Earlier today, it became clear that recipients of financial social assistance will receive an extra payment in December. This comes at NOK 1,000, plus a further NOK 1,000 for each child the person concerned may have. Frode Jacobsen (Ap) is a member of the finance committee at the Storting. Photo: Olav Juven / news It is the governing party Arbeidarpartiet and the Center Party which, in cooperation with SV, have agreed on this. – We see the challenges many people have, and those who have the least have the biggest challenges just before Christmas, says Frode Jacobsen in the Labor Party. Jacobsen further refers to the support as an important contribution in a difficult time. Travel pre-Christmas time for the poor house According to the chairman of the poor house in Oslo, Lisbeth Hvalby, it is clear that many Norwegians have received worse advice. – We have seen a new group of people coming to us, and they are actually in work, she says. Hvalby explains that these people, despite their income, cannot manage due to higher expenses. – Then they come here and line up to get a bag of food, she says of the situation, which she further describes as terrifying. – Can buy themselves some Christmas food The extra 1,000 kroner The Storting has now passed debt just enough for those who receive social assistance. This is an arrangement that cannot be accepted until “all other possibilities have been tried”. One person who appreciated this is Kim Even Straumsnes. He has been out of work for a couple of months, and believes the 1,000 kroner he now receives is absolutely necessary. The social assistance he has received since he became unemployed is just enough to cover the necessary expenses. – If we hadn’t gotten the help here, I don’t know how bad it would have been. That’s NOK 1,000 extra that we wouldn’t otherwise get, and then you can buy yourself some Christmas food and maybe a present. Misses that the support increases with the rise in prices He nevertheless points out that despite putting a price on this single sum, he should also have seen that the sum paid out from social assistance was higher. – I have nothing left after paying for food and such. Kim Even Straumsnes is one of the Norwegians who receives financial social assistance Photo: Private – It’s nice that they give a cash sum here and there, but you have to have something to live on for the other eleven months as well. It is clear that one notices the general rise in prices, he explains, and means by this that social assistance for the rest of the year should reflect that prices in society have risen. This is a point the parliamentary representative from Rødt, Mímir Kristjánsson, also highlighted. He is happy that SV and the government party have approved the support, but points out that he sees this as a short-term solution. – The problem is so serious that it won’t work with a thousand lark here or there. We have to work on this continuously, says Kristjánsson. Mímir Kristjánsson in Rødt points to the fact that it is necessary that the extra cash support be paid out before Christmas. Photo: Truls Dydland For Kim Even Straumsnes, living on the krone has become a big burden. – No, you don’t have a social life. You can’t afford clothes either, so you depend on someone to help you. It is very undignified, he says.
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Fattighuset in Oslo awaits a major move after a time with a large price increase – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
