Minister of Social Development and Family Services Donna Cox said the government has provided support to more than one-third of the population during the pandemic.

She was speaking during debate on the Finance (Supplementation and Variation of Appropriation) (Financial Year 2021) Bill in the Senate on Friday.

Cox said as of May, 2021 the ministry provided support to 182,044 individuals and households through its various programmes.

“When considering the average household size in TT is three people, the government has provided support to more than one-third of the population if TT.”

She said in 2020, the ministry provided assistance in the form of income, food and rental support to over 176,000 individuals and families who were affected by covid19.

“As we move into a new phase of social support, the sum of $40 million is required to alleviate the socio-economic impact of the recently introduced covid19 protection measures on vulnerable households.”

She said with the implementation of the income support grant phase two initiative, vulnerable people who do not have a National Insurance Scheme (NIS) number and who lost their income from May 1, 2021, will be given $1,500. Those who lost their income from May 8 will receive $1,000 for the month of May only.

She said as at Friday afternoon, the ministry had received 4,871 applications.

Cox also said the ministry has spent in excess of $2 million on home repairs and assisting in establishing small businesses.

She said the ministry faced numerous challenges during the first phase of social relief efforts, including applicants attempting to “double dip” by applying for the income support grants provided by the Ministry of Social Development, and the salary relief grants provided by the Ministry of Finance, when only one was intended.

She said the ministry also had to deal with applicants submitting false documents, misrepresenting the date they had been let go from their jobs, and the value of their previous income.

Others, she said, clogged the system with incorrect bank account numbers, addresses, phone numbers, and forms of identification.

“It slowed down the system.”

She said the ministry has learned from these challenges and have taken steps to prevent any attempts to beat the system in phase two.

She said all applications will therefore be done online to improve efficiency and mitigate these challenges.

Cox said the ministry is aware that people have also been struggling emotionally. “I am happy to report that as of May, 2021 the National Family Services of the ministry has counselled a total of 2,692 individuals.”

She said in addition to telephone counselling, virtual sessions are also available.