For discussion FCR(96-97)28
on 28 June 1996
ITEM FOR FINANCE COMMITTEE
Head 170 - SOCIAL WELFARE DEPARTMENT
Subhead 787 Grant to Emergency Relief Fund (block vote)
Members are invited -
(a) to approve a package of improvements to the Emergency Relief Fund payment schedule with immediate effect; and
(b) to delegate to the Secretary for the Treasury the authority to approve future revisions of the new standard grant proposed for victims who suffer damage or extensive loss to their home appliances, furniture and other personal belongings due to natural disasters, the repair/ replacement grants for boats and fishing gears and the burial grant in accordance with the mechanism set out in paragraph 17.
We need to introduce improvements to the Emergency Relief Fund (ERF) payment schedule for victims of natural disasters, such as fire, flooding, tempest and typhoon.
2. We propose the following improvements to the ERF payment schedule with immediate effect -
- to increase the rates of the re-equipment grant payable to victims whose domestic structures are uninhabitable/ suffer damage/ require permanent evacuation;
- to introduce a new grant to victims who suffer damage or extensive loss to their home appliances, furniture and other personal belongings;
- to re-categorise the existing grants for repair/ replacement of fishing and working boats to a single set of rates applicable to both kinds of boats irrespective of size but maintaining a distinction between mechanized and non-mechanized boats;
- to re-categorise the existing primary producer grants for loss of vegetables and other crops into a single grant and to include the costs of soil conditioner and extra labour in calculating the payment rates;
- to raise the ceilings for the existing primary producer grants for (i) loss of mushroom; and (ii) loss of pig, poultry, pond fish and mariculture fish and to include the cost of extra labour in calculating the payment rates;
- to increase the level of ex-gratia grants for a single event which requires the ERF Committee's approval from $5,000 to $30,000; and
- to delink the burial grant from the Employees' Compensation Ordinance and to increase the grant from $9,000 to 10,700.
|
Encl.
|
The proposed new rates are set out in the Enclosure. |
3. We also propose that Members delegate to the Secretary for the Treasury the power to approve annual revisions in -
- the new grant in paragraph 2(b) above in accordance with the proposed formula set out in paragraph 8 below;
- the set of repair/replacement grants for boats and fishing gears in paragraph 2(c) above on the basis of findings of price surveys (paragragh 10); and
- the burial grant in paragraph 2(g) above in accordance with movement in the Consumer Price Index (A) [CPI(A)].
4. The ERF provides financial assistance to persons who are in need of relief as a result of fire, flooding, tempest, typhoon or other natural disasters regardless of their financial means. The Director of Social Welfare Incorporated who, as trustee, acts on the advice of the ERF Committee is responsible for the management of the ERF. The ERF payment schedule covers such categories as death/ personal injury, domestic re-accommodation/ re-equipment/ repair/ site formation, replacement/ repair of vessels and fishing gears, and loss of stock/ houses/crops etc.
5. We completed a review of the ERF payment schedule in March 1996. Based on the findings of the review, we consider it necessary to improve the payment schedule. The justifications for the proposed improvements are set out in the following paragraphs.
6. Victims are eligible for a re-equipment grant plus a re-accommodation or repair grant if their domestic structures are rendered uninhabitable/suffer damage/require permanent evacuation. Re-equipment grant is for relieving victims' financial burden by subsidizing part of the expenses in buying basic home utensils and personal belongings in order to re-establish a new home. The findings of the review show that the present re-equipment grant is too low. By making reference to a modest market price level, we recommend increasing the existing rate for a single person from $955 to $1,525 and fixing the increased rate for each additional family member at 50% of the proposed amount up to a maximum family size of six persons.
7. Under the ERF payment schedule, the re-equipment grant and the repair grant are payable to victims whose domestic structures are rendered uninhabitable/ suffer damage/ require permanent evacuation. They do not, however, cover victims who suffer damage or extensive loss to their home appliances, furniture, and other personal belongings due to natural disasters. Although we could provide relief to these victims in the form of ex-gratia grants payable under the existing ERF payment schedule, the fact that the disbursement of ex-gratia grants requires the necessary approval on every occasion by the ERF Committee affects prompt provision of assistance. We therefore recommend introducing a new standard grant for such victims.
8. Generally speaking, victims who experience damage or loss to their home appliances, furniture and other personal belongings suffer less when compared with those who have serious damage to their domestic structures. We therefore propose to that the rate of the new grant be set at one-third of the repair grant plus the full rate of the re-equipment grant for victims who have lost their homes permanently. We have derived the rates included in the Enclosure on this basis and propose to revise the rates in future also on this basis
9. Repair grant is for meeting the cost of repair of damaged boats/ fishing gears whilst replacement grant is for covering the cost of replacement of boats / fishing gears if lost or damaged beyond economic repair.
10. Given that the majority of working boats are over 150 piculs in size, the need for delineating working boats by size is no longer appropriate. We therefore recommend a single set of payment ceilings be applicable to both fishing and working boats irrespective of size but maintaining a distinction between mechanised and non-mechanised ones. Based on the sale and purchase records of the past five years and price surveys, we propose to set the ceilings of the replacement/repair grant at a level which is about the same or higher than the existing ceiling for large working boats. For future annual revision, we propose to adjust the ceilings of repair/replacement grants for boats and, related to fishing boats, fishing gears in accordance with the findings of regular price surveys carried out by the Director of Agriculture and Fisheries and the Director of Marine.
11. The primary producer grants are for providing relief to fishermen and full-time genuine subsistence farmers adversely affected by natural disasters. The existing payment schedule in relation to vegetables and crops is too complex. We therefore recommend streamlining certain types of such grants by grouping the existing grants for "vegetable", "rice and field crops", "flowers" and "fruit trees" under one single grant, viz. "vegetable and other crops". In addition, we also propose to include two important elements in farm rehabilitation, that is (i) the cost of soil conditioner, one of the basic material inputs for crop farm rehabilitation, and (ii) the extra labour cost needed to clear up and prepare the fields before resumption of production.
12. To ensure that no one would become worse off under this re-categorization, we propose to set the ceiling of the new grant at a rate equivalent to the existing ceiling of the grant for vegetable, which is currently the highest amongst the four types of grants.
13. As regards the primary producer grant for loss of mushroom, we propose to include the extra labour cost but not the cost of soil conditioner in calculating the payment rates, because mushroom grows on foam instead of soil.
14. We also propose to include extra labour costs for farm/mariculture rehabilitation for pig, poultry, pond fish farmers and mariculturists in calculating the ceiling of the respective primary producer grant.
15. Ex-gratia grants may be payable to victims of natural disasters who are not covered by the standard grants but warrant some financial assistance. According to the existing ERF payment schedule, ex-gratia grants of more than $5,000 are payable at the discretion of the ERF Committee whilst others are to be decided by the trustee. Having regard to the cumulative price increase due to inflation since the introduction of the ex-gratia grant in 1971, we propose to raise the level of ex-gratia grants for a single event which requires the ERF Committee's approval from $5,000 to $30,000 to streamline the payment procedures.
16. The burial grant is for meeting the burial expenses of the deceased. Members approved in March 1991 through FCR(90-91)177 bringing the burial grant under the ERF into line with that payable under the Employees' Compensation Ordinance (ECO), based on the most economical cost of burial. The respective maximum amount of burial expenses and expenses of medical attendance under the ECO, however, have been merged into one single maximum rate. As it is not possible to identify separately the burial portion from the medical expenses portion, we consider it no longer appropriate to continue to peg the burial grant to the maximum amount payable under the ECO anymore. Taking into account the cost of modest funeral expenses and price increase over the year, we propose to raise the burial grant from $9,000 to $10,700.
17. We propose that Members delegate to the Secretary for the Treasury the authority to approve the future annual revisions of the new standard grant proposed in paragraph 2(b) above in accordance with the approach proposed in paragraph 8 above; the repair / replacement grants for boats and, related to fishing boats, fishing gears in accordance with the findings of regular price surveys carried out by the Director of Agriculture and Fisheries and the Director of Marine; and the burial grant in accordance with the movement in the CPI(A). The Secretary for the Treasury will continue to exercise the authority delegated by FC in August 1979 and March 1991 vide FC Item B.49 and FCR(90-91)177 respectively to revise the payment rates of the other items to take into account changes in the costs of living.
18. For the implementation of the proposals in paragraph 2 above, on the basis of the number of cases over the past few years, we estimate the additional annual expenditure at about $4.46 million in 1996-97, broken down as follows -
| $ million
|
|---|
| (a) Increase in rates of re-equipment grant | 0.41
|
| (b) New grant for damage and extensive loss to household appliances etc. | 0.65
|
| (c) Enhanced rates for primary producer grants | 3.40
|
| Total | 4.46
|
As regards the implementation of the proposals in paragraphs 2(c) and 2(g) above, we estimate that the financial implications of a single set of replacement/ repair grants to fishing and working boats and of raising the burial grant from $9,000 to $10,700 will be insignificant. The proposal to raise the level of ex-gratia grants which require ERF Committee's approval in paragraph 2 (f) carries no additional financial implications.
19. The burial grants payable under the Criminal and Law Enforcement Injuries Compensation Scheme and the Traffic Accident Victims Assistance Scheme are pegged to that under the ERF. We estimate that the increase in rates for the latter would lead to additional expenditure of $385,000 in 1996-97 in the former two schemes.
20. We have included funds in the 1996-97 Estimates to meet the costs of the proposals.
21. In 1962 the Legislative Council enacted the Community Relief Trust Fund Ordinance (Cap. 1103) to establish a trust fund known as the Community Relief Trust Fund. It consisted of the unexpended balance of sums donated by the public in the early 1960s for the aid and relief of people who suffered loss as a result of four natural disasters, and further public donations received by the trustee, DSW. The Ordinance also provided for the establishment of the Community Relief Trust Fund Committee to administer the Fund. The Ordinance, the Fund and the Committee were renamed the Emergency Relief Fund Ordinance, the Emergency Relief Fund and the Emergency Relief Fund Committee respectively in 1973.
22. Community donations were the main source of income for the ERF when it was established in 1962. In 1972, the Finance Committee accepted the financing of the ERF by general revenue as far as this was necessary. Over the past decades, the Fund received no public donations and the ERF has been financed entirely from general revenue.
23. The Criminal and Law Enforcement Injuries Compensation Scheme provides ex-gratia compensation to victims of crime of violence, or to their dependants in the case of death, regardless of the means of the family.
24. The Traffic Accident Victims Assistance Scheme provides speedy financial assistance to traffic accident victims, or their surviving dependent family members in the case of death, regardless of the means of the family or the element of causing the accident.
Health and Welfare Branch
June 1996
Enclosure to FCR(96-97)28
|
Type of Payment
|
Existing Rate
|
Proposed Rate
|
|---|
|
1. Re-equipment grant for domestic structures rendered uninhabitable/suffering damage/ requiring permanent evacuation (up to a family size of six members)
|
|
|
|
(a) for a single person
|
$955
|
$1,525
|
|
(b) for a family of 2 persons
|
$1,430
|
$2,285
|
|
(c) for each additional family member
|
$480
|
$765
|
|
2. Grant for victims who suffer damage or extensive loss to their home appliances, furniture and other personal belongings
|
-----
|
(a) $2,335 for a single person
(b) $3,900 for a family of 2 persons
(c) $4,790 for a family of 3 persons
(d) $5,795 for a family of 4 persons
(e) $6,850 for a family of 5 persons
(f) $7,940 for a family of 6 persons and above
|
|
3. Grant to repair or replace vessels and fishing gears
|
|
|
|
(A) Vessels and fishing gears lost or damaged beyond economic repair
-50% of the cost of replacement
|
|
|
|
(a) Non-mechanised fishing or large working boats
|
Up to a maximum of $57,640
|
Up to a maximum of $65,000
|
|
(b) Non-mechanised small working boats
|
Up to a maximum of $56,840
|
Up to a maximum of $65,000
|
|
(c) Mechanised fishing or large working boats
|
Up to a maximum of $115,080
|
Up to a maximum of $119,615
|
|
(d) Mechanised small working boats
|
Up to a maximum of $99,590
|
Up to a maximum of $119,615
|
|
(e) Fishing gears
|
Up to a maximum of $10,170
|
Up to a maximum of $10,170
|
|
(B) Vessels and fishing gears damaged but not beyond economic repair
- 50% of the cost of minimum repairs
|
|
|
|
(a) Non-mechanised fishing or large working boats
|
Up to a maximum of $32,320
|
Up to a maximum of $32,500
|
|
(b) Non-mechanised small working boats
|
Up to a maximum of $22,440
|
Up to a maximum of $32,500
|
|
(c) Mechanised fishing or large working boats
|
Up to a maximum of $53,480
|
Up to a maximum of $59,808
|
|
(d) Mechanised small working boats
|
Up to a maximum of $48,460
|
Up to a maximum of $59,808
|
|
(e) Fishing gears
|
Up to a maximum of $5,090
|
Up to a maximum of $5,090
|
|
4. Primary producer grants for loss of crops or livestock and fish
|
|
|
|
(a) Vegetable and other crops
|
(i) Vegetable
$400 per dau chung up to a maximum of $2,400 for 6 dau chung
|
$835 per dau chung (including cost of $120 and $315 for soil conditioner and extra labour respectively) up to a maximum of $5,010
|
|
(ii) Rice (and field crops)
190 per dau chung up to a maximum of $1,710 for 9 dau chung
|
|
|
(iii) Flowers
$330 per dau chung up to a maximum of $1,650 for 5 dau chung
|
|
|
(iv) Fruit Trees
$58 per tree up to a maximum of $1,740 for 30 trees
|
|
|
(b) Mushroom
|
$14 per m2 of damaged bedding up to a maximum of $4,060
|
$14 per m2 of damaged bedding plus $315 cost for extra labour per farm up to a maximum of $4,375
|
|
(c) Pig
|
$440 per pig up to a maximum of $2,640 for 6 pigs
|
$440 per pig plus $315 cost for extra labour per farm up to a maximum of $4,715 for 10 pigs
|
|
(d) Poultry
|
$12 per bird up to a maximum of $3,600 for 300 birds
|
$12 per bird plus $315 cost for extra labour per farm up to a maximum of $5,115 for 400 birds
|
|
(e) Pond Fish
|
$1.15 per m2 up to a maximum of $3,880 for 3370 m2
|
$1.15 per m2 for cost of basic material inputs up to a maximum of $7,751 for 6740 m2 plus $0.09 per m2 for cost of extra labour up to a maximum of $2,205.
|
|
(f) Mariculture Fish
|
$526 per m2 up to a maximum of $10,520 for 20 m2
|
$526 per m2 for cost of basic material inputs up to a maximum of $10,520 for 20 m2 plus $3.15 per m2 for cost of extra labour up to a maximum of $630.
|
|
5. Ex-gratia Grant
|
Amounts above $5,000 to be at the discretion of the ERF Committee; others to be decided by the Trustee
|
Amounts above $30,000 to be at the discretion of the ERF Committee; others to be decided by the Trustee
|
|
6. Burial Grant
|
$9,000
|
$10,700 |
Last Updated on 2 December 1998
