Update on Trend of New ComCare Recipients over the Last Five Years

29 Mr Desmond Choo asked the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) what is the trend of new ComCare recipients over the last five years; (b) what is the proportion of recipients who require ComCare support beyond the initial support of three months; and (c) how does the Ministry ensure that the level of support is adequate relative to changing costs of living.

Mr Desmond Lee: The table below shows the number of unique households receiving ComCare Long-Term Assistance¹ (LTA) and Short-to-Medium-Term Assistance² (SMTA) from FY2013 to FY2017. MSF does not have readily available data on the number of new recipients for ComCare LTA and SMTA from FY2013 to FY2017.

In FY2017, 66.5% of households on ComCare SMTA received assistance for a total duration of longer than three months.

MSF regularly reviews the cash assistance rates and the ComCare eligibility criteria. In our review, we look at daily living expenditure data of low-income families collected by the Department of Statistics. We also consider input from community stakeholders, such as social workers and frontline officers. We most recently increased our ComCare cash assistance rates from 1 July 2019. Apart from monthly cash assistance for their daily living expenses, households may also receive employment assistance, assistance with their household bills and medical bills, and referrals to other Government agencies and community partners for relevant services.