Participation of children in decision making

• 
  November 19, 2014: Hearings with children and the Minister of MSWY, Deputy Minister of Education, members of Parliament, for the 2015 budget.
  
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  November 2014: Organization of two hearings with children during the process of drafting the National Report on child rights.
  

1. 
   Funding for the construction of local government units of social housing for rent. The project 'Construction of social housing rent' F/P 1850 (2006), funded by the CEB Bank, co-financed by three sources, the bank CEB, Budget Units and Local Government Budget (local costs and VAT) according to the agreement signed on 22 August 2007, the value of EUR 15,000,000, we inform as follows: started in 2008 to build 1,138 apartments in 8 municipalities of the country.
   
2. 
   Bonus (subsidy) for rents in the free market. for rent on the open market covering up to 50% of a minimum lease, but this instrument has not found widespread use by all municipalities due to lack of funds by the municipalities;
   
3. 
   Subsidy for social housing rents owned by municipalities, rents owned by municipalities benefited if the rent for the apartment occupies more than 25% of the net income of the family. The amount of subsidy is calculated from the difference between the target rent and the rent that is affordable by the family. Priority families that benefit from this subsidy are defined in law;
   
4. 
   Subsidy for loans, families pay only 0 and 3% of the interest rate. The rest of the loan interest is subsidised from the state budget. The project has an extension in all municipalities of the country and from 2009 until April 2015 has addressed about 61% of applications for housing in the municipalities.
   
5. 
   Immediate grants, small grants are addressed only for Roma and Egyptian community, for the purpose of improving the housing conditions and infrastructure (water supply, sanitation)
   

To benefit housing assistance, according to the law should be completed the income criteria. Under the existing legal framework, funding to subsidize rent in the free market is made only by local government bodies.

• 
  The Council of Ministers (DCM) no. 526, dated 06.08.2014, "On the Categories of Persons with Disabilities, prioritized as beneficiaries of social housing";
  

• 
  Decision no. 527, dated 06.08.2014, "On Approval of Procedures, criteria, and Priorities for immediate awarding grants to low-cost housing";
  
• 
  Guidance of the Minister No. 7, dated 01.10.2014, "On the requirements to be met by the administrator or administrative company to be listed in the book of administrators, listing procedures, removal from the list, penalties, and supervision of the them ".
  

In order to minimize the negative social effects on families who live in informal facilities (illegal / not benefit from the process of legalization), which are affected by the implementation of development projects, with the proposal of MUD two DCM has been adopted, as mentioned below:

• 
  Decision no.58, dated21.01.2015, "On the treatment of some families affected by the implementation of the project" Linking of the trans- Balkan highway road Fieri-Vlora" with social housing programs";
  
• 
  Decision no. 230, dated 13.03.2015, "On the treatment with payment of rent for some families affected by the implementation of the" Big Ring of Tirana", segment" Paris Commune, Kavaja Street. '"
  

MUD, during this period is also engaged in the design and drafting of a series of other laws. In addition to monitoring the implementation of approved acts, MUD intends to follow the proposed draft laws until the completion of their approval process.

• 
  Draft DCM "On the criteria to be met by the managing entity to be registered in the local government unit";
  

• 
  Draft DCM "On the privatization procedures of objects returned in housing funds to local bodies decisions";
  
• 
  Draft National Housing Strategy.
  

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  Categorization of buildings for residential use for auxiliary purposes, from those with economic and social purposes, distances to be respected by national roads and railway lines.
  
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  Obligations for the payment services for legalization will be paid by the state.
  
• 
  Include in the legalisation process the illegal buildings erected until the date of entry into force of the amendments of Law No 10023 of 27.11.2008 “On some amendments to Law No 7895 of 27.01.1995 “The Criminal Code of the Republic of Albania” as amended, which introduced Article 199/a to the Criminal Code stipulating as a crime the construction of informal buildings, disregarding their function and the moment the self-declaration is carried out.
  
• 
  Determination and payment of the building block (restructuring of the way of payment) and facilities of immediate payment or instalment.
  
• 
  Adjust the procedures of two processes, (i) transfer of ownership on the building plot of the illegal construction and (ii) approval of financial compensation to former owners affected by the legalisation process.
  
• 
  Find an efficient and expeditious mechanism for legalisation of informal buildings that requires the transfer of ownership.
  
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  Foresee a reduction in the financial burden of legalisation to builders of illegal constructions used for housing purposes, excluding them from the payment of fees for the legalisation procedures, such as certification of documents, issue of measurement and planning certificates. These services will be carried free of charge.
  
• 
  Foresee the amendment of the Law No 9482 of 3.04.2006 to allow the registration of property used for housing purposes even if the builder has not paid or has paid partially for the building plot within the defined period.
  
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  Foresee that 30% of the revenues from the legalisation process should be allocated to ALUIZNI, to cover its field activities cost (such as in-site verifications, updating, etc).
  
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  Define clearly the categories of illegal buildings that will remain subject to the payment of legalisation fees and the use of revenues generated from penalties imposed on illegal builders.
  
• 
  Provide a legal solution to technical problems related to the legalisation of floors added to existing buildings in order to include all the inhabitants of the building.
  
• 
  Lay down that the illegal buildings erected in the areas destined for tourism, for which a feasibility study is carried out will be treated according to the legislation on illegal buildings.
  
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  Define the categories of illegal constructions, which due to their location in an area considered of national importance or their impact on key public infrastructure, will be excluded from the legalisation process.
  
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  Review the amount of fine imposed on builders/ investors that have erected lateral extensions in height, in order to encourage them to include these in the legalisation process.
  

• 
  The preparatory phase started with introductory meetings aiming to present the Action Plan development process to key stakeholders and seek their inputs. At the same time, an analysis of relevant strategies, policy documents and reports was also undertaken in order to collect information about the results of past activities, draw on good practice examples and lessons learned, and ensure that the Action Plan is well situated within the government’s overall development agenda.
  
• 
  Sectoral workshops with the ministries and civil society representatives, including members of Roma and Egyptian associations and international organizations.
  
• 
  Focus groups with representatives of Roma and Egyptians, local governments, international organizations and gender equality specialists.
  
• 
  Follow up individual meetings with the line ministries (with special focus on collecting baseline data and budgeting the Action Plan measures).
  
• 
  Field visits to the municipality of Berat and the Transitory Centre in Tirana.
  
• 
  Public presentations of the draft Action Plan document, discussion and finalization.
  

Concurrently, the Ministry of Urban Development is developing a Strategy for Social Housing which is expected to address housing issues of Roma and Egyptian communities.

MES has estimated that during this academic year, 780 Roma and Egyptian (230 Roma and Egyptian 550) attended vocational education and general secondary schools.

Based on official statistics of the National Employment Service, in 2014 there were 9,469 Roma persons registered as unemployed job-seekers, of which 4,773 are women. Annually, some 220 Roma are employed through the employment promotion programmes²².