In 2020, the State Audit Office of Latvia published performance audit “Does the national social inclusion policy achieve its targets on poverty reduction?”. This year, in 2025, the monitoring of the implementation of all recommendations has been completed.
Following the audit by the State Audit Office of Latvia, 11 out of 12 recommendations to the Ministry of Welfare and 2 out of 4 proposals to the Cabinet of Ministers have been implemented.
The following changes have been achieved:
- A single income threshold for the status of a low-income household (since 2021), which applies to both state and municipal support.
- Cancelled allowance for former council leaders (from 4 May 2021) taking into account other support mechanisms.
- A single housing allowance regulation (from 1 July 2021) based on actual expenses.
- A minimum social assistance basket (from 2021) and a social services basket (gradually from 2025 to 2029) have been established.
- From October 2025, data on all types of municipal support will be compiled in a single information system.
- Improved policy planning and monitoring, including developed methods, improved statistics and harmonised policy objectives.
A comprehensive assessment of social support has not been introduced, which would be the basis for a more targeted policy and more effective use of resources. The State Audit Office of Latvia emphasises the need for such an assessment to promote evidence-based dialogue with local and regional governments, especially at a time when they lack the resources to increase basic social assistance allowances such as the guaranteed minimum income (GMI) and housing allowance.