LCQ15: Low-income Working Family Allowance Scheme
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Question:
In May last year, the Government implemented the Low-income Working Family Allowance Scheme (LIFA Scheme). Households with a monthly income not exceeding 50 per cent of the Median Monthly Domestic Household Income (MMDHI) across the territory are eligible for full-rate allowances, while households with a monthly income higher than 50 per cent but not exceeding 60 per cent of MMDHI across the territory are eligible for half-rate allowances. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of:
(1) the number of children and youths who have received Child Allowance under LIFA Scheme since its implementation (broken down by the number of times for which the applicants were granted Child Allowance); and
(2) the current total number of members aged under 21 in the households with a monthly income not exceeding 60 per cent of MMDHI across the territory?
Reply:
President,
We have been receiving applications under the Low-income Working Family Allowance (LIFA) Scheme since May 3, 2016. As at May 12, 2017, the numbers of children and youths (Note 1) granted with Child Allowance under the LIFA Scheme broken down by the number of times the applicant families were granted the Child Allowance are as follows:
| Number of times the families were granted Child Allowance (Note 2) | Number of applicant families | Number of persons with Child Allowance granted (Aged below 15) (Note 3) |
Number of persons with Child Allowance granted (Aged 15 to 21) (Note 3) |
Total number of persons with Child Allowance granted |
| 0 | 2 111 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| once | 9 591 | 12 701 | 2 430 | 15 131 |
| twice | 20 895 | 31 262 | 5 318 | 36 580 |
| Total | 32 597 | 43 963 | 7 748 | 51 711 |
Note 1: An eligible child has to be aged below 15, or aged between 15 and 21 receiving full-time education (but not post-secondary education).
Note 2: Since the implementation of the LIFA Scheme, families with applications approved have at most been granted Child Allowance twice.
Note 3: For children and youths included in the above table, their ages are enumerated as at the last claim month of the last approved applications.
According to the data collated from the General Household Survey conducted by the Census and Statistics Department, the number of members aged under 21 and living in a household with monthly household income not higher than 60 per cent of the monthly median domestic household income by household size (excluding foreign domestic helpers) is 373 200 people in 2016.
Ends/Wednesday, May 24, 2017
Issued at HKT 12:04
Issued at HKT 12:04
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