2.5.3 Social safety nets and activation
The economic crisis has had an unprecedented impact on social welfare. The most pressing priority for the Government is to provide immediate support to the most vulnerable to help alleviate the impact of the renewed downturn. Already, a temporary package of humanitarian measures on food, housing and access to health care has been adopted and will be phased-out to coincide with the implementation of the nationwide rollout of the guaranteed minimum income scheme (GMI).
In order to get people back to work, the authorities, working closely with European partners, have taken measures to boost employment by providing short-term work opportunities to 50,000 people targeting the long-term unemployed. In addition, the Government will roll out by June 2016 further active labour market integration schemes which will combine public work and activation (personalized services, upskilling, re-skilling) measures covering [25,000 persons], who are furthest away from the labour market, including long term unemployed and GMI beneficiaries. The Government will support further job creation schemes through wage subsidies, vouchers etc. for [75,000] participants by December 2016.
A fairer society will require that Greece improves the design of its welfare system, so that there is a genuine social safety net which targets scarce resources to those in most need. The authorities plan to benefit from available technical assistance provided by international organisations for both the social welfare review and the GMI implementation.
i. By September 2016, the Government commits to complete with the assistance of the World Bank the Social Welfare Review, targeted to generate savings of ½ percent of GDP annually, including both cash and in-kind benefits, tax benefits, social security and other social benefits across the general government {four paragraphs were dedicated to the description of the effects of the crisis on social security and the first measure is an annual 0.5% cut on expenditure}. A key part of the Review will be to propose improvements to the system of disability benefits to reduce fragmentation of welfare and social insurance benefits and move towards a modern system comparable to that of other EU Member states with greater account taken of functional disabilities and care needs. {Special needs benefits are being targeted}. The Review will serve as the basis for the financing of a redesigned and targeted welfare system, including the fiscally-neutral national roll-out of the GMI. By [October] 2016, the authorities will legislate reforms to welfare benefits (key deliverable).
ii. The Authorities will launch the gradual nationwide roll-out of a GMI scheme starting in [30] municipalities from [1 June] 2016 (key deliverable), including for the set-up of a benefits registry and a strategy to ensure the inclusion of vulnerable groups and to avoid errors, fraud and corruption. Close linkages with municipalities and employment services will be established. The overall design and benefit rates for the initial GMI rollout will be agreed with the Institutions. Apart from direct income support, the GMI scheme will offer a package of services (e.g. counseling, psychosocial support, children day care, long term care etc.) that will aim to inclusion and remove barriers to work. The GMI will be closely co-ordinated with employment schemes.
iii. By September 2016, the authorities will make the full preparations for a nationwide rollout starting on 1 January 2017(key deliverable), assessed in terms of preparations such as establishing an institutional comprehensive benefits framework to manage, monitor and control the GMI and other benefits, [as well as possibly a further expansion of the rollout of the GMI to additional municipalities or an additional metric to be determined] . Thedesign and benefit rates of the nationwide GMI will be further revised and improved, in the light of the results of the social welfare review and based on the evaluation of the initial schemes by the World Bank.
iv. Efforts will be made to offer GMI beneficiaries who can be integrated in the labour market access to personalized active labour market (ALM) measures. To this end, the completion of the OAED restructuring process will enable the preparation of individual activation plans for participants and for designing and delivering a package of ALM measures like training, job search assistance, mentoring, apprenticeships etc. by the end of 2016.
v. The authorities will establish a permanent social housing policy in line with European best practice. {Given that Greece is among the countries with the lowest numbers of homeless, which exactly would be a best practice?}
The economic crisis has had an unprecedented impact on social welfare. The most pressing priority for the government is to provide immediate support to the most vulnerable to help alleviate the impact of the renewed downturn. Already, a package of measures on food, housing and access to health care has been adopted and is being implemented. In order to get people back to work, the authorities, working closely with European partners, have taken measures to boost employment by providing short-term work opportunities to 50.000 people targeting the long-term unemployed.
The Government will adopt by March 2016 a further series of guaranteed employment support schemes covering 150,000 persons, including the long term unemployed (29+), young people (16-29), and disadvantaged groups (including inter alia GMI beneficiaries) with individualised active labour market measures for participants, using local partnerships, 17 involving the private and social economy sectors and ensuring efficient and effective use of the resources available.
A fairer society will require that Greece improves the design of its welfare system, so that there is a genuine social safety net which targets scarce resources at those in most need. The authorities plan to benefit from available technical assistance for the social welfare review and for the GMI implementation from international organisations.
i. The government commits as a prior action to agree the terms of reference and launch a comprehensive Social Welfare Review, including both cash and in-kind benefits, tax benefits, social security and other social benefits, across the general government, with the assistance of the World Bank, with first operational results to be completed by December 2015, targeted to generate savings of ½ percent of GDP annually which will serve as the basis for the redesign of a targeted welfare system, including the fiscally-neutral gradual national roll-out of the GMI. The overall design of the GMI will also be agreed with the institutions.
ii. The Authorities by September 2015 will set out their detailed preparations for a gradual nationwide roll-out of a Guaranteed Minimum Income (GMI) scheme from 1 April 2016, including for the set up of a benefits registry and a strategy to ensure the inclusion of vulnerable groups and to avoid fraud. Close linkages with municipalities and employment services will be established.
iii. By January 2016, the authorities will propose and legislate reforms to welfare benefits and decide on the benefit rates of the initial GMI rollout in agreement with the institutions. The design of the GMI will be closely based upon the parameters of the pilot schemes after the evaluation of the World Bank, with potential additional targeting of priority needs in the short-term in order to meet budgetary constraints.
iv. By September 2016, the authorities will establish an institutional benefits framework to manage, monitor and control the GMI and other benefits. An evaluation of the performance of the GMI scheme will take place, with the objective of a full national rollout (key deliverable) by the end 2016.