The State Council, China's cabinet, on Friday announced a national program offering temporary assistance to needy families facing emergencies.

The program will provide temporary relief for families and individuals in financial difficulties due to emergencies such as natural disasters, house fires or serious illness, said the State Council statement.

The relief may be in cash or supplies such as food and clothes, the statement said, adding that authorities will help recipients transfer to long-term programs if they are found to be qualified. The program will cover the immediate needs of people excluded from existing social security programs.

"This is a much needed improvement to the social security program. It helps close some loopholes," said Han Keqing, head of the social insurance department at the school of labor and human resources, Renmin University of China.

Compared with other long-term security programs, the new scheme is more flexible in terms of recipients eligibility and household registration status, and should help migrant workers, Han said. A recipient does not need a local household registration account to receive the relief.

Most migrant workers live in the cities but leave their household registration at their rural hometowns, and are not fully covered by social security programs, neither in their hometowns nor in the cities. Poverty can be the result of the slightest of misfortunes.

According to the document, needy people can apply for the program themselves but local authorities are encouraged to seek out those in need. County governments and above have the right to draw up standards for recipients.

According to the Ministry of Civil Affairs, 26 out of 31 provincial divisions in China have similar programs.

The State Council has asked all local governments to adopt the program by the end of the year.

The success of program will be part of indices used in assessing the performance of senior local government officials.

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