-25taking into consideration the views of the public, service users and nongovernmental organisations providing welfare services, reported to the Welfare Panel65 that deputations: “...informed the Subcommittee that many new-arrival single mothers faced great financial hardship for being unable to meet the residence requirement. They were unable to find a suitable employment because of their low educational attainment and the need to take care of their young children. Given that these new arrivals were not eligible for CSSA, they had to rely on their child(ren)’s CSSA for a living.” 66. It is clear, to say the least, that the OWP scheme provides no support whatsoever for the Government’s alleged legitimate aim of ensuring the welfare system’s sustainability and no support for the existence of any rational connection between that aim and the impugned seven-year requirement. The policies underlying the OWP scheme militate against that restriction. I. 67. Hong Kong’s ageing population The second factor said to underlie the Government’s avowed legitimate aim is the need to cater for an ageing population. The Task Force identified the problem in the following terms: “In 2001, Hong Kong’s total fertility rate reached an extremely low level of 927 children per 1,000 women, well below the replacement level of 2,100 children per 1,000 women. At the same time, life expectancy at birth is projected to reach 82 for men and 88 for women in 2031, one of the longest in the world. Hong Kong’s population is aging. A quarter of its population is expected to be aged 65 or above by 2031. More significantly, the size of the workforce will shrink as the prime working age population declines.”66 68. In every society, the working age population economically supports children below, and the elderly above, working age. The demographic pattern identified above undoubtedly presents a serious long-term problem since it projects a shrinking working age population having to support a growing 65 LC Paper No CB(2)871/07-08, 23 January 2008. 66 Task Force Report, Summary of Recommendations, §§4 and 5.