1. What is the background for the issuance of the "Guiding Opinions on Further Improving and Implementing Active Reproductive Support Measures"?
In June 2021, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council issued the "Decision on Optimizing the Fertility Policy to Promote Long-term Balanced Development of the Population" (hereinafter referred to as the "Decision"), implementing the policy that a couple can have three children, and supporting the implementation of active fertility support measures.
In August 2021, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress revised the Population and Family Planning Law, stipulating that "the state shall take financial, tax, insurance, education, housing, employment and other support measures to reduce the burden of family fertility, parenting, and education."
In December 2021, the Central Economic Work Conference emphasized "promoting the implementation of the new fertility policy and actively responding to population aging".
The 2022 government work report proposes to "improve the supporting measures for the three-child birth policy".
The implementation of the three-child birth policy and supporting measures has been warmly welcomed by the masses, but at the same time, it is also expressed that they hope to further increase birth support.
In order to further implement the decisions and arrangements of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council and meet the new expectations of the people, the National Health Commission, the National Development and Reform Commission, and relevant departments have studied and drafted the "Guiding Opinions on Further Improving and Implementing Active Reproductive Support Measures" (below). The "Guiding Opinions" for short), accelerate the establishment of an active birth support policy system, and provide strong support for promoting the realization of a moderate birth rate and promoting the long-term balanced development of the population.
2. What measures have been taken to improve the level of prenatal and postnatal care services?
Optimizing fertility is directly related to the happiness of the majority of families and the improvement of the overall quality of the population.
The "Guiding Opinions" put forward four measures to improve the level of prenatal and postnatal care services, including improving the whole process of prenatal and postnatal care, improving the quality of children's health services, strengthening reproductive health services, and improving family infant care capabilities.
To promote the capacity building of maternal and child health care institutions, each province, city, and county should set up a government-run, standardized maternal and child health care institution.
Strengthen the construction of high-quality obstetrics and comprehensively improve hospital delivery conditions.
Promote the standardization of child health care clinics (child health care rooms) in primary medical institutions, and improve the level of doctors specializing in child health care and basic medical services.
During the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, the central budget will support the development of about 10 pediatric national regional medical center construction projects.
Expand labor analgesia pilot.
Promote the construction of assisted reproductive technology system.
Strengthen publicity, education and services for reproductive health, prevent unwanted pregnancy, and reduce abortions that are not medically necessary.
Establish and improve the health science expert database and resource database, and popularize scientific parenting knowledge and skills.
3. The "Decision" will develop an inclusive nursery service system as an important part of active fertility support measures. What are the deployments of the "Guiding Opinions" this time?
Infants and toddlers under the age of 3 are the beginning of a person's all-round development and an important period of life development.
Nursing services are related to the healthy growth of infants and young children, the vital interests of thousands of households, and the future of the country and the nation.
The "Guiding Opinions" promotes the accelerated development of the childcare service system from three aspects: increasing the supply of inclusive childcare services, reducing the operating costs of childcare institutions, and improving the quality of childcare services.
It is proposed that in 2022, all prefectures and cities in the country will issue and implement the overall solution of "one old and one small".
Implement public childcare service capacity building projects and special actions for inclusive childcare services to drive local government infrastructure investment and social investment.
The charging standards for public nursery institutions shall be formulated by local governments, and the supervision of the fees charged by inclusive nursery institutions shall be strengthened.
Support qualified employers to provide welfare childcare services for employees.
Speed up the formulation and introduction of management measures for family nurseries.
Encourage and support qualified kindergartens to enroll 2-3 year olds.
Expand the scope of application for nursery construction projects, and increase support for investment in the central budget to provide construction subsidies.
The price of water, electricity, gas, and heat in nursery institutions shall be implemented at the price of residents' living.
Encourage social capital to set up a childcare service development fund to provide credit enhancement support to the childcare industry.
Implement the relief policy for nursery enterprises during the epidemic.
Gradually implement the vocational qualification access system for nursery practitioners in accordance with the law.
In-depth development of national demonstration cities for infant care services.
Encourage qualified general institutions of higher learning and vocational colleges to offer childcare service-related majors.
Strictly implement a series of normative documents such as fire safety guidelines for nursery institutions, strengthen comprehensive supervision of departments, and strictly prevent safety accidents.
4. How to further improve the maternity leave and benefits guarantee mechanism?
The "Guiding Opinions" further improve the maternity leave and benefits guarantee mechanism from two aspects: optimizing the maternity leave system and improving maternity insurance and other related social insurance systems.
It is proposed that localities should improve maternity leave policies, help employees balance work and family relationships, and promote fair employment and career development.
Based on the actual situation, improve the reasonable sharing mechanism of vacation labor costs, clarify the responsibilities of relevant parties, and take practical and effective measures to ensure employee vacation benefits.
The state uniformly regulates and formulates and improves the maternity insurance maternity allowance payment policy, strengthens the role of maternity insurance in guaranteeing maternity medical expenses and maternity allowances for insured female employees, and ensures the safety of maternity insurance funds.
Where conditions permit, flexible employees who participate in employee medical insurance can be explored to participate in maternity insurance at the same time.
Unemployed women enjoy maternity medical treatment by participating in urban and rural residents' medical insurance.
For those who receive unemployment insurance benefits to pay employees' basic medical insurance premiums (including maternity insurance premiums) to protect their maternity rights and interests, the required funds are drawn from the unemployment insurance fund.
Guide local governments to comprehensively consider factors such as the affordability of medical insurance (including maternity insurance) funds, the standardization of related technologies, and gradually incorporate appropriate labor analgesia and assisted reproductive technology projects into the scope of fund payment according to procedures.
5. What support measures have been proposed for housing and taxation?
Three measures are proposed, including accelerating the improvement of the housing security system, accurately implementing the preferential policies for buying and renting houses, and giving full play to the supporting roles of taxation and finance.
Optimize the public rental housing queuing and allocation rules, incorporate the number and composition of families into factors such as the queuing ranking or comprehensive scoring, and directly organize housing selection for eligible families with a large number of children; improve the public rental housing exchange policy, If the public rental housing needs to be exchanged due to the increase of family population, employment, schooling of children, etc., it shall be exchanged in time according to the housing availability.
The housing policy is tilted towards families with multiple children. For families with multiple children who do not own a house and rent a house in the deposit city, they can withdraw the housing provident fund according to the actual rent expenditure; Appropriately increase the housing provident fund loan amount and other related support policies.
Implement the special additional deduction policy for personal income tax for infant care expenses under the age of 3; establish an incentive mechanism for employers to protect employees' reproductive rights and interests in accordance with the law; increase financial support for enterprises that provide maternal and child care, childcare services, related vocational training, and consumer goods production strength.
6. How to strengthen the supply of high-quality educational resources?
It includes three measures, including improving the universal and inclusive level of preschool education, improving the level of balanced development of compulsory education, and strengthening health education such as physical hygiene.
Proposed to continue to implement the "14th Five-Year" preschool education development and improvement action plan.
Improve the mechanism of government investment as the main source, reasonable sharing of households, and other multi-channel financing mechanisms.
Optimize and improve the financial subsidy policy, and gradually increase the level of financial investment in preschool education.
Improve the preschool education subsidy system, and effectively ensure that children from families with financial difficulties receive inclusive preschool education.
Optimize the structure of compulsory education, and ensure that compulsory education degrees are mainly provided by public schools and government-purchased degrees.
Further reduce the burden of homework and off-campus training for students in the compulsory education stage, improve the quality of after-school services, and ensure after-school service funds in accordance with regulations.
Strengthen the supervision of non-disciplinary off-campus training.
Strengthen the family education guidance for parents and establish a scientific concept of parenting.
Carry out physical hygiene education, adolescence education or sexual health education, and strengthen the positive guidance of the concept of marriage and love, and the concept of family.
7. What are the requirements for building a fertility-friendly employment environment?
A fertility-friendly employment environment helps workers balance work and family relationships.
The "Guiding Opinions" put forward three measures, including encouraging the implementation of flexible working methods, promoting the creation of family-friendly workplaces, and earnestly safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of labor and employment.
Employers can combine production and work conditions, negotiate with employees, adopt flexible commuting, working from home and other working methods to provide work convenience for employees who need to take their children to and from school, take care of sick or stay-at-home children, etc., and help employees solve childcare difficulties. .
Encourage employers to incorporate measures related to helping employees balance work and family relations into collective contracts and special collective contract clauses for the protection of female employees' rights and interests.
Implement breastfeeding promotion actions.
Equipped with necessary maternal and child service facilities.
Encourage qualified employers, schools, communities, group organizations, etc. to carry out winter and summer vacation custody services.
Strengthen the training of relevant vocational skills for female workers, especially those who give birth and re-employment.
Strengthen supervision and law enforcement, improve judicial relief mechanisms, and explore procuratorial public interest litigation for the protection of women's equal employment rights and interests.
8. How to do a good job of publicity and guidance and service management?
To implement positive fertility support measures, it is necessary to actively create a fertility-friendly social atmosphere and establish a sound population service system.
The "Guiding Opinions" makes specific arrangements for the above two aspects of work, and proposes to give full play to the role of various media and the advantages of group organizations, to advocate age-appropriate marriage and childbirth, prenatal and postnatal care, respect for the social value of childbirth, respect for parents, children first, and husband and wife sharing Take responsibility for parenting.
Promote the reform of marriage customs and change customs, and advocate the concept of active marriage and childbirth.
Organize the creation of a group of positive literary and artistic works.
Promote the construction of child-friendly cities.
Carry out commendation activities for advanced units in national fertility-friendly work.
Strengthen the collaborative governance between the government and the society, and strengthen the construction of grass-roots population management systems and service capabilities such as townships (streets) and villages (communities).
Strengthen the responsibilities of grassroots population information management, promote the integration and sharing of basic information, and scientifically study and judge the fertility situation and population trends.
Establish and improve all-round support and security systems for life, pension, medical care, and spiritual comfort, and mobilize family planning associations at all levels to carry out in-depth "heart-warming actions".
9. How to ensure the implementation of various policies and measures in the "Guiding Opinions"?
The "Guiding Opinions" require that all relevant departments in all regions should have a profound understanding of the importance and urgency of improving and implementing active fertility support measures, effectively improve their political positions, put population work on the important agenda, and work closely with each other to accelerate the improvement of active fertility. support measures.
All localities should insist that the top leaders personally take charge and take overall responsibility, strengthen overall planning, policy coordination and work implementation, improve specific policies and measures in a timely manner based on actual conditions, and carefully organize their implementation to ensure that responsibilities are in place, measures are in place, investment is in place, and implementation is in place.
All relevant departments should strengthen local guidance, summarize and popularize good experience and practices, refine supporting measures in a timely manner, promote the resolution of problems faced in work, and continuously improve the service management system.
Based on the national conditions, strengthen evaluation and demonstration, and promote the matching link between birth policy and relevant economic and social policies.
Improve the inter-departmental coordination mechanism, strengthen the overall research and supervision of important policies.
Improve and optimize the target management responsibility system for fertility policies, study the establishment of an indicator system, and monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of active fertility support measures.
Strengthen policy publicity and interpretation, timely and properly respond to social concerns, and create a good atmosphere.
Important situations are reported in a timely manner.