Social policy must focus on investing in people’s future: Denys Uliutin

The state is transforming its approach to social policy, placing the dignity and well-being of people at the forefront. This was emphasized by Minister of Social Policy, Family and Unity Denys Uliutin during the presentation of the Draft Government Action Plan on 18 August.

“The Draft Government Action Plan is built on four pillars – security, economy, human dignity, and reconstruction. Based on these, we have identified 12 priorities to be translated into concrete solutions,” said Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko.

According to her, key objectives include strengthening well-being by supporting those in need. The Government has planned housing compensation for destroyed properties, pension system reforms, and improvements in social services. It is expected that 180,000 families will receive increased childbirth assistance, and 100,000 families with children under three will be covered by the eNursery and eKindergarten programmes by 2026.

The Ministry of Social Policy, Family and Unity is working to ensure social policy serves as an investment in the future, fostering trust in the state among those needing support by guaranteeing they receive the necessary assistance.

The Ministry is currently focused on reforming the pension system, prosthetics, and introducing basic social assistance.

“We are working on a new pension system model. Trust in the solidarity pension system has been eroding for a long time, leading to a loss of resources. A person retiring should feel dignified. Therefore, we are introducing new approaches – guaranteed payments upon reaching retirement age, a direct link between Unified Social Contribution payments, their duration, and pension size,” said Denys Uliutin.

He emphasised that dignity also means the state supporting a soldier who has lost a limb by providing high-quality, comprehensive prosthetics and rehabilitation services.

“This is also about the dignity of the state in the eyes of its defenders. As a state, we must become a partner to those who have given their most precious asset – health – to protect the country. We must reintegrate them into life and economic processes, showing they are part of society,” the Minister stressed.

As a reminder, the Government has established a working group to develop a model for supporting individuals with amputations during prosthetics.

Denys Uliutin also noted that the state currently offers 57 different types of assistance for people in difficult circumstances. As a result, these payments have become minimal and fail to cover basic needs. Consequently, the Ministry is preparing changes to the approach for providing basic social assistance.