Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs failed to elaborate a national development plan for social services
PRESS RELEASE on Audit No. 13/25 – April 7, 2014
The Supreme Audit Office (SAO) performed an audit of state budget funds spent on social care of national or supra-regional extent. Auditors scrutinized funds in the amount of CZK 518 million, which had been administered by the Ministry of Labour and Social Affair. The sum included CZK 130 million, which were scrutinized at beneficiaries. At the Ministry, auditors focused on the funding system of social services. At beneficiaries, auditors aimed at compliance with legal regulations and rules for drawing and utilisation of the grants, which had been set by the Ministry.
According to the Act on Social Services, the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs was supposed to elaborate a medium-term national development plan for social services, which the Ministry has failed to present in the last seven years since the Act came in effect.
Conditions for applicants were only defined by an internal regulating document of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs. The biggest error of the system is that the Ministry does not count with the cost budgeting or existing funding resources for the respective social services when deciding on providing the grants or during the monitoring phases. The granting system lacks the backward information about actual expenses of the respective social service and its financial resources.
From 2011 to 2013, the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs failed to perform proper public administration control at beneficiaries as only three beneficiaries were scrutinized during the period.
The SAO’s auditing operation aimed at 15 selected beneficiaries. At 10 audited beneficiaries, breaches of conditions set in the decrees on providing the grants were revealed. For example, ROZKOŠ bez RIZIKA (R-R), a civic association based in Brno, paid CZK 329 815 for expenses, which were not included in the list of eligible costs defined in Program B. By covering these costs, the beneficiary violated budgetary regulations and the SAO had to inform the tax administration office in charge about the fact. Auditors revealed that some beneficiaries had not informed the Ministry about changes to the grant drawings.
Communication Department
Supreme Audit Office