YEREVAN, November 5, /ARKA/. First deputy finance minister Pavel Safarian said today some 224.4 billion Drams are earmarked by the 2010 draft budget for social spending.

‘Social sector is one of the government’s priorities and the government is trying not to cut the funding of the sector as far as possible or when it is unavoidable to cut as less as possible,’ he said today during parliamentary hearings on 2010 budget, convened by two parliament committees on health and financial and credit affairs

According to the minister, the share of social spending in the overall GDP next year will be 7.5%, higher than the 6.2%, projected by the president in his election program and in the government’s plan of actions.

One of the major items of social spending are allowances to 110,700 officially insecure families. According to the deputy minister, 31 billion Drams are earmarked for these payments, down from 32.3 billion Drams projected for 2009. The average monthly allowance to insecure families is 23,000 Drams.

The one-time allowances for birth of a third and subsequent child will remain intact-430,000 Drams. The amount of a monthly baby care allowance given to mothers for 24 months is 18,000 Drams.

Next year the median retirement pension will rise slightly to 25,700 Drams from the current 25,500 Drams.

The deputy minister said also next year’s draft budget does nor earmark money for payment of compensations for depreciated Soviet-time bank deposits.

According to the 2010 draft budget, the government plans to collect 676. 6 billion Drams of revenues, down from 772 billion projected for 2009. It also plans to spend 859.6 billion drams, of which 85.7% will be current expenditures. Tax revenues for 2010 are projected at 533 billion Drams, up from 510 billion, projected for 2009. M.M. -0-