According to the Ministry of Welfare, priority activities in the welfare sector of Latvia require funding of EUR 108.7 million, as confirmed by minister Evika Siliņa.
The minister says her institution has carefully studied the submitted budget priorities in order to continue developing social services important to the needs of Latvian residents.
“There are as many of us as there are, and every persons should be protected.
This is why, in order to support children and prevent violence – support Child House Initiative, social rehabilitation services to all sides involved in violence – all of this requires appropriate funding,” she stresses.
She said “appropriate financing for the welfare sector is investments into our own people to help those in need of help to create a stable and well-off society, provide people opportunities to improve their living, receive necessary resources and develop both personally and professionally.”
In order to ensure the provision of integrated health and social services mobile team hospice care at home for adults and support for their family members, in 2024 social care, psycho-social rehabilitation and technical means procurement will require EUR 4.3 million.
Ministry of Welfare explains that as a result of a market survey a service provider has been picked – Latvian Samaritan Association. This organisation is working on its test project, providing hospice services to an average of 25 people a month in Riga, Pieriga, Rezekne.
Hospice care houses are financed from the state budget. The service is individual-centered and is intended to relieve people’s suffering and provide assistance to family members.
Improvement of the child protection and support system requires EUR 19.2 million.
The priority is presenting a list of various activities to ensure support for children and violence prevention.
The State Inspectorate for the Protection of the Rights of the Child is also planned to be reformed to include a network of child support specialists, improve methodical support and train new specialists.
Funding is also needed for various support activities for families with children: socio-psychological support for strengthening nursing skills and family literacy and in crisis situations, improvement of family psychotherapy service, increase of childbirth allowance, increase of supplement to the family state allowance for a child with disabilities, etc.
Funding of EUR 6.8 million is needed to introduce the minimal social services basket. Those are designed to provide a family assistant service and home care service for children with severe and very severe functional impairments.
Increase of age and disability pensions will require an additional EUR 14.5 million.
To increase the pay for assistants of disabled people will require EUR 9.3 million.
Wage competitiveness and motivation remain especially important in the welfare sector. The same applies to appropriate quality of living, accessibility of a safe and accessible environment. This is why therefore, EUR 24.6 million is needed to ensure the quality of social services, including the planned re-arrangement of the infrastructure of the sector and to cover the increase in other expenditure in order to ensure the provision of quality social services.
The ministry also explains a proposal has been prepared to increase social protection for people for whom the employer has not paid a mandatory state social insurance contribution in case of extension of the term – EUR 30 million.
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