**Audit Finds Welfare Checks Lacking**
A recent audit has revealed significant weaknesses in the administration of welfare benefits in Cyprus, prompting scrutiny from the House audit committee. The findings were presented during a committee meeting on Thursday, where officials from the deputy ministry of social welfare defended their performance amid concerns about insufficient checks, delayed interventions, and staffing shortages.
The special report from the Audit Office covered the period from 2022 to 2023 and highlighted that the Welfare Benefits Management Service disbursed approximately €411 million in benefits to around 103,000 beneficiaries in 2023. This included €194 million in guaranteed minimum income (GMI) payments to 19,500 recipients, €88 million for 24,000 low-income pensioners, €79 million in child benefits to 59,000 families, and €38 million in single-parent benefits to roughly 11,000 households.
Marina Drakou, who presented the compliance review, noted that auditors examined 225 transactions, with 182 directly related to the welfare benefits service. Alarmingly, weaknesses were identified in 70 of these cases, accounting for 38% of the sample. The audit pointed out several critical issues, including a lack of thorough checks on applicants' overseas assets and bank deposits. Additionally, it was found that some benefits were still being paid based on outdated information.
The report also indicated that low-income pension payments had continued posthumously for deceased household members, and there were instances of insufficient income verification and failure to update information regarding pensions received from abroad. For child and single-parent benefits, auditors flagged concerns about payments being made prior to the submission or assessment of applications, as well as inadequate checks on applicants' income and family circumstances.
Drakou emphasized that effective social policy relies on reliable information systems, meaningful data cross-checking, timely reassessment of beneficiaries, and improved coordination among public services. She called for stronger social intervention mechanisms to address these issues effectively.
In response, Deputy Social Welfare Minister Clea Hadjistefanou-Papaellina argued that social policy should not be evaluated solely based on statistics. She stressed the importance of responding sensitively to the needs of vulnerable populations within the legal framework. Hadjistefanou-Papaellina acknowledged that staffing losses between 2022 and 2025 had impacted the service's ability to conduct thorough checks but asserted that significant improvements had already been implemented.
The deputy minister reported that the Welfare Benefits Management Service currently manages GMI payments for approximately 17,500 families, low-income pension benefits for 29,000 individuals, and child benefits for over 50,000 families. She mentioned that application processing times had been reduced to a maximum of 90 days, with a goal of further decreasing this to 60 days. Additionally, property ownership is now verified automatically through the land registry, and electronic banking information is being integrated into the system.
Efforts to modernize the ministry's IT systems are underway, with plans to develop artificial intelligence tools to enhance application processing efficiency. Hadjistefanou-Papaellina also noted a request to the finance ministry for 38 permanent positions to bolster the service's capacity, along with proposals to establish an internal audit unit.
Yiannis Nikolaides, director-general of the deputy ministry, contended that the audit findings reflected the situation during the review period rather than current conditions. He stated that many of the issues had already been recognized internally and addressed. Yiannis Vasileiadis, head of the Welfare Benefits Management Service, confirmed that staffing levels had decreased by 20% since 2022, but efforts are ongoing to improve processing times.
Vasileiadis highlighted the establishment of eight customer service centers across the island to assist applicants and noted the creation of a special activation team that has successfully referred hundreds of GMI beneficiaries to employment services, language courses, and entrepreneurship programs. He also pointed to two significant digital transformation initiatives: the consolidation of all welfare benefit databases into a single system and the development of an AI tool to expedite and enhance the digital application process.
The audit committee plans to revisit the welfare benefits administration issue in early September to assess progress and ongoing challenges.