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Following is the speech by the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Rafael Hui, at the Legislative Council Meeting this afternoon (May 3) in moving the motion for resolution under section 7(a) of the Legal Aid Ordinance to adjust financial eligibility limits of the legal aid applicants (English only):
Madam President,
I move the Resolution standing in my name on the agenda.
At present, a person whose financial resources do not exceed $155,800 is financially eligible for legal aid under the Ordinary Legal Aid Scheme. The corresponding limit for the Supplementary Scheme is $432,900. The two limits are specified in the Legal Aid Ordinance. Our policy is to review the limits annually to take into account movements in consumer prices, so as to maintain the real value of the limits.
The limits were last adjusted downward by 8.2% in July 2004, to reflect the accumulated changes in the Consumer Price Index (C) recorded during the reference periods of the three annual reviews in 2001 to 2003. Having consulted the Legal Aid Services Council and the LegCo Panel on Administration of Justice and Legal Services pursuant to the 2004 review, the Administration decided to reserve the small increase of 0.4% in the consumer price index recorded during the reference period of the review, covering July 2003 to July 2004. In deciding to reserve the 0.4% increase, we undertook to consider the increase together with the outcome of the 2005 review.
We have now completed the 2005 review. The cumulative increase in the consumer price index from July 2003 to July 2005 is 1.6%. We accordingly propose the Resolution to adjust upward the limit for the Ordinary Legal Aid Scheme from $155,800 to $158,300, and that for the Supplementary Scheme from $432,900 to $439,800, in accordance with the 1.6% increase in the consumer price index.
I now invite Members to support the Resolution.
Ends/Wednesday, May 3, 2006
Issued at HKT 16:42
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