Author Archives: hksar gov

     Police are investigating a fatal traffic accident in Kwun Tong this morning (March 31) in which an 81-year-old woman died.      At 7.31am, a medium goods vehicle (MGV) driven by a 51-year-old ma… read more

     The Social Welfare Department (SWD) has approved 116 organisations, out of 221 applications received, to hold flag days to raise funds for their charitable projects on 49 Saturdays and nine Wednesdays, which fall on school or public holidays in 2020-21 (see Annex for details). Flag sales will be conducted from 7am to 12.30pm on the approved flag days.
 
     A spokesman for the SWD said today (March 31) that in order to allow more organisations to conduct flag sales, 29 flag days have been assigned as Regional Flag Days in 2020-21. On each Regional Flag Day, three organisations will sell flags to solicit donations concurrently, one each on Hong Kong Island, in Kowloon and in the New Territories.
 
     The spokesman said that for easy identification, flag day organisers are required to put on the money collection bags the name of the organisation and the mark “Approved by Social Welfare Department”. As well, some approved flag day organisers will also use Octopus card readers on their allocated flag days, with the pouches bearing the name of the respective organisations and the statement “Approved by Social Welfare Department”.
 
     The spokesman appealed to flag day organisers to take precautions against any possible fraud. They should make a report to the SWD and inform the Police following any loss of property, and seek their help if fraudulent acts such as tampering with collection bags or unauthorised fundraising are found.
 
     Members of the public can visit the SWD’s homepage (www.swd.gov.hk) and the GovHK website (www.gov.hk/fundraising) if they wish to check information on flag days. They are also welcome to call the SWD hotline at 2343 2255, or the designated hotline of the 1823 Call Centre at 3142 2678.
 
     The spokesman also said that the Government has promulgated the “Good Practice Guide on Charitable Fund-raising” to facilitate the charities to improve the transparency and accountability of their charitable fund-raising activities. The Good Practice Guide covers areas on donors’ rights, fund-raising practices and financial accountability. The Good Practice Guide can be accessed on the SWD homepage. read more

     The Government announced today (March 31) that the income and asset limits of the Working Family Allowance (WFA) Scheme would be raised from April 1, 2020 (details at Annex).

     Under the WFA Scheme, the claim period of an application covers the immediate past six calendar months before the submission of the application, and an eligible household has to submit an application for every claim period. The raised limits will be applicable to claim months from April 2020 to March 2021.

     A household meeting the requirements on working hours as well as income and asset limits may apply for the corresponding allowance. Each eligible child may also be granted a Child Allowance. The working hour requirements for single parents are lower. Details are tabulated below:
 

	Full-rate monthly allowance (monthly household income not higher than 50 per cent of Median Monthly Domestic Household Income of economically active households (MMDHIEA))	3/4-rate monthly allowance (monthly household income of more than 50 per cent but not higher than 60 per cent of MMDHIEA)	Half-rate monthly allowance (monthly household income of more than 60 per cent but not higher than 70 per cent of MMDHIEA)
Basic Allowance: Monthly working hours of at least 144 hours (Single-parent households: 36 hours)	$800	$600	$400
Medium Allowance: Monthly working hours of at least 168 hours (Single-parent households: 54 hours)	$1,000	$750	$500
Higher Allowance: Monthly working hours of at least 192 hours (Single-parent households: 72 hours)	$1,200	$900	$600
Child Allowance (Each child or youth)	$1,000	$750	$500

Notes: All household members are allowed to aggregate their working hours for WFA applications. The WFA Scheme also covers singleton households.

     Furthermore, the Chief Executive’s 2019 Policy Address proposed that all rates of WFA would be increased consequential to the improvement measures of the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) Scheme. The relevant recommendation will be implemented in tandem with the CSSA improvement measures subject to the approval of the Finance Committee of the Legislative Council. The implementation timetable will be announced in due course.  

     For enquiries, applicants may call the 24-hour hotline (2558 3000) of the Working Family Allowance Office of the Working Family and Student Financial Assistance Agency. read more

     The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department today (March 31) released the findings of its food safety report for the last month. The results of about 10 100 food samples tested were satisfa… read more

     The Labour Department (LD) is investigating a fatal work accident in Tseung Kwan O this morning (March 31), in which a man died.        The LD immediately deployed staff to the scene upon receiving a … read more