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According to the
EAPN-Latvia, Latvian government is working hard to reduce
poverty, but unfortunately these measures are insufficient,
inconsistent and contradictory. There is a need for greater
operational coordination and a systemic approach focused on the
achievement of specific objectives.
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Current social policy in Latvia is shaped without a clear idea
of what consumption should be like to meet the needs of the
population at a minimum level (including by social groups).
There is also no justification for what the minimum wage,
pension, benefits and other social payments should be like. Such
information is usually provided by the regulatory subsistence
minimum consumption budget, which has not been calculated in
Latvia since 2014. Currently, the subsistence minimum basket
that is being developed by the Ministry of Welfare is prepared
according to the relative method, by linking the percentage of
consumption to the average values, but as a result it does not
provide a justification for the subsistence minimum.
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EAPN-Latvia believes that the pension system should be reviewed
because the current pension system creates a risk that future
pensioners will receive a pension that is insufficient for the
pensioner’s subsistence minimum level.
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EAPN-Latvia advocates the complex improvement of the health care
system, which would ensure a more efficient use of the health
care sector’s infrastructure and of the existing resources.
EAPN-Latvia advocates the use of all available funds for the
eradication of poverty and inequality, including the European
Recovery Fund resources. In our opinion, currently too few
resources are earmarked for reducing inequalities (20% of the
amount of the Latvian Recovery Fund plan) and the emphasis is
mostly placed on reducing territorial inequalities (but not so
much on reducing social inequalities).
Main Findings Main priorities
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Access to housing: – available mortgage loans – creation
of social houses – changes in taxes and other payments
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Employment: – labour force forecasts – job creation by
local governments
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Changes in the tax system – develop tax system that
ensures stability – transparency of each tax – tax revenues
increased based on GDP
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Access to the health care system – a basket of paid &
free medical services – control the prices of medicines