SENIOR government officials said yesterday they would have to wait and see whether a huge amount in extra funding would be required on top of the $15.5 billion set aside for welfare handouts because of the right of abode ruling. From the end of January, 7,500 new migrants, 14 per cent of more than 54,000 in Hong Kong for less than a year, have been receiving welfare benefits. The 7,500 are from 4,400 families, accounting for two per cent of a total of 229,503 Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) cases at the end of last month. About 1,700 of them are single parents with another 1,900 unemployed recipients. Out of a total of 24,200 people on the dole, 45,000 have been in the SAR for less than seven years. Of these, about 9,700 are unemployed and a further 12,800 are single parents. In estimates announced on Friday, the Government allocated $15.5 billion out of $29.1 billion earmarked for social services for the CSSA scheme. This is 18 per cent more than $13.1 billion for the current budget year. But the amount, based on a predicted 15 per cent rise in caseloads by the end of the next financial year, had not taken into account the potential huge number of mainland arrivals. Katherine Fok Lo Siu-ching, Secretary for Health and Welfare, said: 'We have reserved resources based on the daily quota of 150, but because of the court ruling, the number of newcomers may change. 'We have to wait until March to get a grip on the pace of arrivals, their distribution and age groups.' Constant reviews of the CSSA scheme and assessment of the population would be carried out to cope with changing demands in welfare benefits when necessary, she said. Newcomers are entitled to full welfare benefits after living here for one year. Hong Kong Social Security Society chairman Leong Po-lam said welfare provisions for mainland immigrants would be affordable.
