Updated criteria aimed at thinning welfare rolls

Updated criteria aimed at thinning welfare rolls

A welfare recipient uses her smartcard to pay bus fare. Pornprom Satrabhaya
A welfare recipient uses her smartcard to pay bus fare. Pornprom Satrabhaya

The family-based qualification criteria for welfare smartcard holders will be replaced by an individual income benchmark, with the aim of lowering the number of recipients to less than 10 million.

The new criteria will help the government better direct aid to the needy, an informed source at the Fiscal Policy Office said, noting that the Finance Ministry has applied the welfare criteria of several countries to Thailand.

The idea to change the criteria arose after the ministry found that the families of many welfare recipients were wealthy despite their annual income not exceeding 100,000 baht, the source said.

At present, there are 14.5 million state welfare recipients for low-income earners.

The government in 2016 offered a one-time handout to those earning up to 100,000 baht a year as required by the Finance Ministry.

Under the scheme, those earning up to 30,000 baht a year were entitled to 3,000 baht per person, while those earning more than 30,000 but less than 100,000 baht a year were entitled to 1,500 baht. Almost 7 million received a one-off cash handout.

The government in 2017 tightened the criteria after finding that someone used a loophole to receive a cash giveaway. The criteria required applicants to be unemployed or to have had an income of 100,000 baht or less in the past year to receive aid under the programme.

In addition, applicants' savings, savings certificates and bond holdings must be worth less than 100,000 baht combined. If applicants own property, the area must not exceed 35 square metres for a condo unit, 25 square wah for a townhouse or 10 rai for agricultural purposes. Applicants must be Thai nationals aged 18 and over.

The source said the Finance Ministry will also set up committees at the village, district and provincial levels to uncover claimants who do not deserve state assistance.

Given that the committees' members are those living in the same area as the welfare recipients, screening is expected to be more precise and faster, the source said.

Spending on the state welfare smart card scheme averages almost 4 billion baht a month.

According to Comptroller-General Department data, card spending amounted to 76.8 billion baht, of which 55.3 billion was used to purchase staple goods at Thong Fah Pracha Rat shops, between the start of smartcard distribution in Oct 1, 2017 and Feb 28, 2019.

State welfare smartcard holders now are entitled to 200-300 baht a month to buy consumer products at Thong Fah Pracharath shops; a 500-baht-a-month fare subsidy each for public buses, intra-provincial buses and electric trains; and a 45-baht discount for cooking gas purchases every three months.

Do you like the content of this article?
COMMENT (1)