The HK government has questioned the reliability of a study that gave 350 items as the basic needs of welfare-aided households. The list ranges from Internet services and newspapers to formula powder milk.

The basic needs of households under the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) scheme are already adequately covered by the welfare net, government officials said at a Legislative Council (LegCo) meeting yesterday.

The Hong Kong Council of Social Service (HKCSS) presented a draft report on the study of the basic needs of CSSA households to a LegCo subcommittee last month.

The government warned that meeting all the basic needs, as listed in the report, would cost taxpayers an extra HK$5.5 billion a year.

The report had not taken into account the actual income of ordinary citizens, Salina Yan, deputy secretary for Health, Welfare and Food, told the LegCo subcommittee yesterday.

"As there were not many people responding to the survey, one can't help but wonder if the survey result is representative or reliable," she said.

She also questioned inclusion of items such as donations to families of deceased persons and computers as basic needs.

"As a result of increased CSSA payments, the income of an extra 320,000 households will fall below that level and will therefore become eligible for CSSA," she stressed.

With regard to computers, Internet services and newspapers, Director of Social Welfare Paul Tang said they were not basic needs but "development needs.

Chinese University academic Wong Hung, who was commissioned by the HKCSS to conduct the study, said the government should not speculate on the HKCSS proposals or the financial implications since the final report was not yet prepared,

"Condolence donations and Chinese bone treatments are basic needs in a traditional Chinese society," he said.

Chinese bone treatments refer to the traditional Chinese medicine methods to treat injuries from falls, fractures, concussions and strains. They are not provided in the traditional Chinese medicine departments of public hospitals.

(China Daily HK Edition February 17, 2005)