The legislature yesterday passed a bill to promote unconditional equal access to benefits and establish a legislative basis for welfare funding at all levels of government.
The Social Welfare Basic Act (社會福利基本法) is to be forwarded to the Presidential Office to be signed within 10 days if it is not opposed by the Executive Yuan.
There have been calls for the act to be established since 1998, so Taiwan is proud to add it as its ninth basic act, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Wu Yu-chin (吳玉琴) told reporters.
Photo: Screen grab from Wu Yu-chin’s Facebook account
The act would be a guide for social welfare policies and urge the Ministry of Health and Welfare to adopt strict standards for the social welfare sector, DPP Legislator Fan Yun (范雲) said.
It is to uphold the right of Taiwanese to seek social aid and would establish a legal basis for social welfare affairs, DPP Legislator Chuang Jui-hsiung (莊瑞雄) said.
Social and Family Affairs Administration Director Chien Hui-chuan (簡慧娟) said that the legislation would provide governments at all levels with principles to refer to as they improve the welfare system.
Social insurance is mandatory and insurance payments would be made for all incidents to ensure that people have economic guarantees and healthcare, the act says.
The central government is to set a welfare policy program to be reviewed at least every five years, informed by general government policies, changes to socioeconomic structures, welfare needs and available resources, it says.
Local governments should be generous in their social welfare budgets, and those with inadequate funding and resources should prioritize welfare facilities, it says.
Expenditure for social welfare at all levels of government should observe social welfare regulations, but the central government should consider subsidizing important policies based on demographics, the economy and other factors of local governments, it says.
The needs of the social welfare sector should be considered when local governments make plans for national land, and social housing should have space set aside for social welfare purposes, the act says.
Local governments should repurpose public facilities, land or buildings that are abandoned or are underused, it says.
Governments at all levels should assess demographics, the socioeconomic situation, geography and resources to determine whether there is a need to foster additional professional social welfare talent, it says.
Local governments must establish systems to certify, register and train social welfare personnel, it says.
Additional reporting by Yang Cheng-yu
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