Ombudsman: poverty in decline in Latvia | Baltic News Network - News from Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia
▻http://bnn-news.com/ombudsman-poverty-in-decline-in-latvia-152935
«In 2013, Latvia had the lowest proportion of funding allocated for social insurance benefits in the European Union – 14% of GDP. This had very little impact on poverty reduction in the country,» – the European Commission mentioned about Latvia in its report.
The report mentions that Latvia’s contribution to social exclusion prevention measures (including guaranteed minimal income index) is only 0.1% of GDP, whereas the average index across Europe is 0.5%. Contribution to housing benefits is just as small: 0.1% of GDP (0.6% in Europe). Social assistance funding is completely decentralized and could increase regional inequality even more. In addition, the country’s social assistance system does not provide sufficient support to people wishing to return to the labour market.