Last year passed in the shadow of the war in Ukraine. As a result of the Russian aggression behind our eastern border, nearly 10 million Ukrainians came to Poland. Many of them returned to their country, some moved on.

From the very beginning, we have declared assistance to citizens of Ukraine, from accepting them and guaranteeing their security, to introducing a special act governing the issue of stay and opening the labour market for them. Under the new legislation, more than 970 thousand Ukrainians have found employment, more than 11 thousand work here, in Podkarpacie – indicates the Minister of Family and Social Policy Marlena Maląg.

The Head of the Ministry of Family and Social Policy points out that despite the influx of citizens of Ukraine, and earlier – the COVID-19 pandemic, the situation in the labour market in Poland is good. At the end of 2022, the registered unemployment rate amounted to 5.2%. In the Podkarpackie Voivodeship it was 8.8% – this is a much lower level than during the rule of the Civic Platform. At the end of December 2015, the unemployment rate in Podkarpacie was 13.2%.

All this shows that the government’s protective measures during the pandemic and the multi-billion support for entrepreneurs to save jobs turned out to be effective. The policy of supporting citizens of Ukraine also did not translate into increased unemployment – emphasises Minister Marlena Maląg.

Social programmes in the era of crisis

Although the war did not destabilise the labour market, there is no doubt that it disturbed our sense of security – so did rising inflation caused by the war.

In this difficult time, the role of the government is to ensure the possible stability of citizens’ lives. Therefore, we consistently implement all social programmes, therefore we launch further instruments to support Poles, also here – in Podkarpacie. This is the 14^th pension paid again, these are also protective measures under the Anti-Inflation Shield – specifies the Minister of Family.

The flagship programme of the Law and Justice government is the Family 500+ programme, as part of which families have already received PLN 216.5 billion. Every month, the support covers more than 7 million children.

This money also goes to Podkarpacie, it is PLN 12.3 billion and 375.3 thousand children – says the Minister.

Another programme providing the financial support to families is Good Start. It means PLN 300 for school supplies for every schoolchild. The programme is used by more 4.6 million children in Poland and the total amount of support exceeds PLN 6.6 billion. In Podkarpacie – it covers 251 thousand children and amounts to PLN 375.1 million.

Support in taking care of the youngest children

At the beginning of 2022, Family Care Capital was launched, i.e. up to PLN 12 thousand per child aged 12-35 months. Within 12 months, this support covered 608.4 thousand children across Poland, for the amount of PLN 3.5 billion. In the Podkarpackie Voivodeship, it is 35 thousand children and PLN 200.9 million, respectively.

In the same year, the co-financing for nursery care for those children who do not meet the criteria for receiving Family Care Capital came into force. By the end of 2022, the co-financing covered 81 thousand children for the amount of PLN 330.7 million in Poland and 4 thousand children for the amount of PLN 16.5 million in Podkarpacie.

An important role in the context of the support for families is played by the Toddler+ programme. Since 2015, the conditions of supporting by the government local government tasks consisting in organising care for children under 3 years of age have been constantly improved. The implementation of the Toddler+ programme resulted in tripling the number of places of care for children under 3 years of age, from 84 thousand in 2015, when we took over the rule, to more than 230 thousand today.

New edition of the Toddler+ programme

In January 2023, another edition of the Toddler+ Programme until 2029 was announced.

We completed the call for applications in the Toddler+ programme, municipalities and non-public entities applied for the funds to create 104 thousand places of care for the youngest children. We want nurseries to be established in every municipality. The new edition of the Toddler programme is an opportunity for Podkarpacie for at least 6.5 thousand new places of care – indicates the Minister of Family Marlena Maląg.

We remember about seniors

We support families with children, but we do not forget about seniors. On 1 March, the indexation of old age and disability pension benefits is ahead of us. They will increase by the indexation rate (114.8%), but not less than PLN 250. In total, a record-breaking amount of about PLN 44.15 billion has been allocated for this year’s indexation of benefits.

In 2023, the minimum old age pension, as well as the lowest disability pension for total incapacity for work, social pension and survivor’s pension will increase from PLN 1,338.44 to PLN 1,588.44, i.e. by 18.68%.

The financial support for seniors also includes the 13^th and 14^th pensions. The 13^th pension is guaranteed by law, and there is ongoing work on introducing the same mechanism in the case of the 14^th pension.

From the beginning, the 13^th pension means PLN 44.8 billion for seniors all over Poland, in the Podkarpackie Voivodeship – PLN 2.39 billion. The 14^th pension amounts to PLN 19.5 billion in Poland and PLN 1.11 billion in Podkarpacie, respectively.

Seniors’ activity on the plus side

In addition, there are programmes supporting the activity of elderly people. In the years 2021-2025, PLN half a billion will be allocated in total for the Senior+ and Active+ programmes.

Senior+ facilities are places where elderly people may meet others, spend time in a friendly and safe space, as well as participate in various workshops and activities. Today, there are nearly 1,200 Senior+ facilities across Poland, offering places for more than 25 thousand persons. In the Podkarpackie Voivodeship, there are 75 facilities for 1,668 persons.

The „Active+” programme responds to the needs of providing seniors with a safe, dignified and active old age. Thanks to the co-financing from the programme, projects covering mainly the following areas: social activity and participation, digital inclusion and preparation for old age are implemented all over Poland. In the years 2021-2022, 630 organisations received the co-financing for projects for the amount of PLN 77.5 million. These projects were used by 662.6 thousand elderly people. In Podkarpacie, it is, respectively, 31 organisations, PLN 3.4 million and 2.4 thousand persons who made use of the implemented projects.

The senior policy of the United Right government means, on the one hand, the direct financial support for seniors, but on the other – the support for broadly understood activity of elderly people, in particular, social activity. Only comprehensive actions in both areas are really translated into an improvement in the situation and quality of life of elderly people in Poland. Last year, we allocated PLN 44 billion for the additional support for elderly people and this year it will be PLN 70 billion – says the Minister of Family and Social Policy Marlena Maląg.