Nearly 7,000 households are entitled to subsidies in Ukraine / Photo from UNIAN
All social services have been instructed to address people's problems as efficiently as possible.
The Cabinet of Ministers has allocated UAH 55 billion, or US$1.95 billion, in subsidies for households in the draft budget of Ukraine for 2019, which exceeds the current actual figure and which is enough to provide low-income families in Ukraine with targeted financial aid.
This year, the number of Ukrainian households who are subsidized from the budget in 2018 is 6,900, the Cabinet's Secretariat said, quoting Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman as saying on TV.
Next year, their number is expected to remain unchanged, according to forecasts, he said.
The prime minister projects that a recently announced increase in the price of gas, which means increased tariffs of heat and water, will not change the amount of money the subsidized families pay for utilities.
Read alsoUkraine's Cabinet publishes resolution to raise gas price for households by 23.5% from Nov 1
"Such families will continue paying their part. The rest will be paid by the state," Groysman said.
He also said that all social services had been instructed to address people's problems as efficiently as possible. And even those families that do not meet the criteria for being entitled to subsidies, but who have found themselves in a difficult situation can apply to special commissions under the social security authorities.
"Circumstances can be different, and they need to be taken into account. The main criterion is the income of people. If they are low, people get support," the premier said.
As UNIAN reported, Ukraine's Cabinet of Ministers published a resolution on gas price hikes for the population by 23.5% from November 23. Today, the price of gas for the population is UAH 4,942 (about US$175) per 1,000 cubic meters without VAT and transportation costs. It is UAH 6,958 (about US$247) if all taxes and costs are included.
The price of natural gas for households is a subject of negotiations between Ukraine and the International Monetary Fund, which insists that the gas price should be raised to the level of import parity.