– You can get anxiety from this, having so little money. So please, do something about it! May-Britt Blomberg’s call to politicians is crystal clear: Support for the poorest must be boosted. Since 2017, health challenges have prevented her from working. Today, she mainly lives on employment verification allowance (AAP) from Nav. At the same time, she receives housing allowance and electricity allowance. After fixed expenses have been paid, she has between NOK 600 and 1,000 left to live on, she says. It must cover food and other running expenses. – It is tough, says Blomberg. On Thursday, the government presented its proposal for a revised national budget. In the proposal, the government proposes an extraordinary price adjustment of benefits and social assistance. Usually, the rates are only adjusted at the turn of the year. – But to ensure that the benefits keep pace with the price increase, the government is proposing an extraordinary price adjustment now, said Labor and Inclusion Minister Marte Mjøs Persen (Ap) in a press release on Thursday. – This means that the levels of the rates will increase, she stated. Minister for Employment and Inclusion Marte Mjøs Persen. Photo: ALF SIMENSEN / ALF SIMENSEN Pensioners are given priority In the government’s budget proposal, there are few direct measures that will have an impact on the entire population, but some individual groups will have more to deal with: Pensioners will receive around 8 per cent pension growth this year. Those with a pension of less than NOK 370,000 receive tax relief. Those with low incomes and high housing costs will receive an extra NOK 519 million in housing benefit. The county dental health service is changed so that people aged 21 to 24 only have to pay a 25 per cent deductible. In addition, the government prioritizes aid, refugees and the municipalities. Finance Minister Trygve Slagsvold Vedum (Sp) presented the government’s proposal for a revised national budget on Thursday. Now they will negotiate the budget with SV at the Storting. Photo: Fredrik Varfjell / NTB Have to resort to mother and father But a price adjustment of benefits is not enough to reassure Blomberg. – I think it’s bad. They could have adjusted them more. We are struggling enough as it is now. Every month, Blomberg is paid approximately NOK 16,000 in employment verification money after tax, NOK 1,900 in housing allowance and NOK 1,500 in electricity allowance. There is not much to live on, she says. news joined May-Britt Blomberg on a shopping trip. Only the cheapest items were allowed to take home. Photo: Tommy Iversen / news – Are you okay? – Barely. It’s tiring, says Blomberg, who explains that she cannot prioritize eating dinner every day. The 47-year-old sometimes has to resort to his own parents to get things going. – It’s a bit tiring when you’re older and don’t really feel like it. Extraordinary price adjustment: The government will adjust the following rates under the national insurance from 1 July 2023: Rates for basic and auxiliary allowances Allowance rates for aids to improve the ability to work and function in daily life Rate for means-tested funeral allowance Maximum rate for childcare allowance for a single mother or father Additional benefits Benefits under the national insurance, which is regulated by the increase in the basic amount of the national insurance (G), will be adjusted as usual from 1 May. This applies, among other things, to survivors’ benefits, employment verification money, disability benefits and qualification benefits. Retirement pension is regulated by the average of wage and price growth. Source: Ministry of Labor and Inclusion Negotiating the benefits becomes a priority for SV For the government’s budget partner SV, negotiating the benefits will be central. – We must get more people out of poverty, and prevent the growth of poverty in the animal age, and then benefits must continue to rise, says the party’s fiscal policy spokesperson Kari Elisabeth Kaski to news. She is happy that the government is adjusting the price of benefits, but stresses that it should only be missing. SV’s fiscal spokesperson Kari Elisabeth Kaski promises to prioritize the poorest when she negotiates the budget with the governing parties. Photo: Kai Rune Kvitstein – How much must performance increase for SV to be satisfied? – From SV’s side, it has been a goal to increase benefits in several of the budget negotiations that we have had with the government, and we have also achieved that. We have a clear ambition that we will succeed in doing so this year as well, says Kaski. She emphasizes that SV will not give any ultimatums before the budget negotiations. – But I think both the Labor Party and the Center Party are very aware that they have to give us more redistributive policies and more on welfare in order for us to be able to have a budget agreement, Kaski asserts. The budget negotiations between Ap, Sp and SV start on 23 May.
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– You can get anxiety from this – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
