The Regional Secretary for Labour and Social Solidarity said today at the Legislative Assembly that the number of "poor people has not grown" in the Azores compared to past times.

The guarantee was provided by Ana Paula Marques during an interpellation to the Government raised by PPM to the Regional Government on "the policies to promote equality of opportunities and combat poverty."

We cannot "eradicate poverty" in a decade or two, the Regional Secretary said, adding that in 1996, when the Socialist Government entered into office, the archipelago was the poorest region in the country.

The government official emphasised that the number of poor people has not grown in the Azores and mentioned "an evolution" at the level of minimum wage measures in the last 15 years.

Admitting that minimum wage beneficiaries have not yet the "desirable income," Ana Paula Marques noted that their situation has improved because, a few years ago, their children did not attend school and were often excluded and ostracised.

The Regional Secretary for Labour and Social Solidarity stressed that the Government has doubled and even tripled the number of social responses in order to create conditions so that these families may be able to work or, alternatively, invest in their education.
 
The Government is honoured with the work that has been done in this area, Ana Paula Marques said, adding that even a few months ago, the Parliament adopted a regional plan and budget that strengthens the Social Compensation Fund, "to respond to emergency social problems arising from unemployment. "