Heil: Costs for basic security will fall again
Federal Minister of Labor Hubertus Heil (SPD) has defended the expected higher government spending on the citizens' allowance in Germany. In an interview with the news portal "T-Online" published on Sunday, Heil said that the main reasons for the increased costs were high inflation, weaker economic development and the care of Ukrainian refugees.
It had previously become known that the Citizen's Income will cost more money this year than was planned in the budget. Heil therefore needs up to an additional 2.1 billion euros. According to the ministry, the estimated sum from last year was around 23.8 billion euros. According to a letter from State Secretary of Finance Florian Toncar (FDP) to the Budget Committee, which was made available to dpa, this year's expenditure is expected to be 25.9 billion euros.
Heil said that the answers in terms of cost containment lay, for example, in the expected dampening of inflation, an economic upturn and more placement of Ukrainian refugees in jobs. "All of this will help to get people out of need and into work and thus also reduce costs for basic social security."
In the ongoing consultations for next year's federal budget, he is also campaigning for more funds to be mobilized for the job centers than previously planned. The background to this is the "job turbo" announced by Heil, which aims to place refugees with prospects of staying in Germany in work more quickly. To this end, the job centers' placement work is to be intensified.
Heil acknowledged that reducing costs for basic social security can be achieved through various means, such as the anticipated decrease in inflation, improved economic growth, and increased employment of Ukrainian refugees in jobs. Furthermore, in discussions for the following year's federal budget, Heil advocates for allocating more resources to job centers to expedite the placement of refugees with long-term residency prospects in Germany, thereby managing finances more effectively for social affairs within the household budget.
Source: www.dpa.com
