Four elements of the seven-point Family Protection Action Plan will come into force on the first of July.

State Secretary for Family and Youth Affairs Katalin Novák from the Ministry of Human Capacities announced that the Government is launching an information campaign to increase awareness of these new opportunities: videos and billboards will present the ‘baby shower’ subsidy, the preferential loans available within the framework of the Family Home Creation Scheme (CSOK), the waiving of a portion of a family’s mortgage, and the car purchasing subsidy for large families.

The thirty second, short, awareness-raising films are traditional, hand-drawn animations, in which the most important pieces of information are presented within the world of children’s drawings.

“The details and application conditions of the subsidies are also available on the revamped csalad.hu website, where other family-related information is also available in easily understandable form”, she added.

“In Hungary, the Government’s family policy places children at the forefront, and this is why it is helping young people have as many children as they want and when they want them”, Ms. Novák stressed. “We are also supporting people who are already raising children and would like to ease the burdens associated with raising children”, she added.

The State Secretary reminded the press that the ‘baby shower’ subsidy, in the form of a ten-million-forint interest-free loan, can be applied for from July, and will assist young people to a “never before seen extent”. The condition for receiving the subsidy is for the wife to be between 18 and 40 years old. The loan immediately becomes interest-free on the birth of the couple’s first child and will also be suspended for a period of three years. Upon the birth of a second child, the repayment of the loan will be suspended for a further three years and thirty percent of the remaining debt will be waived, while on the birth of the third child the full remaining loan will by written off”, she explained.

“Also from July, the preferential interest loan available via the Family Home Creation Scheme will also be available with relation to used properties, and the same amount can be applied for as in the case of new homes, i.e. 10 million forints in the case of raising or undertaking to have two children, and 15 million in the case of three children”, she added.

Families will also have the opportunity to have all or part of their mortgage waived from the first of July: one million forints will be credited on the birth of their second child, four million on the birth of a third child, and one million each on the birth of all subsequent children.

“The car purchasing subsidy for large families may also be applied for from the first of July: families with three children or who are expecting their third child, can apply to receive two and a half million forints in funding towards the purchase of a new car with at least seven seats”, Ms. Novák said.

The State Secretary also spoke about the fact that the nursery school development programme is already underway, and from 1 January of next year exemption from personal income tax for women with four or more children and childcare allowances for grandparents will also be introduced.

In reply to a suggestion that the ‘baby shower’ subsidy may not be introduced after all in view of the criticism received from Brussels, Ms. Novák said that is out of the question, but the Ministry would like to receive Brussels’ preliminary supportive opinion, with relation to which the government has been in correspondence with Brussels since February.

“Brussels has on occasion objected to family support measures; this is something we would like to avoid, and this is why we have asked for preliminary approval, but we have not received it as yet. If Brussels does not provide preliminary approval, then it is possible that the subsidy could be introduced in a “form that is less favourable that originally planned”, the State Secretary said.

(MTI/kormany.hu)