Rafalska: demographic changes evidence that "500-plus" working

Poland's Minister of Family, Work and Social Policy, Elżbieta Rafalska, summarized the financial cost of the much-touted "500-plus" program on Thursday. In an televised interview on Poland's state TV,  she said that, at the end of November, 2016, "the cost of the program is PLN 15.4 billion. By the end of the year more than PLN 17 billion [will have been spent]. One primary objective has been made, [that of] a significant reduction in child poverty and youth," she said. She added that she believed an addition in the number of pregnancies, y/y, was evidence that the program was "materially supporting families, especially large families." The leader of Poland's largest opposition party, Platform Obywatelstwo (PO), Grzegorz Schetyna, has indicated that his party would like to see changes to the program to make its distribution of funds more efficient and practical. He stated that a program in which the amount of aid granted for the first child is the highest, with younger children receiving less, would be better suited to Poland, Wirtualna Polska reported in November. When asked whether the 2017 budget would adequately support the program, she replied. " [...] there are guaranteed funds [for] 500-plus of over PLN 23 billion. I do not doubt, that all procedural requirements have been met, the budget is adopted, it should be further [supported] by the Senate and we will wait for the signature of the president. Rafalska emphasized that full details of the program will be made available it has been in operation for one full year, which would be on April 1st, 2017.