According to the Minister of Social Affairs Natalia Efremova, there are no problems with the texts from the state budget related to the minimum wage and length of service, and the constitutional complaints filed by the political forces - GERB-SDF and “We continue the change“, as well as the intention of the Ombudsman for such a thing, BTA reports.
Natalia Efremova attended in Simitli the solemn celebration of the 15th anniversary of the establishment of the Family-type Accommodation Centers for Adults with Physical Disabilities and for Adults with Dementia.
In her words, everyone, who has the authority, can refer the matter to the Constitutional Court (CC). "I personally do not see any problems in the texts of the State Budget Law and I believe that the CC, within its powers, will rule in the most correct way and accordingly the new texts will be able to be implemented", the minister said in response to a journalistic question. Efremova added that their implementation begins today. She pointed out that the most difficult thing for her was to resist the freezing of some of the social expenses, but she believes that next year there will be more opportunities to increase people's incomes.
I have no concerns about the stability of the State Social Security, there are transfers, she also answered a question about the stability of the State Security. There are transfers from the state budget – and this is a decision from years ago, in order to maintain relatively low levels of insurance contributions, explained Efremova. With parallel measures that increase revenues, we will try to maintain trust in the system and its stability, she added.
According to her, the expectations are for additional revenue of about 130 million euros by the end of the year from the increase in the minimum and maximum insurance thresholds, which means greater resources for next year.
Currently, what will begin with funds under the Recovery and Resilience Plan (RPP) is the construction of numerous new social services - a very large part of which will be for people with dementia and other diseases that require care outside the home environment, the minister pointed out.
Over 380 million euros were secured by the RPP, with which municipalities were able to renovate and repair homes for the elderly, she also pointed out. Almost 200-230 new social services have been completed – in day care centers and residential services.
Funding for those working in this field has also been secured, the minister pointed out. When asked whether the state would provide funding for these services, Efremova replied that there are two options for all municipalities - either through the Human Resources Development Program with project funding until the service is established, or directly as a state-delegated activity. We will use both forms of funding to ensure the smooth provision of the services themselves, emphasized Natalia Efremova.