The Government will significantly extend the circle of children receiving free meals. Next year the amount allocated for this purpose will be close to HUF 60 million, Minister of Human Capacities Zoltán Balog announced at a press conference held on Thursday.
He also underlined that the mandatory attendance of kindergarten for children above 3 years of age does not only provide educational and pedagogical help for disadvantaged families, but it also secures proper nutrition for the children. It is our common goal to have the lowest possible number of people, who do not receive a warm meal every day, the minister said.
He also announced that as of 1 January 2016 kindergarten and crèche children of families where the net income per capita is below 130 percent of the minimum wage will also receive free meals. This is a broadly defined category, which covers a 100 percent of those at risk of poverty.
Zoltán Balog said that the system will be a self-declaration one, and the free availability of meals will cover at least to two-thirds of the children. Furthermore, it will definitely cover those who are employed under the public work scheme or are low-income earners.
According to the minister, even now many people have access to free or supported meals: in the case of crèche children 26 percent, in the case of kindergarten children 46 percent, while amongst elementary school children the rate is as high as 58 percent. He also emphasized that the quality of the meals at canteens will be improved with more fruit included in the diet.
Another measure aimed at supporting families is that as of 1 January the family tax-allowance can be availed of at the expense of the health or pension contribution, which means that today there are no families in Hungary who do not receive a family tax-allowance.
Answering a question concerning the support provided to those in a registered partnership, the minister said that the same rules will apply to them as to married couples. He also noted that there will be further measures taken in order to facilitate the procedure of making use of family tax allowances in the case of so called mosaic families, that is, where the children were not born in the same wedlock.
(kormany.hu, MTI)
