Policy Digest

Authorities ensuring subsidies for disabled

Authorities are stepping up efforts to ensure that subsidies designated for people with disabilities can be distributed in a more fair and effective way to benefit those who are really in need.

A guideline jointly issued on Friday by the Ministry of Civil Affairs, the Ministry of Finance and the China Disabled Persons' Federation introduced several measures aimed at enhancing supervision of living allowances and nursing care subsidies for the disabled.

The guideline said greater efforts should be made to make sure that the disabled and their guardians are informed of these subsidies, and local policies related to the subsidies that are inconsistent with those formulated by the State Council, China's Cabinet, should be corrected in a timely manner.

Furthermore, dynamic verification is needed so that subsidies for people who are no longer qualified to receive them can be suspended as soon as possible, the guideline said.

It also stressed strengthening supervision over the distribution and use of the subsidies, saying that the budget for the funding should be released in full.

Campaign to shield firms from illegal fees

The State Administration for Market Regulation and three other departments will jointly carry out special rectification actions targeting illegal fees being imposed on businesses as the country takes measures to stimulate market vitality.

According to a meeting held on Oct 24, the joint campaign is a significant effort to promote the implementation of preferential policies for enterprises and to create a better business environment.

It is also an important measure meant to regulate the behavior of authorities responsible for charging enterprises fees and spur the vitality of market entities to establish a long-term effective supervision mechanism and push forward relevant sectors' high-quality development, meeting participants said.

Given the tight schedule of the joint efforts, the participants required better coordination among different departments to ensure that the actions are carried out in a targeted and efficient way.

Better drinking water in rural areas sought

A special campaign has been carried out to improve the quality of drinking water supplied in rural areas as part of the country's efforts to advance rural vitalization across the board, according to a recent guideline.

The guideline, jointly issued by the Ministry of Water Resources and three other departments, said that by 2025, the quality of drinking water in rural areas should essentially be the same as that in the county seats that administer them.

To tackle the problem, the guideline said greater efforts are needed to protect drinking water sources, improve purification and disinfection facilities, and strengthen monitoring of water quality.