The Regional Government of the Azores will reinforce the financing of the social sector and will increase social support complements by 15%, in 2023, in an investment of around 10 million euros, the vice president announced on Monday.
“In total, there are about 10 million euros more that we return to people so that they can face, with more peace of mind, the economic, social and financial difficulties caused by inflation“, said the vice president of the Azores executive, Artur Lima, who oversees Social Solidarity, at a press conference in Angra do Heroísmo, on Terceira Island.
The Regional Plan and Budget proposals for 2023, which will be voted on in November in the Legislative Assembly of the Azores, include a 15% increase in the family allowance supplementof special supplement for cancer patients (EARLY) and the supplement for the purchase of medicines by the elderly (COMPAID).
The autonomous pension supplement, known as the small check, will also have a gradual increase, depending on the value of the pensions, which will reach 15% at the lowest level.
“Those who currently have the smallest pension, of 221 euros, will be left, with the increase, with very close to 100 euros [de complemento]. It is almost 50% of the pension that the left-wing State of the Republic gives them,” stressed the vice president of the Regional Government, recalling that in 2022 this supplement had already increased by nearly 30% at the lowest level.
The Azorean executive will also review the basic agreement with the social sector, in 2023, to increase the financing of the different social responses.
“Regarding the Azorean social institutions, which provide a decisive and irreplaceable service to their users, we will also have measures to prevent the growth of expenses with fuel, food and the necessary goods for proper care,” said Artur Lima. .
In addition to promoting financing, the Regional Government create support for the purchase of fuels for Private Institutions of Social Solidarity (IPSS).
“It is an innovative measure, applied for the first time in the Azores. Like other supports, such as fuel for fishing or fuel for agriculture, we will have social fuel”, pointed out the vice president of the Azorean executive.
Artur Lima justified this reinforcement of social support in the need to mitigate inflation, which has brought an “exponential increase in the cost of living” for families, institutions and companies in the region.
The Azores, with the weight of the outermost regions and geographical dispersion, suffer more from the effects of inflation, which requires special attention from the State and regional powers. The state has not been proactive,” he stressed.
The vice president of the Azorean executive said that he had already requested a meeting with the Minister of Social Solidarity, to ask for positive discrimination of Azoreans in the allocation of support, but has not yet received a response.
“We have a meeting requested to explain that the Azores exist and need different measures,” he said, claiming that food is “more expensive” in the region than on the mainland.
Source: Observadora
