It will include incentives for large families, combining work and family life.

Deputy Minister of Social Security Marilena Evangelou said that some progress has already been made under the current Government.

Speaking at an event dedicated to large families, Evangelou mentioned that recently the Chamber unanimously voted for the government’s proposal to provide large families with 50 percent of child benefits for children studying at university.

The Chamber also voted to increase the child benefit by 5 percent plus the cost of living allowance (CoLA) with a retrospective introduction from January 1, 2024. A proposal for a new scheme for subsidizing education and nutrition for children has been approved.

An amount has been allocated for March-June 2024 to all those who are entitled to child benefit: 100 euros for the first child and 50 euros for each subsequent child, with a ceiling of 250 euros. In addition, an additional 100 euros was provided to families with more than four dependents. In May 2023, families with three or more children were paid a summer allowance totaling 2 million euros, which covered 25,000 children.

Evangelou noted that during the same period, the honorary allowance for mothers with four or more children was increased for all income groups, which benefited more than 16,000 mothers.

Maternity leave has been extended by one month. Maternity leave has also been extended by two weeks for mothers with hospitalized newborns.

Self-employed persons have been included in measures to provide parental leave.

Evangelou said that the time frame for processing applications for child birth benefits has been shortened. The allowance for large families for the purchase of a new electric car has increased from 9,000 euros to 20,000 euros.

Quality childcare services are being improved by creating 30 new infant stations or expanding existing ones as part of a recovery and sustainability plan. These stations will also be open in the afternoon to meet the needs of modern families.

“We will work consistently and decisively to develop a comprehensive family policy in order to support society and the demographic growth of our country,” Evangelou said.

A source: cyprus-mail.com

https://cyprusbutterfly.com.cy/news/na-kipre-budut-podnimat-rozhdaemost