The budget of the Deputy Ministry of Social Welfare for 2023 is increased with social benefits accounting for about 90% of the budgeted expenditure, Deputy Minister Anastasia Anthousi stressed.
Speaking after the session of the Parliamentary Committee on Finance and Budget, Ms Anthousi pointed out that the Budget is increased and amounts to €620.5 million, with social benefits accounting for about 90%. As the Deputy Minister of Social Welfare said, "through the various actions that have either started and will be completed in 2023, or will start within the next year, it seems that there is a holistic support to vulnerable groups through the creation of structures and the completion of legislative frameworks. At the same time, it proves that with a strong economy there are also indicators of targeted benefit policy, with a €15 million reduction in the budget in the EEO, precisely because there is a reduced unemployment rate." This money, Ms Anthousi explained, has been transferred to other actions, such as the subsidy for nurseries under the Tuition and Feeding Subsidy Scheme for children up to the age of 4.
The results of the targeted policies, the Deputy Minister said, are reflected in a survey published in October 2022 by the Statistical Office, according to which the risk of poverty or social exclusion in Cyprus is 4.4 percentage points below the European Union average.
"The Deputy Ministry will continue to have targeted actions and the benefit policy will be complementary to other actions, in order to be next to the citizen, the children, the vulnerable groups," the Deputy Minister of Social Welfare noted.
(MKY)
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