According to the ministry, it is precisely the poor who will be harmed by the price of dormitories and at the same time the supply will decrease • Minister Shmuli: "It is a pity that the Treasury is trying to block the promotion of regulations at the expense of toddlers"
Daycare
Photography:
Oren Ben Hakon
The Ministry of Finance warns: The
adoption of the new regulations proposed by the Minister of Labor and Welfare, Itzik Shmuli, in the field of day care - may lead to a sharp rise in prices and a reality in which many toddlers, especially low-income families, will find themselves without a framework.
The Ministry of Finance estimates the cost of the new regulations at NIS 300 million in the budget base, with the entire amount having to come from the Ministry of Welfare.
These are regulations for the Supervision of Nurseries for Toddlers Law, which was enacted about two years ago and is intended to address cases of abuse against toddlers that have been exposed recently.
Recently, the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Welfare formulated the new regulations, and now Finance Minister Israel Katz is also required to address the issue.
On Tuesday, a discussion was held on the subject in the Committee on the Rights of the Child, in which officials from the Ministry of Welfare stated that there is broad agreement on passing regulations even during the election period.
The Ministry of Finance, as stated, strongly opposes the new regulations.
In a letter sent to Assaf and Sarzog, the deputy budget commissioner at the Ministry of Finance, addressed to Minister Shmuli, the Ministry of Finance claims that the Ministry of Welfare "exerts pressure that the Minister of Finance and the Ministry of Finance prevent the regulations from being promoted."
Despite this, the Treasury did not prevent the promotion of regulations, "due to the great importance we see in day care centers."
On the other hand, Israel Today received a document according to which more than 40 meetings have been held between representatives of welfare and finance in the past year and a half.
According to the Ministry of Finance, advancing regulations that will require an increase in the number of caregivers will increase the annual cost of day care for each child by NIS 3,600.
"The regulations directly affect the number of children who will be admitted to day care centers," writes Wasserzog, "and the subsidized day care centers in particular, which are already in excess demand, and may result in a large number of children currently eligible for subsidized day care centers finding themselves unresponsive." .
As far as the budget cost is concerned, the Treasury estimates that it will amount to more than NIS 300 million in the budget base.
"These effects may mean that children from families in low socio-economic conditions will not be able to afford this framework," the Treasury warns.
The Ministry of Finance reminds Shmuli that he also addressed the issue of the cost of dormitories in the past: "To the best of our knowledge, these things also bother you, but this is not reflected as a balancing factor in regulations, which are expected to increase the cost considerably."
The minister in front of me said: "It is a pity that the finance officials are trying to block the promotion of regulations, which are intended to ensure the safety of the children. We call on them not to take unnecessary and dangerous bets on the lives of all our children."
