Government assesses effectiveness of family allowance in combating child poverty

O Government is assessing the effectiveness of family allowance in combating child poverty before moving forward with more significant increases in this social benefit, the Minister of Labour announced today.

“ We are specifically studying the family allowance in the context of the strategy against poverty”, said Maria do Rosário da Palma Ramalho, explaining that the objective is to understand to what extent the current provision contributes to reducing poverty among children.

The minister said that the new action plan of the National Strategy to Combat Poverty is already in the legislative circuit and includes an assessment of the family allowance, with a view to making it more effective in combating child poverty.

Palma Ramalho, who is being heard in Parliament in the context of the special assessment of the proposal for a State Budget for 2027 (OE2027), said that this assessment justifies the Executive's option not to advance, for now, with more significant increases in the provision.

“It did not seem appropriate to be making big increases now,” he explained.

The Minister recalled that the National Strategy to Combat Poverty also includes the Children's Guarantee, arguing that family support measures should be analysed together to ensure a more effective response.

With regard to the reception of children and young people in danger, the governor acknowledged the existence of difficulties in the residential response, namely the lack of vacancies for some children, ensuring, however, that all those in danger were removed and welcomed.

The minister attributed some of the difficulties to the decisions of previous governments to reduce the maximum capacity of residential reception structures, which, although she considered positive from a theoretical point of view, ended up limiting the availability of vacancies.

“ The decrease in the maximum number of children meant that it was not so easy to have a place for the children ", said.

Palma Ramalho also identified difficulties in welcoming children with mental health problems, since some institutions consider that they have no capacity or vocation to respond to their specific needs.

In order to overcome this situation, the Government amended the legislation, allowing the establishment of care facilities for children with mental health disorders, a possibility that was not previously foreseen.

The minister admitted, however, that there is currently “a kind of waiting list” for the residential reception of children, ensuring that none of the situations involve victims of domestic violence or children in danger.

According to the ruler, children who are awaiting response remain in their natural environment of life, benefiting from technical follow-up, often dealing with situations of neglect or lack of care that do not constitute, according to the minister, immediate danger.

To respond to these situations, the Executive created a specific work team and mobilized additional resources, providing for the strengthening of the reception capacity through Casa Pia de Lisboa and Santa Casa da Misericórdia.

The minister pointed out that some dozens of children in this situation are in the Lisbon area and ensured that the government is following the problem.