The package defines the legal bases on which a new insecurity allowance will be provided to citizens instead of the existing family and social allowance through the new insecurity assessment system. The RA Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Anna Zhamakochyan said this at the extraordinary sitting of the NA Standing Committee on Labor and Social Affairs on August 29, presenting the draft law on Making Amendments and Addenda to the Law on State Allowances and the legislative package providing for amendments and addenda to a number of attached laws.
A new insecurity assessment system will be introduced, the aim of which is to make the system more targeted and effective. As a result of the implementation of social support programmes, it is planned to further develop the field of services, rather than simply limiting social support to monetary benefits.
The system will be based on the principle of real assessment of the need and provision of proportional social services, which will encourage the socio-economic activity of the person.
According to the package, the family recognized as socially insecure by the family insecurity assessment procedure approved by the RA Government’s decision, whose monthly income of one member is lower than the marginal threshold for the right to receive the insecurity allowance set by the RA Government for the given year, will have the right to receive the insecurity allowance.
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Based on the goal of eliminating extreme poverty, this threshold will be set in such a way that the new system of insecurity allowances includes those families whose monthly income of one calculating member is lower than the value of the percentage calculated on the value of the food basket.
The Committee Chair Heriknaz Tigranyan presented proposals that were acceptable to the author. They were related to the termination of allowance in case of presentation of a false document and the provision to indicate the age of the child in order not to be left out of compulsory education. The Committee Chair proposed not to mention the child’s age, as they could be older than 18 years old.
The legislative package was endorsed by the Committee. It will be included in the draft agenda of the eighth session of the eighth convocation of the National Assembly.
National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia
