Simon Lee, a senior lecturer at the university's business school, said that the third round of financial relief worth more than HK$24 billion is a significant drop from the previous rounds which were HK$30 billion and HK$137.5 billion respectively. Lee also questioned why the Chief Executive's Office and the Labour and Welfare Bureau were responsible for the Employment Subsidy Scheme (ESS) when the Financial Secretary and the Inland Revenue Department should be the ones administering it. He said the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau has the necessary expertise in identifying which businesses are suitable for government support. Lee said that for the next round of relief under the ESS, the government should introduce financial assistance for those who are unemployed. The time limit was needed as there has been some misunderstanding among the public that money for the unemployed would mean giving people money to "do nothing," he said.

Source: The Standard September 21, 2020 07:18 UTC