or before December 31, 2013. After completion of the required procedures, notification of application results will be issued to the applicants and the subsidy is expected to be disbursed to eligible persons starting from the end of 2013.

     For detailed information on the above three programmes, please visit the CCF website (www.communitycarefund.hk) or the SWD website (www.swd.gov.hk). For enquiries, please call the CCF Team of the SWD at 3422 3090 during office hours.

Ends/Monday, September 30, 2013
Issued at HKT 15:01

NNNN

Print this page