site.bta Local Authorities Contract Nearly Lv 190 Mln For Social Services under EU-backed Programme in 2016

Local Authorities Contract Nearly Lv 190 Mln For Social Services under EU-backed Programme in 2016

Sofia, December 29 (BTA) - In 2016, the local authorities contracted 187 million leva for social services under the Operational Programme Human Resources Development, the National Association of Municipalities in the Republic of Bulgaria (NAMRB) said on Thursday.

In 2016, forty-two per cent of all municipal contracts under operational programmes were for social services and were worth a total of 187 million leva. Municipalities have received 49 million leva, which is 26 per cent of the contracts' worth.

The main problem for the local authorities is the postponement of planned schemes under which they are beneficiaries.

In 2016, local authorities provided hourly services to over 16,000 persons under an independent living scheme which aims to provide social services in a home environment for people with disabilities and the elderly.

As the 500,000 leva cap restricts the number of users in the separate municipalities,
the Association reached an agreement with the managing authority under the Programme to lift the cap in the municipalities with the longest waiting lists, which required an extra 6 million leva. According to expert estimates, the 150 million leva available under the scheme are enough to meet 40 per cent of the stated needs.

From 2017 municipalities will be able to employ jobless youths under the age of 29 for internship and training for a period of six months. Ten million leva are available under the scheme which is very important in border and rural regions where municipalities are the only employers.

Changes adopted to a foster care project have deprived municipalities of having their own forster care teams. This activity is becoming centralized at a regional level. According to the Association, the changes carry real risks of rejecting experienceаd foster families and of worsened service quality because of the distance, and incurring higher costs for the foster parents and the team members.

At the Association's request 18 million leva will be provided in the second half of 2017 for the provision of four social services: temporary accommodation centres, crisis centres, shelters and centres for work with street children. Some 80 million leva have been provided for the social and economic inclusion of vulnerable groups which will be used to improve their quality of life, social inclusion, to reduce poverty reduction and ensure the sustainable integration of the most marginalized groups.

Municipalities will be able to apply under schemes to promote interregional and transnational cooperation with partners from various EU member states on the labour market and in the following fields: job quality, social inclusion and poverty reduction, healthcare, equal opportunities, non-discrimination, working conditions and the developing of an administrative capacity.

Also, the Association said that 29,000 people received hot lunch at municipal meal centres in 2016. Meal centres were opened in 204 municipalities and 15 million leva were made available under the Food or/and Basic Material Assistance Operational Programme under the Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived 2014-2020.

In 2016, the number of users of this social service trebled compared with 2015 when they were 8,000. As a result of the good cooperation between the Association and
the Social Assistance Agency which is the programme's managing authority, the number of municipalities providing hot lunch increased from 86 to 204 and the number of meal centres from 111 to 236.

In 2017, the scheme will receive an additional 12 million leva and municipalities will be able to provide hot lunch on non-business days and weekends.

The local authorities complain of the fixed amount of 2.30 lv (roughly 1.15 euro) per capita which is too little to cover the prescribed portion of bread, soup and a main meal.