Blog

Caring and Sharing Scheme

A gist of the blog:

I highlighted three objectives in my 2018/19 Budget delivered at end February – diversified economy, investing for the future and caring and sharing. I am glad that many people support our work in respect of diversifying economic development and investing for the future, such as nurturing the innovation and technology industry, improving healthcare facilities and enhancing training of healthcare professionals.

In order to share the fruits of our economic success with more people in a targeted manner, we announced on last Friday a Caring and Sharing Scheme. Our initial assessment is that around 2.8 million people may be eligible under the Scheme that will be implemented by the Working Family Allowance Office. We are aiming at receiving applications for the Scheme by February next year, and we will keep the administration cost as low as possible. We understand that the public is concerned about whether they and their families are eligible for the Scheme. We are happy to respond to enquiries and will endeavour to shorten the processing time, so that people will receive payments early and conveniently.

With the announcement of the Scheme, I hope that the community can again focus on the long-term development of Hong Kong when discussing the Budget, and work together for the betterment of our future.

March 25, 2018