Recently, many places have accelerated the establishment of active fertility support policy systems, and taken out "real money" to stimulate fertility in childbirth, parenting, education and other aspects. The reporter of "Xinhua Viewpoint" found that the newly introduced fertility support policies in various places focus on reducing the cost of childcare, showing new characteristics such as large subsidies and wide coverage.
Subsidies in multiple fields reduce the cost of childbirth and parenting
In the previous incentive birth policy, extending maternity leave is the "unified action" with the highest appearance rate. In the recent round of incentive birth policies, many places have taken out "real money" subsidies to reduce the cost of fertility and parenting for the masses.
Since 2021, some small and medium-sized cities have begun to explore providing birth subsidies for two- and three-child families. Recently, many places have joined the ranks of issuing birth subsidies, the number of cities has increased, and the level has been improved, most of which are concentrated in provincial capitals, and Yunnan Province is currently the only province in the country that uniformly issues birth subsidies throughout the province. The subsidy rules of Shenzhen, Wenzhou and other cities have recently been publicly solicited for comments.
In terms of the scope of subsidies, most cities such as Harbin and Jinan are concentrated in two-child and three-child families, and some cities have expanded the subsidy target to one-child, such as Shenzhen and Wenzhou, which have included one-child families in their solicitation of opinions. Some cities have regulations on the household registration of newborn children, such as Hangzhou clarifying that families with household registration of newborn children in Hangzhou can apply for it. Yunnan Province has stipulated the time limit for subsidies, clarifying that the period for the issuance of one-time birth subsidies and childcare subsidies is from January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2025.
In terms of subsidy amount, most localities show the characteristics of progressive increase in one-child, two-child and three-child subsidies, and eligible families in different cities can receive subsidies of thousands of yuan to tens of thousands of yuan. For two-child families, Harbin will provide a childcare subsidy of 500 yuan per child per month, and a three-child family will receive a monthly childcare subsidy of 1,000 yuan.
It is worth noting that many provinces have also made concerted efforts in the fields of medical care and housing security to reduce the cost of childbirth and parenting for child-rearing families.
In terms of medical treatment, Jiangxi Province has promoted the inclusion of maternity medical services into medical insurance payments; Jinan stipulates that for the second and third children born after January 1 this year, if they participate in the basic medical insurance for Jinan residents within six months from the date of birth, the individual payment in the year of registration shall be fully subsidized by the treasury.
In terms of housing, Gansu Jiuquan City has given preferential housing purchase to multi-child families since March 9 this year, and a one-time housing purchase subsidy of 50,000 yuan will be given to families who have two children in accordance with the policy; Three-child families will be given a one-time house purchase subsidy of 100,000 yuan. Changsha City stipulates that if the conditions for the recognition of the house purchase policy for families with two children or more are met, the purchase index of one house can be added to the original family limit of 2 sets.
In some places, it has been launched, and the distribution forms are diverse
The reporter noticed that childcare subsidies are distributed in various forms. Some are issued in one lump sum, such as Hangzhou Municipality plans to provide a one-time subsidy of 5,000 yuan to eligible two-child families and a one-time subsidy of 20,000 yuan to three-child families; Some are paid monthly, and Harbin and Jinan are paid before the child's 3rd birthday.
According to the Hangzhou Municipal Health Commission, according to the birth rate in 2022, the total amount of childcare subsidies is expected to be about 140 million yuan, which will cover 25,000 families. Hangzhou childcare subsidies will be distributed digitally.
The reporter noted that the distribution of subsidies in some places has been launched. In July 2021, Panzhihua City, Sichuan, took the lead in the country to introduce a policy to provide a childcare subsidy of 500 yuan per child per month to Panzhihua families with two or three children until the child is 3 years old. The childcare allowance is paid once a year and is paid to the recipient's social insurance card by the first quarter of the following year. According to the Panzhihua municipal government, the local government cashed out 950,000 yuan in childcare subsidies for 650 eligible newborns in 2021. In 2022, more than 2,000 families will receive childcare subsidies, and about 10 million yuan will be cashed in childcare subsidies.
In Yunnan, a number of communities have recently begun to issue registration notices for the issuance of birth subsidies, clarifying that the two-child and three-child hukou to receive the birth subsidy must be in Yunnan, and the husband and wife have registered their marriage in accordance with the law, and they can declare to the (village) community if they meet the conditions.
"When applying, you only need to provide the household registration booklet, ID card, marriage certificate, social security card and child's birth certificate of both husband and wife, and fill out an application form on the spot." Yang Yongdong, a 35-year-old resident of Daping Community, Xiaozhai Town, Ludian County, Zhaotong City, Yunnan Province, said: "There is a certain financial pressure to raise two children, and having a monthly childcare subsidy is indeed a help." ”
Li Lingying, director of the Population and Family Planning Service Center in Tengyue Street, Tengchong City, said that every day we receive calls from the masses for consultation, and everyone's willingness to apply is very high, and the first batch of subsidy funds is expected to be distributed in April this year.
In order to support three-child families to solve the problem of housing difficulties, Jiangxi Province stipulates that preference can be given in the choice of apartment type according to the number of minor children. As of April last year, Jiangxi had guaranteed 7,927 three-child families through public rental housing, including 6,813 rented in kind and 1,114 leased subsidies.
It is understood that the latest medical insurance payment policy involving two-child and three-child families in Jinan has been implemented, and it can be handled at the doorstep if the conditions are met.
Supporting fertility also needs to be accompanied by efforts
The interviewees generally said that the pressure of childbirth, parenting and education affects the birth rate of two and three children. It is expected to continue to improve the accessibility and sensitivity of policies, and enhance fertility confidence by further reducing the corresponding burden.
Experts interviewed pointed out that after the introduction of fertility support policies in many places, it is recommended to further refine existing policies and measures and improve the convergence of supporting policies. Zhao Shaoxia, deputy director of the Health Bureau of Tengchong City, Yunnan Province, said that the implementation of fertility support policies is still in its infancy at this stage, and it is necessary to strengthen departmental linkage in order to accelerate the construction of a childbirth-friendly environment and promote the implementation of relevant decision-making and deployment.
Guo Xiaojing, a researcher at the Shanghai Institute of Finance and Law, pointed out that in addition to the one-time birth subsidy, a series of institutional arrangements are also needed to support and support the childbearing family, such as the improvement of the childcare system, the optimization of the maternity leave policy, the popularization of barrier-free facilities and mother and baby rooms, and the training and standardization of human resources in short supply such as confinement and childcare sisters.
The reporter noted that some supporting measures are being explored in various places. Jinan City coordinates and supports the enrollment of children of different ages of the same family who meet the enrollment requirements for children of the same family and the same school district for children of families with two or three children in accordance with the policy, and encourages priority in ensuring that three children are enrolled in inclusive kindergartens. Wu Changwen, director of the Population and Family Division of the Chongqing Municipal Health Commission, said that this year, Chongqing will continue to expand service supply, support social forces to develop childcare services, and ensure that the goal of 2.5 childcare places per 1,000 population is achieved.
A number of interviewed experts said that the introduction of fertility support policies needs to be combined with local conditions, comprehensively consider local development stage, population structure, financial resources and other factors, deeply analyze and judge the rationality and feasibility of various policies, and ensure the continuity and continuity of policies.