The Parliamentary Labour Committee is awaiting the submission of a bill from the Ministry of Social Welfare that will regulate the issue of single-parent benefits by the end of May, stated the President of the Parliamentary Labour Committee, Andreas Kafkalias.
He also noted that the matter will be included on the committee’s agenda in early June.
Today, the issue was on the committee’s agenda, as a bill was submitted by MPs from AKEL, Andreas Kafkalias, Christos Christofias, and Giorgos Koukoumas.
The proposed law aims, on the one hand, to remove the requirement from the definition of “single-parent family” that a parent should be without a partner and, on the other hand, not to terminate the right to a single-parent benefit in cases where the single parent cohabits with another person.
A similar content is expected to be present in the bill promoted by the government.
As mentioned in the committee, the bill will amend provisions of the legislation concerning the cohabitation of single parents with other individuals with whom they do not have children together, so that such cohabitation does not constitute a factor for the termination of the single-parent benefit, and also not to consider the income of the partner for the benefit provision.
“The committee will have this specific bill and the proposed law on its agenda in early June, with the aim that either the bill or the proposed law, or both, will be referred to the Plenary before the end of June for the final regulation of this issue,” stated the President of the Committee, AKEL MP, Andreas Kafkalias, after the session.
When asked if the bill differs from the proposed law submitted by the AKEL MPs, Kafkalias mentioned that the exact content of the bill is not yet known and added that, since consultations are now beginning, it is beneficial to allow space and time for these to evolve, noting that the time given is specific, as the bill is expected to be submitted before the end of the coming May.
Kafkalias also noted that “the existing legislative framework, which provides for the termination of the single-parent benefit in cases of cohabitation, violates the right to private life and fundamentally violates the human rights of the child, and therefore needs to change,” adding that “the AKEL proposed law aims precisely to repeal this outdated provision.”
