Source:
https://scmp.com/article/272175/cuts-may-deny-family-public-flat

Cuts may deny family public flat

A single mother-of-two may have to refuse an offer of a public housing flat she had waited three years for, because of fears the Government will not help pay for her to move.

Wu Wun-mei, 35, and her two children, aged six and nine, live on a monthly government handout of nearly $10,000 including a monthly rent grant of $3,700 for a 120-square-foot room in Wan Chai, which costs $4,100 a month.

She has been told a public rental flat will be available in two months although she has not been told where.

However, officials are planning to scrap a series of special grants - including moving expenses, telephone bills, dentists and spectacles - under a review of the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) scheme.

'I'm still debating whether I should move,' said Ms Wu, a former kitchen worker. 'I won't be able to hire a moving firm without the government grant.

'There's no reason why the Government should cut the subsidy. People won't be abusing it because it has to be claimed by a receipt.' Ms Wu also lamented the cuts in the CSSA, which may leave the family with less than $9,000 a month.

It is understood the Executive Council has endorsed most of the proposals, such as a 10 to 20 per cent cut in the basic rate for unemployed recipients with three or more family members, and compulsory community service for the long-time unemployed.

It rejected a suggestion to force single parents to take a job when their children were 12 instead of 15.

The Government has yet to announce a final decision on the cuts.