Final Report: New approaches to social assistance for population under gradual adjustment of prices and tariffs for housing and communal services to an economically feasible level

This reform was part of the USAID Municipal Heating Reform Project in Ukraine, which was implemented in collaboration with the Municipal Development Institute (MDI). The reform focused on several key areas, including the gradual elimination of imbalance in setting tariffs for energy carriers for different categories of consumers, the revision of natural gas consumption standards, and the establishment of regional coefficients to heat energy consumption standards. Additionally, the reform proposed a gradual stage-by-stage increase in tariffs for natural gas for the population, accompanied by the establishment of a revised system of social assistance for consumers. The revised system of social assistance for consumers was designed to cover several areas, including the improvement and increasing effectiveness of the current system of housing subsidies granted for payment of housing and communal services, the introduction of new mechanisms for granting subsidies based on social standards of consumption of housing and communal services, along with real incentives for rational services consumption, the implementation of targeted social assistance for low-income families for the implementation of energy efficiency measures, and the reform of the system of benefits granted for payment of housing and communal services. The report proposed a complex and consistent action plan for the establishment of an effective system of social assistance for consumers in Ukraine, which included several implementation stages and a list of measures to be undertaken. The report also presented a list of tasks and legislative acts to be prepared or improved for the implementation of the action plan. The implementation of the new procedure for granting housing subsidies and new mechanisms of social assistance for consumers was expected to take place before the heating season of October 2013. The reform of the system of benefits was to be implemented gradually during 2013. The report was prepared for the Ministry of Social Policy and the National Commission for Government Regulation in the Area of Communal Services, based on materials and research undertaken by MDI under the USAID Municipal Heating Reform in Ukraine (MHR) Project. The report aimed to assist the Government of Ukraine in providing proposals on the implementation of an efficient social safety net in Ukraine and the development and implementation of the Strategy for Energy Security of Population in Ukraine. The report presented a comprehensive and consistent plan for the creation of an effective system of social assistance for consumers in Ukraine, which was expected to be presented at the next session of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. The plan included several key provisions, including the gradual elimination of imbalance in setting tariffs for energy carriers, the revision of natural gas consumption standards, and the establishment of regional coefficients to heat energy consumption standards. The report presented a list of tasks and legislative acts to be prepared or improved for the implementation of the action plan, including the development of new procedures for granting housing subsidies and the establishment of a revised system of social assistance for consumers. The report also presented a list of measures to be undertaken, including the implementation of targeted social assistance for low-income families and the reform of the system of benefits granted for payment of housing and communal services. The report was expected to be implemented in several stages, with the first stage focusing on the improvement of current procedures governing housing subsidies, which was expected to be implemented before the heating season of October 2012. The second stage was expected to focus on the implementation of new procedures for granting housing subsidies and new mechanisms of social assistance for consumers, which was expected to take place before the heating season of October 2013. The third stage was expected to focus on the reform of the system of benefits granted for payment of housing and communal services, which was to be implemented gradually during 2013.