The government is proposing cost-cutting in social services to the tune of 55 million euros next year. The largest savings are expected to come from changes in rehabilitative work activities and social rehabilitation.
The cabinet expects the savings impact of the measures to rise to 100 million euros the following year – if kept in place by the next government, which is expected to take office just over a year from now.
On Friday, the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health began circulating a draft proposal on social welfare reform for comments.
193 minutes a day on paperwork
Some of the most significant savings are to be achieved by easing the obligations of social workers, such as those related to recording and assessing service needs. Client fees for assisted living, institutional care and home services are also to be increased.
"The proposals are partly aimed at cost-cutting, but the most of them are aimed at activities that do not generate customer benefits," Minister of Social Affairs and Health Wille Rydman (Finns) said at a press conference on Friday afternoon.
Rydman cited a study suggesting that social workers spend an average of 193 minutes of their working day on paperwork.
"Not all of this work is impactful or customer-friendly," Rydman asserted.
Fees for round-the-clock service housing and institutional care will be increased to up to 87.5 percent of the client's monthly income, compared to the current upper limit of 85 percent. The fee will increase by the same proportion when considering the combined income of spouses.
"It would appear that the largest income increase would come from people with the highest incomes," Virva Juurikkala, a senior ministerial adviser, told reporters.
The lowest-income earners are protected from increases by law, which says they must left with some personal disposable income. According to the draft proposal, 62 percent of customers would see their payments remain unchanged.
