The Finance Ministry will review a measure to take back the additional living allowance given to those who registered to take training programmes under the government's second phase of the welfare and subsidy scheme but failed to do so.
The measure will be reviewed because the Finance Ministry expected all of the extra allowance to be spent, said Pornchai Thiraveja, an adviser to the Fiscal Policy Office.
The job training scheme is part of the second phase of the welfare and subsidy scheme for the poor, designed to boost recipients' income and attack the root causes of poverty.
To encourage recipients to take part in the career development programme, the government offers them an additional living allowance of 100-200 baht a month to buy goods at Thong Fah Pracha Rat shops, on top of the 200-300 baht given under the first phase, starting from March.
Of 5 million welfare and subsidy scheme recipients surveyed by the Finance Ministry, 30% declined to participate in skills training programmes.
Mr Pornchai said that of the 11.4 million welfare and subsidy scheme recipients, 6.4 million registered to join the job training programmes, of which 3.1 million were those earning below the poverty line of 30,000 baht a year.
The Finance Ministry's account officers are conducting a survey of the government's 6.4 million welfare and subsidy scheme recipients who voluntarily signed up for skills training schemes and an additional 2.1 million living below the poverty line who did not register for the training programmes, after 5 million were already surveyed.
Of the 5 million recipients surveyed, 1.5 million showed intention to the account officers that they did not want to take part in skills training schemes, and the remaining 3.5 million confirmed that they would join such programmes.
Given that 3.5 million recipients have not been surveyed by the account officers, the Finance Ministry has postponed the deadline for the survey process to the end of May from the end of April.
Apart from training, the second phase gives low-income earners better access to financial resources covering basic needs, including homes, land for generating income and savings for retirement.
Two state-owned banks, Government Savings Bank and the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives, will provide loans to 2.1 million job training participants. The government has budgeted 35.7 billion baht to fund the second phase, expecting to help 1 million recipients cross the poverty line this year.
Last August the cabinet approved the first phase of the aid package, worth 41.9 billion baht, for 11.7 million low-income earners.
Under the aid package, the government transfers 200-300 baht a month to each welfare smart card.
Recipients earning less than 30,000 baht a year get a monthly allowance of 300 baht, while those with annual earnings of 30,000-100,000 baht receive 200 baht to buy discounted goods at Thong Fah Pracha Rat shops and other designated stores.
The 11.4 million recipients also get subsidies for inter-provincial public buses, third-class trains, and local public buses and electric trains.
