Foster family benefits unchanged for 15 years

Benefits for foster families have not been adjusted for 15 years, MPs at the House labour committee heard on Tuesday, as they called for more government support for child benefits.

Despite assurances that the legislative framework for foster families would be amended, it has been under discussion since 2018, committee chair Akel MP Andreas Kafkalias said.

Where funding is concerned, it has been 15 years since benefits for foster families have been amended, amid discussions seeking to incentivise more of them.

Kafkalias added he expects government to move at a faster pace and submit the relevant bill.

The MP said that where the child benefit is concerned, the committee wrapped its discussion and the bill will head to plenum next week.

He said they had made two requests, one to include a student grant for five-member families, as well as a benefits increase that is beyond five per cent.

“Under no circumstances can we accept the answer that the needs of a family in 2024 is this bill.”

Disy MP Onoufrios Koullas similarly said they would support the bill for a small increase in child benefit “despite the fact that it constitutes a piecemeal improvement, which in no way meets the current needs of families with children and students.”

Families with children and students should be a top priority in the current conditions of austerity and rising interest rates, and a holistic reform of child benefits and student grants in two directions is needed, he specified.