“You have to take responsibility for your words!” After long debates, the government has decided on heating allowances

Let us remind you that an extraordinary government meeting was scheduled for today at noon to consider the draft law from the Ministry of Welfare on expanding the circle of individuals who could qualify for housing assistance due to high heating bills. The proposals from the Ministry of Welfare were agreed upon during the coalition meeting on Monday. However, shortly before the meeting, the leadership of the Union of Greens and Farmers decided to postpone the consideration of this issue for a week at today’s government meeting. The reason was the objections from the Union of Local Governments: municipal authorities wanted to discuss the issue of compensation for local governments from the state. However, the meeting had already been scheduled and took place. A debate unfolded during the meeting between Prime Minister Evika Silina and the Minister of Agriculture, one of the leaders of the Union of Greens and Farmers, Armands Krauze. The latter insisted that the issue be postponed until the next REGULAR government meeting, which is on Tuesday, February 24. The Prime Minister responded that it was the “green farmers” who were urging a quick decision and making various public statements accusing the Ministry of Finance and the Prime Minister of allegedly delaying support for the population. “Now, when the Ministry of Welfare has prepared its draft and the coalition has supported it, you are trying to slow down this process. You have to take responsibility for your words,” the head of government did not hide her dissatisfaction. “The objections from local governments appeared only on Tuesday, which is why we are asking to postpone the decision. For 5 days, nothing has been decided. It is clear that the government will help the residents in any case. This way, we can coordinate everything with the local governments, and then it will be easier for the deputies to make a decision,” explained Armands Krauze his position.

The discussion lasted more than an hour. At one point, it seemed that the government would postpone the decision, as the coalition agreement gives government partners the right to request a one-week postponement. However, under pressure from the Prime Minister and other ministers from “New Unity,” Minister Krauze “gave in,” and the government decided to support the draft law from the Ministry of Welfare. The document will be submitted to the Saeima tomorrow, and the deputies will surely support it in the zero reading - that is, the transfer to the parliamentary committee. Over the week, ministers, deputies, and social partners will try to improve the version of household support prepared by the Ministry of Welfare. To clarify: the draft law only slightly expands the circle of individuals who can qualify for housing assistance from local governments - the threshold for minimum incomes of single pensioners, disabled individuals, and families with pensioners, children, and disabled individuals is raised. This means that more families will be able to qualify for such housing assistance as low-income households. According to estimates, these changes will allow another 7,000 people to receive housing assistance. Agree, this is very little!

In addition, at the beginning of March, the government will decide to allow other households, if they face financial difficulties, to not pay their heating bills immediately, but to pay in installments, including during the summer period, without penalties!