Manama: Millions of dinars are being allocated to Bahrain's needy families to ensure their daily requirements, says the Premier.

His Royal Highness Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa issued orders to develop the social assistance system and put forward criteria to guarantee that aid reaches poor families and meets their basic needs more effectively and accurately.

This came as he chaired yesterday a work meeting which examined the efficiency of the social assistance programme and its ability to cover the needs of targeted groups.

He stressed that the government is keen to alleviate the burden on citizens and support them through a social welfare network that includes services for which hundreds of millions of dinars are allocated in the annual state budgets to subsidise food products, housing, electricity, water and fuel.

He revealed that BD110 million cash aid is granted to citizens every year to help them cope with high living costs and enable less well-off families and citizens with special needs to be looked after.

He asked the Social Development Ministry to conduct surveys to identify low-income families, assess their needs and develop mechanisms to ensure that services reach them. He also asked other service ministries to hold workshops to inform citizens of the government's social programmes.