Criteria to get assistance for living in capital eased

Beijing has eased requirements for social assistance in the hopes of helping more people in need.

The new requirements by the Beijing Municipal Civil Affairs Bureau are expected to benefit more than 200,000 people－up from the current 130,000.

Under the new program, families who own only one car and have family members with severe diseases can apply for assistance. The car should be used to transport patients to the hospital. Previously, no subsidies were available.

The program also allows a family with floor space per person below the city's average to get payments, even if they have more than two houses, said Li Hongbing, deputy director of the bureau. According to the Beijing Statistical Yearbook 2018, the city's average per capita floor space was 34.2 square meters in 2017.

The change is a response to the national three-year action plan released by the State Council in June to reduce poverty and boost the economy. The Ministry of Civil Affairs also carried out pilot projects with local civil affair bureaus to better protect low-income families.

The special disadvantaged group also benefits from the revised regulations. Severely disabled people in low-income families will be given the minimum living allowance. The allowance, set up in 2007, is an alternative channel that provides money and daily necessities directly to those in need. It is managed by the Ministry of Civil Affairs and local bureaus.

The basic living allowance in the capital has been 1,000 yuan ($146) per month since January 2018, according to the municipal Bureau of Civil Affairs.

Xu Jiacheng, deputy director of the China Disabled Persons Rehabilitation Association, warned that the implementation of the policy could come with a risk that beneficiaries may not receive the money directly, or that they will get used to welfare payments by the government.

"A regular re-examination is necessary to prevent some benefits from becoming routine," he said.

The new guideline also stipulates that the consumption of families or individuals who have received social assistance will be examined on a regular basis by the local government, and assistance will be ended when they no longer meet the criteria.