Low-income family supplement a step forward but more needs to be done

The chief executive used his policy address to introduce a new initiative to help working poor families who have been suffering for decades.

The low-income family supplement, a secondary safety net advocated by grass-roots organisations since the handover, shows a fundamental change in the way the government views wealth distribution.

It is a step by the administration towards tackling one of the deep-seated contradictions in our society.

According to statistics from the Commission on Poverty, about 300,000 low-income households that do not receive welfare have monthly incomes below the official poverty line, of which 48 per cent - 143,500 families consisting of 493,200 people - are working poor.

Statistically, the typical working poor family consists of three people and has the equivalent of 1.1 full-time workers.

About 80 per cent of the families have at least one member who works full time, and the family also has to look after its children.

Simply put, low-income workers cannot enjoy a basic standard of living even if they work hard. Worse still, about 1.8 million people have seen no improvement in their real income, after taking inflation into account, since the handover.