One of the key objectives of the government programme is to achieve a so-called welfare turn. The implementation of this programme has started with the performance of income policy measures that have been delayed for a long time. The pay rise in the public sector, old-age pensions in the own right, surviving spouses' pensions and equity-based pensions, social income (including family allowance), various student welfare subsidies, and the preservation of their value in real terms, the return of tax on minimum wages, retention of housing type tax allowances based on children for those with a low income, the annuity programme of old landowners and other measures represent significant and durable results. However, the welfare turn does not only involve an outflow of income, but also a deliberately undertaken programme-type correction in the set of values reflected in the redistribution of income.

The objectives of the welfare turn are achieved primarily through the time-proportionate performance of the various tasks included in the work plan. Some major development actions have already been completed (for example, concerning services to the homeless) and some other important system innovations are also included in the plans (for example, development of so-called long-term care insurance). Such development is also assisted by programmes involving adjustments to the objectives of the European Union, such as the applicable parts of the National Development Plan and of the Joint Inclusion Memorandum (JIM).

However, during the recent period it became obvious that the success of a welfare turn, and welfare change of the political system absolutely needs fundamental changes in the operation of the social protection system. This involves objectives such as transparency and co-ordination of legislation, adjustment of operation of institutions to people?s needs, professional standards in administration procedures, adherence to legislation, guarantee of democratic and quality control, a financing system adjusted to practical performance and quality of services and significant improvement in data management and information supply.

All these represent conditions and a framework for the implementation of the welfare policy involving equal requirements for the value and scope of services, the performance of which affects the efficiency of social protection a great deal. Other factors affecting the efficiency of social protection include income ratios, quality of services and targeted services. In our view, it is a current task to renew what might be called the civilisation dimension of the welfare system, because without this the impact of certain measures included in the individual programmes may be reduced and our social protection system could divert even more from real problems in the society. In fact, this involves legal, institutional and administrative changes, modernisation of the method of operation, financing and eligibility, harmonisation of specified conditions of really sector neutral partnership, a kind of reform of social mechanisms.

Legislation in social welfare

Act 3 of 1993 on social administration and social services sets forth comprehensive provisions on the rights of users of social institutional services. The act requires full and comprehensive respect for constitutional rights, and details the special rights of individual groups using the services, devoting special attention to the position of disabled individuals, psychiatric patients and homeless people. In order to uphold the rights of users of social services, an advocacy system will also be developed to represent the rights of social service care recipients in accordance with the requirements of the law.

Act 31 of 1997 on the protection of children and guardianship administration sets out an obligation to protect all rights of children subject to protective care. The act provides that children should be given assistance in learning and enforcing their rights with the involvement of a children?s rights advocate.

The legal regulations specify the tasks of organisations providing the services as well as their employees to respect these rights.

Joint Inclusion Memorandum (JIM)

The EU has initiated co-operation with the accession countries in order to act against social exclusion jointly. The objective of the work was to enable Hungary to prepare for the use of an open co-ordination system related to social inclusion by the time of the accession.

In accordance with the recommendations of Accession Partnership, the Joint Inclusion Memorandum was prepared with the main responsibility of the Ministry of Health, Social and Family Affairs in accordance with the EU strategy against social exclusion and poverty, and the Nice objectives, and it was signed by the Hungarian Government and the European Commission on 18 December 2003.

The memorandum lists the challenges that need to be managed in the efforts against poverty and social exclusion in accordance with the accepted EU objectives, and describes the main policy areas which can be used as the basis of joint evaluation in future.

The EU Joint Report on the memoranda of the accession countries will be completed in the first half of 2004 and, at the same time, national expert reports will evaluate the joint memorandum, followed by the National Action Plan later.

On the basis of the schedule prepared by the EU Commission, Hungary will also prepare a National Action Plan on Social Inclusion by the third quarter of 2004, the latest. This plan can bring considerable results in the labour market integration of inactive and disadvantaged people in the area of access to employment services and rights. Our ministry is responsible for the compilation of the National Action Plan, and co-ordination of the inter-departmental committee and interdisciplinary team drafting the plan.

Amendments of certain legal regulations on social welfare for law approximation purposes

Several legal regulations relate to the situation of socially disadvantaged people and families in need. Act 3 of 1993 on social administration and social services, in short the Social Act, is the most important piece of legislation in the area of social protection. Its key role is to define cash and in-kind benefits on a solidarity basis, as well as personal services, and regulate the relating administration system.

The Social Act has become a very important new legal regulation of the first ten years after the change of the political system, and has significantly contributed to making the severe social burden involved in the transition bearable. At the same time, as a result of accelerated changes, this act has by now become obsolete for many aspects (together with the relating pieces of legislation) and it cannot provide an adequate framework for the management of new social problems, or prevent social exclusion without major amendments in the near future.

The Ministry of Health, Social and Family Affairs has launched a separate programme under the title 'Potential renewal of the Social Act and democratic and long-term development of social administration'. The abbreviated title of the programme - SZOLID Project - also expresses that its main objective is to create a new act of central importance regulating benefits and services provided on a solidarity basis.

The legal regulations concerning social security and labour market have several connections with the world of social services, but this project does not aim to develop amendments of borderline regulations. On the other hand, it is an objective of the project to co-ordinate with borderline reforms and, if necessary, to make recommendations for practical changes in other affected legal regulations too.

The work is not directly related to the measures of the welfare policy of the government, or changes in the degree of individual services, but it affects the operation and performance of the social protection system at several points, which may also involve some restructuring of benefits and services.

The objective of the SZOLID Project is to lay down the foundation of legal norms and institutions of a social welfare system after the closing of the 15 years of transition period following the change of the political system and after the EU accession.

Objectives of the new basic piece of legislation of solidarity:

• to allow for adequate protection of individuals and families against poverty, to define the system of social entitlements, and promote their recognition within the society, to provide adequate legal protection and social security for everybody who is in need of social care, and promote social integration,
• to ensure harmonisation of the legislation concerning social welfare, and eliminate unnecessary or parallel regulations,
• to ensure (or create) the legislative conditions, guarantees and predictability as well as accountability of services, and to regulate the executable requirements,
• to adjust to up-to-date EU and Hungarian norms,
• to ensure the conditions of multi-sectoral nature in the services,
• to be in line with the transformation processes of the public administration and local government system,
• to provide a long-term framework (for several decades) for social care, services, self-management and self-support and to provide an adequate legislative framework for the development of the social welfare system.