The draft State Budget for 2021 contains a record amount of funding for social support of people - more than UAH 323 billion. This was announced by Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal during a regular meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine on October 28.

Following the meeting, the Government approved the Strategy for Digital Transformation of the Social Sphere. According to the Prime Minister, this document will help to comprehensively implement changes in the social sector.

"For citizens, this will mean simplification of assistance procedures and transparency of payments. We will finally abandon the practice of long queues, bureaucracy and tons of paper documents. The Unified Social Sphere System will be created on the Diia portal so that citizens can receive all social services provided by the state online. We will clearly understand who is assigned different types of social assistance and increase it to those who really need it," said the Head of Government.

The Cabinet of Ministers also approved a bill to amend the legislation on pensions and social protection of the elderly. According to the Prime Minister, the estimated cost of the program will be UAH 500 million.

Besides, the Government approved a resolution concerning the work of the Cabinet of Ministers Commissioner on the rights of persons with disabilities. According to Denys Shmyhal, this decision will actually unblock the work of the regional representatives of the Commissioner, in particular in terms of their logistics.

"Previously, such people worked on a volunteer basis. Now work is practically not conducted. I am convinced that our today’s decision is an important step towards a more inclusive and fair country," the Head of Government stressed.

During the meeting, the Cabinet of Ministers also allocated UAH 3.3 million from the Reserve Fund of the State Budget to help victims of fires in Kharkiv region.

"Last month, more than 20 houses were burnt down in Kharkiv region as a result of fires. Today, the Government is allocating funding to help families who have lost their homes in that accident. People will be able to begin rehabilitation of their accommodation. As we promised, Ukrainians who have faced the consequences of emergencies and natural disasters will definitely receive state support," Denys Shmyhal stressed.