Decision No. 488/QD-TTg dated April 14, 2017 of the Prime Minister on approving the scheme on renewal and development of social support activities during 2017-2025 with a vision toward 2030

THE PRIME MINISTER

Decision No. 488/QD-TTg dated April 14, 2017 of the Prime Minister on approving the scheme on renewal and development of social support activities during 2017-2025 with a vision toward 2030

Pursuant to the June 19, 2015 Law on Organization of the Government;

Pursuant to the November 23, 2009 Law on the Elderly;

Pursuant to the June 17, 2010 Law on Persons with Disabilities;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No.136/2013/ND-CPof October 21, 2013, prescribing social support policies for social protection beneficiaries;

In furtherance of the Government s Resolution No.70/NQ-CP of November 1,2012, promulgating the Government s Action Plan to implement theXI^thParty Central Committee s Resolution No. 15-NQ/TW of June 1, 2012, on a number of issues concerning social policies during 2012-2020;

At the proposal of the Minister of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs,

DECIDES:

Article 1.To approve the Scheme on renewal and development of social support activities during 2017-2025 with a vision toward 2030 (below referred to as the Scheme) with the following principal contents:

I. VIEWPOINTS

1. Assurance of social security is a frequent and important task of authorities at all levels, sectors, the entire political system and the entire society, in which state investment resources play a key and important role. Investment in social security is investment in development. The State shall adopt policies to encourage organizations, businesses and people to participate in social support activities and, at the same time, create conditions for people to increase their capacity to satisfy social security demands, unceasingly improve the spiritual and material lives, and ensure equality, social stability and sustainable development.

2. Social support activities must suit the socio-economic development level, capacity to mobilize and balance the country’s resources, and international trend, and ensure gradual attainment of the minimum living standards in each period; priority shall be given to people in extremely difficult circumstances, the poor, and people living in mountainous, island and ethnic minority areas.

3. Social support activities must be diversified in model, cover both spiritual and material spheres, suit the life cycle of humans, and be shareable among the State, society and people; and ensure that people at risk can receive prompt support from the State, organizations and the community. To develop a network of social support establishments.

II. OBJECTIVES

1. During 2017-2020

a/ To provide prompt support for all people meeting with unexpected difficulties; to offer social welfare for more elderly people in difficult circumstances and having no pension or state allowance who live in mountainous, island and ethnic minority areas;

b/ To provide social support services for 50% of people in extremely difficult circumstances suitable to their needs, at least 10% of whom will be provided with comprehensive social support services.

2. During 2021 -2025

a/ To provide prompt support for all people meeting with unexpected difficulties; to increase monthly social allowance levels; to adopt support policies for children under 36 months of age and pregnant women of poor households, households just above the poverty line or households in difficult circumstances who live in mountainous, island and ethnic minority areas; to further provide social welfare for more elderly people who have no pension or social insurance allowance;

b/ To provide social support services for 70% of people in extremely difficult circumstances suitable to their needs, at least 30% of whom will be provided with comprehensive social support services.

3. Vision toward 2030

a/ To provide prompt support for all people meeting with unexpected difficulties; to offer social welfare for more elderly people who have no pension or social insurance allowance, children under 36 months of age, and pregnant women of poor households, households just above the poverty line or households in difficult circumstances; to adjust social allowance levels as suitable to the state budget capacity and international trend;

b/ To provide social support services for 90% of people in extremely difficult circumstances suitable to their needs, at least 50% of whom will be provided with comprehensive social support services.

III. TASKS AND SOLUTIONS

1. To strengthen the direction, leading and management by Party committees and administrations at all levels; to bring into play the strength of the entire political system, and build a consensus of the entire society in implementation of social support guidelines and policies. To raise the awareness and responsibility of cadres of authorities at all levels in directing, mobilizing resources for, and realizing social support activities.

2. To provide public information about the State’s viewpoints, guidelines, policies and laws on social support, carry out mobilization activities so as to apply progressive and effective modes of providing social support, and raise the awareness of families, the State and society about the responsibility for protecting, caring for and helping social support beneficiaries.

3. To improve policies and laws on social support

a/To study, and propose the improvement of, social welfare policies toward increasing policy beneficiaries as stated in the Scheme’s objectives; to study and formulate standard social allowance levels and social allowance coefficients based on humans’ minimum needs and lifecycle, while guaranteeing international integration. To step by step integrate social welfare policies for the labor, war invalids and social affairs sector to assume the prime responsibility for and perform state management of such policies; to study and propose the formulation of draft laws on social support, social security and social affairs;

b/ To improve policies on, and develop the service of, urgent support on the basis of damage levels, vulnerability levels, specific circumstances and risk management capacity of individuals and households that are affected by disasters, fires, crop failures, epidemics, climate change, occupational accidents or traffic accidents, victims of domestic violence, or trafficked women and children.

To encourage organizations, individuals, households and the community to join urgent support efforts; with the State’s support, to integrate urgent support contents into relevant schemes, programs and policies for implementation in areas frequently hit by disasters, floods or storms, or impacted by climate change.

4. State management of social support

a/ To assign one state management agency to perform state management of social support to avoid overlap of functions and tasks among related ministries and sectors;

b/ To reform administrative procedures toward reducing the time limit and procedures for settlement of social support policies on the basis of people’s needs and ensuring publicity and transparency;

c/ To apply information technology to the management, settlement and payment of social support benefits, ensuring the integration of social support policies into social security policies;

d/ To improve the capacity of managerial officers and employees engaged in social support affairs;

dd/ To increase the inspection, supervision and assessment of implementation of social support policies, particularly social welfare policies; to manage social support establishments and implementation support policies.

5. To plan and develop a network of social support establishments according to the Scheme’s objectives in line with the socio-economic development strategy and master plan of each region and locality; to promote the capacity and effectiveness of existing social support establishments, and enable public social support establishments to provide comprehensive support for people in extremely difficult circumstances.

To build a model of establishments providing comprehensive social support services so that by 2030, there will be one officer specialized in social affairs or social support affairs per 5,000 people.

6. Mobilization and use of resources for social support

a/ To formulate plans and allocate state budget funds based on realities of each ministry, sector and locality; to increase the norms of social security expenditures against the current ones;

b/ The State shall provide support in terms of expenses for users of social support services provided by public and non-public social support establishments on the basis of price brackets and the list of public non-business services prescribed by law;

c/ To boost socialization and diversification of resources for social support activities, particularly urgent support.

7. To learn more international community-based experience in prevention and detection activities and in provision of care and social support for people in extremely difficult circumstances.

8. To strengthen cooperation with domestic and foreign organizations and individuals in providing experience and resources for realization of activities of the Scheme.

IV. FUNDS

1. Funds for implementation of the Scheme shall be allocated from the state budget according to current decentralization and mobilized from contributions of domestic and foreign organizations and individuals in accordance with law. Annually, based on objectives and tasks set forth in the Scheme, ministries, central sectors and localities shall make budget estimates and send them to competent agencies in accordance with law on the state budget; and integrate the Scheme’s contents into the social support development project for the disadvantaged under the target program on assistance for development of the social support system during 2016-2020 and other programs and schemes on social support.

Funds for training and retraining of managerial officers, employees, collaborators, and beneficiary families; repair and upgrading of social support establishments and models shall be included in funds for the following programs and schemes: community- based care for children in extremely difficult circumstances, functional rehabilitation for mentally ill persons, and development of the social affairs occupation through 2020. From 2021 onward, funds for these contents shall be covered by the state budget under this Scheme.

2. Lawful funding sources of domestic and foreign organizations and individuals for implementation of the Scheme under the State’s regulations.

Article 2.Organization of implementation

1. The Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs shall:

- Assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Ministry of Planning and Investment, Ministry of Finance, related ministries, sectors, agencies and organizations, and provincial-level People’s Committees in, building a model of establishments providing comprehensive social support services and “urgent support funds” on a pilot basis, then conducting assessment and summarization for replicating the model.

- Guide, organize and coordinate the implementation of the Scheme’s activities and periodically report thereon to the Prime Minister.

- Seek financial support and cooperation and international experience for the implementation of the Scheme.

2. The Ministry of Planning and Investment shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs, and related ministries, sectors and agencies in, mobilizing official development assistance (ODA) loans for implementation of the Scheme; and integrating objectives and targets of the Scheme into the annual national socio-economic development plan.

3. The Ministry of Finance shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Ministry of Planning and Investment in, allocating regular funds from central budget for ministries, sectors and central agencies to perform their tasks.

4. Related ministries and sectors shall, based on their assigned functions, tasks and powers, perform the tasks set forth in the Scheme.

5. The Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front and its member organizations and related organizations shall, within the ambit of their functions and tasks, participate in organizing the implementation of the Scheme.

6. Provincial-level People’s Committees shall:

- Organize the implementation of the Scheme in localities.

- Formulate, and organize the implementation of, plans on activities of the Scheme in compliance with local socio-economic development programs and plans.

- Integrate the contents of the Scheme into other relevant programs in localities.

- Actively allocate local budget funds and personnel for implementation of the Scheme.

- Monitor, inspect, supervise and report on the implementation of the Scheme in accordance withcurrentlaw.

Article 3.This Decision takes effect on the signing date.

Article 4.Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, heads of government- attached agencies, and chairpersons of provincial-level People Committees shall implement the Decision.-

For the Prime Minister

The Deputy Prime Minister

Vu Duc Dam