Sat, 30 Nov, 2013 03:33:24 AM Structural reforms announced FTimes-STT Report, November 30  (From Left) Interior minister Päivi Räsänen, Environment minister Ville Niinistö, Finance minister Jutta Urpilainen, Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen, Culture and Sport minister Paavo Arhinmäki and Defense Minister Carl Haglund at a press conference on the structural reforms in Helsinki on Friday. Photo - Lehtikuva. The government on Friday announced the structural reform package, curtailing budget from various sectors including the elderly care services.
The six-party alliance government expressed hopes that the tight structural reform package – prepared through reducing the elderly services, allocation for regional library network and hiking the childcare fees – would help the country to face tough economic situation.
The reforms, including issues like work leave, will continue together with reforms on the labour market organization and the measures will lead to more strict terms and condition, government sources said.
The package pointed out dozens of municipality sectors from where more than one billion euro expenditure will be reduced and only the reduction from the elderly care services was earmarked at EUR 300 million, reported Yle.
The reduction will also take place in the school network of regional libraries and lengthening the validity of prescriptions to two years.
Childcare fees will rise so that municipal revenues gain a boost of 25 million euro, with the main burden falling on higher income families.
The government was preparing to deal with the structural package The House 29 November 2013. Photo – Lehtikuva. The government is preparing to decide on additional savings and further restructuring in March, after which evaluation of structural policies will be done before implementation.
A final decision from the government on health and social care reforms, as well as in reforms in the municipalities, is still being made.
The current government considers reforms as part of its key projects.
Earlier on August 29, the leaders of the components of the six-party alliance government reached a consensus to finalise the structural reforms in the supplementary budget for the next year.
They decided on tax dividend, cutting expenditure in defence purchase, state administration and decreasing the responsibility of municipal corporations, meeting sources said.
The meeting also planned for the national budget for the next year with a deficit of EUR 6.7 billion.
Terming the reform task as difficult, Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen said it was also painful as 20,000 people are to lose jobs under the expenditure cut programme.
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