The cabinet on Wednesday approved a bill for the creation of a junior ministry for social welfare to house the welfare and social insurance departments currently under the labour ministry.

Its main duties would be to submit and implement a national policy on social welfare and drafting a framework to ensure conditions of social cohesion and social solidarity.

According to deputy government spokesman Panayiotis Sentonas, the ministry will also afford social protection, and ensure social inclusion and promotion of equal opportunities for all.

The ministry will “coordinate and implement policies to ensure a respectable standard of living for all legal residents of the Republic.

The bill is expected to be submitted to parliament in the next few days