Welfare Ministry has received no proposal to merge with Health Ministry

Latvia’s Ministry of Welfare has received no proposals to merge with the Ministry of Health, LSM reported, citing Welfare Ministry communications chief Aiga Isajeva.

Isajeva said the ministry had held no discussions about a possible merger. Health Ministry communications chief Oskars Šneiders declined to say whether it had received a specific proposal, saying the issue should be addressed to the prime minister and other politicians rather than the ministries.

Finance Minister Māris Kučinskis of the United List has said that discussions within his party currently favour merging the Ministry of Smart Administration and Regional Development, the Ministry of Climate and Energy, and the Ministry of Economics. He also mentioned a possible merger of the Ministry of Culture with the Ministry of Education and Science.

Another option discussed has been creating an Infrastructure Ministry by combining the ministries of Transport and Economics, though Kučinskis said this should not be done at present. A merger of the Welfare and Health ministries is also among the possibilities.

Kučinskis said preparations for a merger could be a task for next year, with a plan developed over the course of the year and the two ministries brought together from 2028. He said the fiscal impact would be relatively small.

Andris Kulbergs of the United List, the prime minister and the person tasked with forming the next government, has included reducing the number of ministries among measures planned for next year. Other proposed savings include cutting state funding for political parties and compensation for members of parliament, and ending representation expenses.