Assessing Sufficiency of Financial Support for Those Deemed Medically Unfit for Employment

Mr Chua Kheng Wee Louis asked the Minister for Social and Family Development whether there are any ongoing reviews to assess whether the current level of financial support is sufficient for those who are deemed medically unfit for employment but are well enough to perform most Activities of Daily Living.

MSF regularly reviews the scope and coverage of ComCare assistance schemes to ensure that support provided is adequate. MSF has already announced recently, the increase in the amount of assistance for low-income households on the ComCare Long-Term Assistance (LTA) and Short-to-Medium-Term Assistance (SMTA) schemes from 1 August 2022.

It is unclear from the Member's question why a household with a person medically unfit for employment would have a different expenditure need from a household where the person is medically fit but nevertheless unemployed. If the issue is about specific medical expenditure, these are taken into account when the household's application is assessed by the Social Service Offices (SSOs).