Vešović: Councilors will soon decide again on subsidies for extended stay of children

The Secretary of the Secretariat for Social Welfare of the Capital City, Stefan Vešović, said that the decision on subsidies for children's stay in extended care cannot be implemented until it is adopted by the Capital City Assembly.

"There is absolutely money, the money has been secured. There is a desire and will to implement everything in the best way, so we hope that in the next 15-20 days we will have a session of the Assembly, where we will adopt that decision and then we can proceed further," said the Secretary of the Secretariat for Social Welfare, Stefan Vešović, as reported by Gradski.me.

The delay, they claim, was due to the way the amendments were adopted in the Assembly, which made the decision legally untenable. An additional problem is the announcements of certain extended stays about price increases, which further burdens household budgets.

"Extended stays have announced that, as soon as the measure begins to be implemented, they will increase prices by 30 euros and 50 euros, depending on the stay. Some have even gone so far as to say that the measure will be implemented from April, so that they will have to pay that higher price from April," says Vešović.

The Secretariat, as they state, has previously considered the possibility of abuse, and is now looking for models of parental protection and the measures themselves. One solution is seen in contracts with licensed accommodations, which would limit price increases during the school year.

"Given that we are the ones paying the subsidy, to the parents, to limit it, that the subsidy will be paid to the parents of children who go to licensed extended stays, who have a contract with the Capital City. In that contract, we will have one item, at least it is provided for, that item that will state that the price increase cannot be made during the school year. And if you start September with 200 euros or 250 euros or 170 euros, which are the prices currently on the market, that is the price you have to go with until the end of the school year," Vešović told Gradski.me.

The Secretariat emphasizes that the control of the work of the residences is not within their competence, but under the jurisdiction of the relevant ministry. While waiting for a new session of the Parliament and a legally sustainable decision, parents remain without the planned assistance, and uncertainty about prices continues. The Capital City says that they will do everything to ensure that the measure comes into effect as soon as possible - but also to protect those who need it most.