The Comprehensive Social Security Assistance Scheme In Hong Kong Case Study

Social security had been developed in Hong Kong as a public commitment since the 1970s. The Comprehensive Social Security Assistance Scheme (CSSA) is one of the social welfare programs in Hong Kong, which aims to provide a safety net for those who cannot financially support themselves to meet the basic needs. With the low birth rate in Hong Kong, the immigrants from Mainland China has formed a significant proportion Hong Kong’s total population. According to the Census and Statistics Department, among different schemes for Mainland Chinese to moving and settling in Hong Kong, a major proportion of immigrants from Mainland China were settled in Hong Kong through the One-way Permit Scheme (Census and Statistics Department, 2014).

Whether the
Before the seven years of residence, they do not have full access to social benefits including applying for CSSA and public housing. However, the Basic Law guarantees that all Hong Kong residents should have the right to receive social welfare. Thus, the Court of Final Appeal on the judicial review case regarding the residence requirement of the CSSA Scheme, ruled that the seven-year residence requirement is inconsistent with Article 25, 36 and 145 of the Basic Law, which stipulates that the access to government assistance be granted in accordance with law (Kong Yunming v.The Director of Social Welfare, 2013). The residence requirement for applying CSSA benefits was then restored from seven years to one
This is unfair to those who are financially in need. The SWD has implemented different measures to prevent and combat the abuse of CSSA. For example, the applicants are required to declare the accuracy of their financial information regarding income and assets. The SWD will also conduct home visits to verify the applicants’ information and regularly review recipients’ eligibility. A Special Investigation Section is set up to conduct fraud investigations and assessments, and data matching. There is also a hotline to facilitate the public to report on suspected fraud cases (Social Welfare Department, 2014).

With all these measures and the fact that obtaining CSSA by deception is a criminal offence, the number of fraud cases is still very high when compared with the figures 10 years ago. There were 3,016 suspected fraud cases reported from the public in 2012, and 828 of them were established fraud cases, which is twice the number of the cases established in 2003-04. However, only 30% of them had been successfully prosecuted (Social Welfare Department,