1 / 22

Reference Budgets and Additional Financial Help: The Case of Ghent (Belgium)

This study examines the implementation of reference budgets and the provision of additional financial aid by the Public Centre for Social Welfare (PCSW) in Ghent, Belgium. It explores the challenges faced, the impact on social assistance beneficiaries, and the role of local government in ensuring a decent standard of living. The study also discusses the accessibility of additional aid and proposes policy recommendations to address the needs of the most vulnerable.

deloresh
Download Presentation

Reference Budgets and Additional Financial Help: The Case of Ghent (Belgium)

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Reference budgets and Additional Financial Help The case of Ghent (Belgium) Thomas Maeseele Marijke Heirman Policy support - PCSW Ghent

  2. COntext

  3. 250,000 Who are we? Where do we come from? Genk

  4. Map - Ghent Ghent: • Inhabitants: +/- 250.000 • Second city of Flanders • University city • Medieval centre • Nineteenth century circle • Suburbs for middle-class • +/- 15,9% at risk of poverty • +/- 4.300 households on social assistance

  5. Ghent

  6. PCSW? • PCSW = Public Centre for Social Welfare • Autonomous local government • PCSW double mandate: • Guarantee the right to social welfare • Broad mandate • To effectuate the right to social integration: • By providing a ‘minimum income’, i.c. social assistance • By employment • By an individualised trajectory towards social integration • Reality: often a focus on poverty

  7. PCSW – social assistance • Couple (every person): 607,01 euro • Single person: 910,52 euro • Single or couplewithchildren: 1.254,82 euro

  8. PCSW Ghent

  9. Towards a new policy: motivation

  10. Reference budgets and the PCSW Consensus among social workers that the lowest social benefits are not sufficient Critique on fixed benefits in the PCSW Research on reference budgets show the complexity of deciding when someone reaches a minimum standard of living (versus fixed benefits)

  11. Reference budgets and additional financial aid • PCSW’s have the discretiontodecidetoprovideadditional financial help • 8 years of negotiationsandfinding consensus within the administrationandpolitical consensus • PCSW Ghent => basis for the calculation in the reference budgets

  12. Discussions when implementing reference budgets • Reference budgets (RB) as goal BUT • Often very high in comparison to other social benefits (e.g. for disability, lowest pensions,…) • a lot of means from the local government (vs. responsibility federal government?) • Budgettary concerns • RB in some cases (e.g. high rent) higher than the minimum income wage in full employment • Welfare versus activation (tensions) • Practical concern => how to find potential beneficiaries

  13. Additional financial aid

  14. The Ghent system of additional financial aid Analysis of the situation: • What is the family situation? • Do they have public, social of private housingandwhat is the rent theypay? • What means of income do they have (means tested) comparisonto the reference budget comparisonto the minimum wage (tension)

  15. Accessibility • Acces for the lowest incomes: • Minimum social benefit • Inactive incomes: pension, benefits for people with disabilities • Policy proposal (elections): all people with an income below the scales

  16. Some examplesexample 1 • Single, 25 yearsold • Social assistance – 892,7 euro • Rent = 450 euro RB = 985,9 euro MW (tension) = 1008,53 euro Additionalaid => 93,2 euro

  17. Some examplesexample 1 • Couple, 3 children(1 secondary school; 2 in primary school) • Social assistance + child benefit: 1887,10 • Rent: 770 euro RB: 2832,32 euro MW: 1997,4 euro Additionalaid = 110,3 euro

  18. Some examplesexample 3 • Single, 72 yearsold • Social assistance = 910,52 euro • Rent = 256,99 euro RB = 909,1 euro MW = 1040,76 euro Additionalaid = 0 euro • Moves to more qualitativehousing: 400 euro rent • RB = 1.052,11 euro • Additionalaid = 131,66 euro

  19. The Ghent system • Used as benchmark • Provide information aboutclients’ situation • Analysis of the situation of the most vulnerable • Policy development • Data usedto support socialworkers

  20. Cost • Budget 2015: 1.052.127 euro • Budget 2018: 1.988.635 euro • Rise in means providedby the localgovernmenttoguaranteeitsresidents of a decent income.

  21. Other uses of RB + Use of budget calculator togrant access to the lowestincomechild care + Reference budgets alsousedtocalculate the living allowance in cases of debt

  22. Discussion? A higher national minimum wage which corresponds to the reference budgets Responsibility of local government vs. responsibility of other levels of government Questions about how additional financial aids helps to activate people

More Related