Social welfare benefits to be filed online

A new all-in-one database in September is expected to help the labour department streamline social welfare applications online as well as double check personal data including back accounts of beneficiaries.

The House watchdog committee held a hearing on Thursday where Labour Minister Zeta Emilianidou said the development of a new electronic system was in the works that would allow social welfare applicants to file their cases online.

According to the minister, the online application system will help with better scrutiny and to “overcome many obstacles” that are currently causing delays and problems in cross checking information on multiple platforms.

The system, which is expected to be rolled out in September, will make it possible for information provided by Minimum Income Guaranteed applicants to be cross-referenced with data obtained in real-time from other agencies to determine eligibility.

MPs heard that this would solve problems with multiple long delays as civil servants currently have to manually check information based on an administrative checklist before determining eligibility.

Information and eligibility of MIG applicants will be tested by checks run through multiple agencies, including land and surveys department, additional benefits information, as well as bank account information. The new database will be able to flag any applicant or recipient whose case may present a conflict within the system.

The aim is to ascertain whether actual financial circumstances of social welfare applicants warrant the approval of benefits, but it was not clear whether the process would be fully automated or if applicants would be asked to provide input or updated information regarding their financial details.

Currently there are 250,000 persons in the Republic of Cyprus who receive €800 welfare cheques according to Philenews, while 20,000 people receive MIG income and the state spent 250 million on MIG in 2017.

The new system is expected to do a better job at cross referencing a number of benefits with MIG to make sure recipients are fully vetted before getting their money deposited in the bank.