'Budget support for grassroots not enough'
Lawmakers and grassroots bodies have called on authorities to beef up efforts to support the underprivileged, saying measures unveiled in the budget on Wednesday were insufficient. Social welfare sector lawmaker Tik Chi-yuen told RTHK he was disappointed with the "almost zero growth in welfare service", and said authorities should hand out an extra month's worth of allowance to those on government welfare, instead of just half of the amount. DAB lawmaker Stanley Li said while it is understandable the government would like to cut costs, it should offer additional subsidies to those in dire need on top of the current handouts. However, he applauded the authorities for giving disabled recipients of Comprehensive Social Security Assistance an additional HK$500 per month if they have a job, saying the new measure will encourage them to seek employment. But the Society for Community Organisation (SoCO) said a bigger plan to help underprivileged workers secure jobs is missing, and that it is unclear how their livelihoods would improve as authorities focus on developing advanced industries like digitalisation. SoCO also urged the administration not to cut public spending excessively, noting that a lot of it is allocated for welfare purposes. Tik echoed the body's views, saying that the government should rethink its plan to reduce expenses by one percent in each of the next two financial years. "We are talking about how to improve the welfare service. But if we cut the welfare budget, it will have a negative effect on our service operators. So I hope the government will reconsider this kind of budget cut," he said.