A proposal to cut welfare payments by 11.1 per cent was endorsed by the Executive Council yesterday, sources said.
But a critic of the government's policy said the adjustment to the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance would make life even more difficult for about 260,000 poor families.
For months now the government has proposed cutting payments in line with deflation over the past four years, which is up to 11.1 per cent. It will spend more than $16 billion in CSSA payments this financial year and estimates this will rise to $18 billion next year if nothing is done.
The government froze payments in August until March.
It is understood that the adjustment will not become effective until July in order to give time for families receiving the benefit to change their spending habits.
The government has not decided if some recipients, particularly the elderly and people with disabilities or chronic illnesses, can have their payments reduced in phases.
A spokesman for the Society for Community Organisation, Sze Lai-shan, said last night that it was a 'shame on the government' to target the most vulnerable group in society when trying to balance its books.
