Inspections in nursing homes for the elderly and the uncovering of so-called houses of horrors is one of the successes that Borislav Gutsanov accounts for within his term as Minister of Social Affairs.
Nearly 1000 inspections were carried out by the Agency for the Quality of Social Services. The work of 15 illegal sites has been terminated and 19 licenses have been revoked from sites that did not meet the standards.
400 million euros were allocated under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) to improve the conditions in state-funded accommodation for the elderly. Among the activities are the renovations of all 81 state-funded homes for the elderly. 12 homes have already been completely renovated.
Work began on the opening of another 250 places for care for people with disabilities. Opening five new homes with 101 places for the elderly is also among the fulfilled goals.
During his term, Gutsanov proposed legislative changes to bring Christmas and Easter allowances into law.
For the first time, nearly 2200 people with disabilities receive free high-tech assistive devices of their choice, as well as the purchase of electric vehicles and charging stations for the needs of social services and the installation of photovoltaic systems.
With the beginning of the “I Choose Bulgaria” initiative, real work began on the return of Bulgarians from abroad. Over 3700 people have submitted applications under the measure.
The ministry also recalls the allocation of funds to municipalities for disaster prevention and combating their consequences.
The Ministry of Labor and Social Policy (MLSP) also reports as a success the increase in the minimum wage to 620.20 euros from January 1 this year and the growth of the poverty line - 390.63 euros.
In the unadopted draft state budget for 2026, a higher allowance for mothers in the second year of the child was provided.