Questions/Answers

The government has spent a large budget to support public social welfare and help people from birth to death to solve poverty and disparity in Thai society. However, government assistance has been limited because database of the low income or the deprived is not complete. This results in government not be able to determine policy on true objectives. Public social welfare database integration can provide government sector with information which will be analyzed to help them living with adequate sustainability. It is also a tool for them to improve their vocational skills and earn more money. With better condition, they can involve in developing and accelerating country’s economy in a sustainable way. At the end, government will be able to develop integrated personnel infrastructure.

This project is an integration of all public sectorpayment and public social welfare database management. The related agencies have to find guidelines and processes to develop a public social welfare allocation infrastructure. They also have to share and combine their public social welfare information to make a central database for public social welfare where any agency can use. By using the same tools and database, this helps reduce work overlapping and cost.It is a project that facilitates general public and promotes cooperation and teamwork

This project is compatible with 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goal 1 and 8. The goal is to give financial support from the government to low income earners so they can live and survive in the modern society. People with low income and are underprivileged will get financial incentives from the government for personal development. Consequently, they escape poverty. They can spend more money on products and services which helps economy growth.

The population of Thailand is 65.9 million. There are 11.4 million low-income people or 17.29 percent of total population with poverty problem who are in need of assistance from the government through various policy and measures. For many years, this group of people has partially received welfare from the government. Originally, a government agency with independent procedures and database would pay welfare money to people who are fully eligible. As a result, the government could not appropriately, thoroughly and adequately allocate welfare to targeted groups. On top of that, none of the agencies were responsible for database integration. To solve the problems, the government decided to integrate public social welfare database. It provides the government in-depth information about low income earners to assist policy planning on helping low-income people with extensive and appropriate public social welfare. It also provides evaluation records on different types of public social welfare allocation which can be analyzed to improve public social welfare allocation for proper target groups.

a) An innovation to alleviate low-income people from poverty by registering and issuing a public social welfare card to reduce living expenses from goods consumption and commute. A central database created from an integration of low-income earner registration and other governmental-assisted welfare database allows the government to provide public social welfare for the correct target group, avoid redundancy and manage and evaluate subsidies. To promote an e-payment method, people can use this electronic card as cash when buying products and services.

b) A newly introduced innovation in Thailand and ASEAN that incorporates a traditional paying method (cash) under a standardized procedure. In less than no time, cash will be directly transferred to welfare recipients, improving people’s living quality. From the study of state welfare types in other countries, there are three types 1) Conditioner Cash Transfer 2) Negative Income Tax and 3) Blended, where field survey is conducted before determining necessary measures. Public social welfares are not mentioned as a type of public social welfare cards.

Initially, a public social welfare card helps reduce cost of living from consumption goods and commuting by buying goods from Thong Fah Pra Cha Rat. Later, there are more benefits as followed 1. provide subsidies for the elderly who earn low income and are qualified 2. increase financial amount for welfare cardholders who show interest in personal develop 3. refund 7% VAT to low-income welfare cardholders when buying products and services at Thong Fah Pra Cha Rat Shops or other private shops with VAT. The refund will be divided into 1% for saving, 5% for e-Money and 1% as tax.

a) Resources consist of i) annual government budget of expenditure for infrastructure system of public social welfare allocation ii) welfare card management fee iii) authorities from related agencies from central, provincial and local sectors to brainstorm, plan guidelines and processes, and public social welfare database integration

b) Factors contributing to sustainability can be analyzed as followed: i) the government has update-to-date, complete and correct database and individual information. As a result, low income group can support themselves and improve overall economy of the country. ii) low income people have improved skills to earn themselves more money and life stability and increase the number of labor to work market. This improves quality of the low income as well as the country’s economy.

Yes

The project was officially evaluated by Public Relations Department and the National Institute of Development Administration (NIDA) Poll about Welfare Card.The poll.which conducted a survey on the public social welfare card with a sample size of 2,000in the target groupsliving in Bangkok and the surrounding area,the northeastern region, the northern region and the southern region.A recent survey of the NIDAhas revealed that people believe the government’s welfare card scheme helps boost the economy.

National Poverty Situation is criteria employed for the project. It showed that poverty ratio has decreased from 8.61 in 2559 to 7.87 in 2560. Due to the Eleventh National Economic and Social Development Plan (2560-2564), it aims to reduce the ratio to 6.5.

c) The result indicated that the overall national economy has improved as income from public social welfare card project increases income of each province.

Integrated working between multiple agencies are as followed 1. Registration is administered by 76 Provincial Offices of Comptroller General's Department, Krung Thai Bank, Government Saving Bank, Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Co-Operatives and 50 District Offices around Bangkok. 2. Qualification examination for those who register involves 26 agencies e.g. the Department of Provincial Administration examines individual qualifications, Commercial Bank and Bank of Thailand examines account balance and property, the Department of Lands examines land ownership and the Revenue Department examines income. 3. To consider public social welfare and reduce living expenses for people, there is a meeting with other related agencies, for example, the Department of Internal Trade, the Department of Energy Business, the Department of Provincial Administration, the Office of Transport and Traffic Policy and Planning, the State Railway of Thailand, the Metropolitan Electricity Authority, the Provincial Electricity Authority, the Metropolitan Waterworks Authority, the Provincial Waterworks Authority and the Bangkok Mass Transit Authority.

Government has spent a large budget to support social welfare, it does not assist the targeted groups. To solve problems, welfare registration and assistance through welfare card are established. This results in the targeted group of people receiving assistance and the government obtaining information for tracking fringe benefit spending systematically. People with low income will receive welfare equally and quickly. Moreover, with an electronic welfare card, they are able to spend money just like other people in a modern cashless society. We will develop and connect systems to cover all social welfare so people can get access to government services.