Background information

On 2 May 2022, the Cabinet announced an emergency support package addressing the needs of different groups of individuals, and the economy in general, in order to respond to the inflation trends, caused by the war in Ukraine, and the expensiveness of essential consumer goods. A lamp sum payment for different vulnerable groups is included in this supporting package.

Content of measure

The measure provides for a lump sum payment covering the period June - August 2022 for seven household groups that are beneficiaries of the public allowances schemes of the Republic as follows:

• Child allowance beneficiary households with the annual income of the previous year:

• up to €10,000 receives €150 for each child under 18 years of age

• €10,001 – €19,500 receives €120 for each child under 18 years of age
• €19,501 – €29,000, with 3 or more children, receives €100 for each child under 18 years of age
• €29,001 – €39,000, with 3 or more children, receives €80 for each child under 18 years of age

• €39,001 – €49,000, with 3 or more children, receives €60 for the 3rd child and every extra child under 18 years of age

• Guaranteed Minimum Income beneficiary households or other Public Allowance Beneficiary Households, that do not fall in the above groups and without children under 18 years of age, the beneficiary receives €100 plus €50 for his/her spouse and €25 for each child up to 28 years of age living in the household

• Persons with disabilities, that do not fall in the above categories, beneficiaries of the allowances of the Department for Social Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities receives €100.

Use of measure

The total number of beneficiaries of the scheme is 73,720 persons. More specifically, 24,075 child allowance beneficiary households are benefited from the scheme with a total number of persons to be 45,883. Additionally, it is expected that 18,454 ‘Guaranteed Minimum Income beneficiaries or other Public Allowance beneficiaries will receive the lump sum payment, 2,401 dependents and 2,232 spouses of beneficiaries. Finally, the number of persons with disabilities that will benefited is 4,750.

Target groups

Workers	Businesses	Citizens
Does not apply to workers	Does not apply to businesses	Parents Disabled People on social benefits People on low incomes

Actors and funding

Actors	Funding
National government	National funds

Social partners

Social partners' role in designing the measure and form of involvement:

	Trade unions	Employers' organisations
Role	No involvement	No involvement
Form	Not applicable	Not applicable

Social partners' role in the implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:

• No involvement
• Main level of involvement: N/A

Involvement

The measure was decided by the Cabinet after the pressure exercised by the sum of political parties, social partners and civil society with the ongoing increases of fuel and other essential consumers’ goods. No structural dialogue has been proceeded the decision but political parties and social parties have submitted their suggestions to the government for the confrontation of expensiveness. No social partner or political party is involved in the implementation and monitoring of the measure.

Views and reactions

Despite that the measure and the supporting package in general was welcomed by political parties and social partners, the government received many criticisms by the opposition parties, in particular, for delays in taking measures but for the need for the expansion of the measures to mitigate the growing trend of prices in essential consumers’ goods.

Sources

• 27 May 2022: Support package to repond to inflation (www.presidency.gov.cy)