Two departments further standardize and strengthen the management of the central special lottery public welfare funds to support the improvement of basic elderly care services at home and in the community.

Recently, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Civil Affairs issued the "Measures for the Management of Central Special Lottery Public Welfare Fund to Support the Enhancement of Home and Community Basic Elderly Care Services". It mentioned that project funds are specifically used for the following three aspects: constructing home elderly care beds, supporting some regions to construct home elderly care beds for economically challenged and partially disabled elderly people, and conducting age-appropriate renovations in their regular living spaces. Providing home elderly care services. Supporting some regions to provide home elderly care services for economically challenged and partially disabled elderly people, based on professional organizations providing relevant services, including assistance with hygiene, mobility, bathing, medical care, rehabilitation, outreach care, etc. Conducting elderly meal assistance services. Supporting local elderly meal assistance institutions to purchase or update meal assistance facilities and equipment as needed. The original text is as follows: Measures for the Management of Central Special Lottery Public Welfare Fund to Support the Enhancement of Home and Community Basic Elderly Care Services Chapter 1 General Provisions Article 1 In order to standardize and strengthen the management of project funds for the enhancement of home and community basic elderly care services supported by the Central Special Lottery Public Welfare Fund (hereinafter referred to as project funds), improve the efficiency of fund utilization, and in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Budget Law of the People's Republic of China, the Regulations for the Implementation of the Budget Law of the People's Republic of China (State Council Decree No. 729), the Regulations on Lottery Management (State Council Decree No. 554), etc., these regulations are formulated. Article 2 The project funds referred to in these regulations are funds arranged through the Central Special Lottery Public Welfare Fund to support the enhancement of home and community basic elderly care services projects, specifically including subsidy funds to support some regions to develop home elderly care beds for economically challenged and partially disabled elderly people, provide home elderly care services, and support the development of elderly meal assistance services in various regions. Article 3 The implementation period of project funds is tentatively until December 31, 2025. Before the expiration of the period, the Ministry of Finance will evaluate and determine the follow-up period in accordance with laws, administrative regulations, relevant regulations of the State Council, and work needs. Article 4 The management and use of project funds shall follow the principles of "scientific standardization, fairness and justice, focus on key points, and emphasis on performance". Chapter 2 Scope of Use Article 5 Project funds are specifically used for the following three aspects: (1) Constructing home elderly care beds. Supporting some regions to construct home elderly care beds for economically challenged and partially disabled elderly people and conduct age-appropriate renovations in their regular living spaces. (2) Providing home elderly care services. Supporting some regions to provide assistance with hygiene, mobility, bathing, medical care, rehabilitation, outreach care, etc., to economically challenged and partially disabled elderly people based on professional organizations providing relevant services. (3) Conducting elderly meal assistance services. Supporting local elderly meal assistance institutions to purchase or update meal assistance facilities and equipment as needed. Article 6 Each year, the specific regions selected for the construction of home elderly care beds and the provision of home elderly care services will be formulated by the Ministry of Civil Affairs in conjunction with the Ministry of Finance based on annual work tasks and budget arrangements, and will be determined after selection and public announcement according to procedures. Article 7 The specific amount of funding allocated each year for the construction of home elderly care beds, the provision of home elderly care services, and the conduct of elderly meal assistance services will be determined by the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Civil Affairs based on the budget arrangements for the year and other factors such as annual work priorities. Chapter 3 Allocation and Management of Use Article 8 Regions applying for the construction of home elderly care beds and the provision of home elderly care services should truthfully and accurately fill out the application materials as required, strengthen the review of application information, ensure the accuracy and truthfulness of the data, and take responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of the application information. Provincial civil affairs departments will conduct preliminary reviews of the application materials submitted by the regions, and in the case of any problems found during the review, the regions will be required to make adjustments before resubmitting. After the submission of information by local civil and financial departments, if any errors are found, they should immediately report to the superior civil and financial departments and resubmit the relevant information after correction. Article 9 According to budget management regulations, provincial civil affairs departments, in conjunction with local financial departments, will establish regional performance targets for project funds, submit them to the Ministry of Civil Affairs for approval and copy them to the local financial supervision bureau, and be responsible for the accuracy, procedural compliance, and timely submission of the data declared for regional performance goals. Article 10 The Ministry of Civil Affairs will review the rationality, compatibility, feasibility, and accuracy of the basic data of the regional performance targets submitted by provincial civil affairs departments. In case of any problems found during the review, local civil affairs departments should be urged to make adjustments or modifications and resubmit them after improvements. Based on the audit results, the Ministry of Civil Affairs will propose suggestions for the allocation of project funds and regional performance targets to be submitted to the Ministry of Finance. Article 11 The Ministry of Finance will review the fund allocation and regional performance target suggestions submitted by the Ministry of Civil Affairs and propose a fund allocation plan. After the budget is approved by the National People's Congress, the project funds and regional performance targets will be issued within the specified time. Article 12 The funds allocated for the construction of home elderly care beds and the provision of home elderly care services in some regions will be distributed using a factor method, taking into account factors such as regional demand and financial capacity, focusing on regions with high demand for elderly care services and financial difficulties. The distribution coefficient comprehensively considers factors such as the number of elderly people over 60 years old, the number of low-income elderly people, the number of disabled and partially disabled elderly people, the number of home and community elderly care service facilities, and the degree of financial difficulties to determine. To strengthen the application of performance evaluation results, each year, based on the results of the previous year's project implementation, a certain amount of subsidy funds will be appropriately deducted from the provinces where the areas with low evaluation rankings are located and used to reward provinces with high rankings, with the total amount of rewards generally not exceeding the total amount of deductions. Article 13 The funds allocated to support the development of elderly meal assistance services in various regions will be distributed using a factor method, mainly considering factors such as the demand for elderly meal assistance services in various regions, urban-rural differences, and local financial resources, and will be tilted towards provinces with a large number of low-income elderly people and high demand for meal assistance services in rural areas. The distribution coefficient comprehensively considers factors such as the number of elderly people over 60 years old, the number of low-income elderly people, the number of elderly meal assistance service facilities, and the degree of financial difficulties to determine. Article 14 After receiving the budget documents for project funds, provincial financial departments shall act in accordance with the budget implementation regulations.According to the Budget Law of the People's Republic of China and other regulations, the project funds should be timely allocated to various regions, and the fund allocation documents should be copied to the local financial department supervision bureau.Article 15: The financial and civil affairs departments at all levels should take measures to accelerate the progress of budget execution, improve the balance and effectiveness of budget execution. The payment of project funds shall be implemented in accordance with the relevant provisions of the centralized payment system of the national treasury. The use and management of carry-over surplus funds shall be implemented in accordance with the relevant methods of the financial department. Local financial and civil affairs departments at all levels shall not embezzle, intercept, or retain project funds in any form, shall not expand the scope of project fund expenditures, and shall not charge any project management fees other than the service fees that should be borne by the service recipients. Article 16: If government procurement is involved in the use of project funds, it shall be implemented in accordance with the laws and regulations regarding government procurement. Local governments may, in accordance with the provisions of the "Methods for the Administration of Government Purchasing Services" and other regulations, guide social forces to participate in providing basic home and community elderly care services through government purchasing services. Article 17: Financial and civil affairs departments at all levels should strengthen the management of the use of project funds in accordance with the "Regulations on the Administration of Lotteries," the "Implementing Rules of the Regulations on the Administration of Lotteries," and the "Methods for the Management of Lottery Public Welfare Funds" (Cai Zong [2021] No. 18), and announce to the society annually the scale of project funds, expenditure content, execution status, project expenditure performance goals, and completion status of the previous year's overall and specific projects. Basic infrastructure, equipment, or social welfare activities funded by lottery public welfare funds shall be clearly marked with the logo "Lottery Public Welfare Fund Support - China Welfare Lottery and China Sports Lottery". Civil affairs departments at all levels should further promote the use of project funds and publicize the funded projects, actively promote the public welfare nature and social responsibility of lottery public welfare funds, better demonstrate the important role of lottery public welfare funds in promoting the development of social welfare causes, continuously enhance the credibility and influence of lottery public welfare funds. Chapter IV Performance Management and Supervision Article 18: Civil affairs and financial departments at all levels should strengthen the performance management of subsidy funds throughout the entire process in accordance with the requirements of budget performance management, scientifically set performance goals, organize performance monitoring and evaluation, and strengthen the application of evaluation results. The Ministry of Finance shall organize key performance evaluations in a timely manner as needed, and use the evaluation results as important basis for arranging budgets, improving policies, and enhancing management. Article 19: Civil affairs and financial departments at all levels should strengthen internal control risk management, establish sound fund supervision mechanisms, effectively strengthen the scheduling and supervision of project fund budget execution, and no unit or individual may make false claims or embezzle project funds. The supervisory bureaus of the Ministry of Finance in various regions shall, in accordance with their responsibilities and the requirements of the Ministry of Finance, supervise the use and management of local subsidy funds. Any violation of this Act in the allocation review, use management of project funds, as well as other illegal activities such as abuse of power, negligence, and favoritism shall be investigated for corresponding responsibilities in accordance with the law. Article 20: The Ministry of Civil Affairs shall report to the Ministry of Finance on the use of project funds in the previous year by the end of March each year. The specific contents include: implementation status, fund use and surplus, social benefits and economic benefits, performance evaluation, etc. Article 21: Civil affairs and financial departments at all levels should consciously accept supervision from audit, inspection, and other departments, as well as the public. Chapter V Supplementary Provisions Article 22: The interpretation of this Act shall be the responsibility of the Ministry of Finance in conjunction with the Ministry of Civil Affairs. Article 23: This Act shall come into force from the date of promulgation. The "Notice of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Civil Affairs on the Issuance of the Management Measures for the Central Special Lottery Public Welfare Fund to Support the Improvement of Home and Community Basic Elderly Care Services" (Cai She [2021] No. 56) is hereby repealed. This article is compiled from the "Ministry of Finance Official Website", edited by GMTEight: Chen Xiaoyi.