-36informed the Welfare Panel’s Subcommittee that “Of the amount paid to the new arrivals in 2002-03, $963 million were made to those aged 18 or above and $1,068 [million] to those aged below 18.” Revealingly, the Paper went on to state: “The new residence requirements for CSSA are, however, not driven by the need to reduce CSSA expenditure on new arrivals, but by the need to adopt ‘the principle of seven-year residence requirement’ for providing social benefits heavily subsidized by public funds, as recommended by the Task Force on Population Policy, to ensure a rational basis on which our public resources are allocated. The Government remains committed to providing an effective and sustainable safety net for the financially vulnerable.” (Italics supplied)91 K. 98. Other justifications put forward by the Government The reference to the so-called “principle of seven-year residence requirement for providing social benefits heavily subsidized by public” quoted above recalls a point made in the Task Force Report92 as an additional reason for the seven-year restriction, as follows: “Chapter III highlights the anomaly that exists in the eligibility criteria of various subsidized benefits in terms of length of residence in Hong Kong. Among the major benefits, a ‘seven-year’ residence rule is applied to public rental housing applicants (except children under the age of 18). In the case of CSSA, a ‘one-year’ residence rule is applied. No such rule is implemented for users of public health and hospital services; they are not even subject to means test.” 99. The Task Force Report went on to state: “After careful consideration, the Task Force considers that there is a strong case for removing the anomaly that exists in the eligibility criteria for major subsidized benefits, and for applying a uniform seven-year residence rule for providing all heavily subsidized social services including CSSA and public healthcare benefits. Eligibility based on a seven-year residence requirement reflects the contribution a resident has made towards our economy over a sustained period of time in Hong Kong. A seven-year residence is also normally required for the grant of permanent resident 91 LC Paper No CB(2)834/03-04(02)(Revised), §§8-9. 92 At §5.55.