FNC: drop means test for Emirati parents of disabled children
Emirati parents of children with special needs should no longer be means tested for social and financial support, members of the Federal National Council agreed yesterday.
Representatives asked the Ministry of Community Development to change rules that weigh up how much a father, in particular, earns.
At present, the ministry requires financial documents from parents and if the salary of the father exceeds Dh20,000, officials consider the case not eligible for financial support.
The procedure is not written in law, but was introduced through a ministerial decree, the chamber heard.
“I received a case of a nineyear-old who suffers from brain damage and requires care from morning till night,” said Hamad Al Rahoomi, who represents Dubai. “His father’s salary is Dh30,000, but it is not all for this child, he has other children and commitments.”
Members said the ministry should abide by the law, which states that anyone with a physical or mental disability, who has no adequate source of income, deserves social support.
Mr Al Rahoomi said some people with severe disabilities required round-the-clock care and special equipment, much of which is not covered by standard health insurance.
Dr Amal Al Qubaisi, FNC Speaker, said the issue had first been raised years ago, and had apparently not been resolved.
“For five years we have been addressing this issue, since when I was first a member we used to raise this to former minister Maryam Al Roumi, and there was a promise that it would be considered, because the proposition is valid.”
The Government has been asked to cap the rising costs of buying a car ahead of the introduction of VAT next month – when vehicles will be hit with a 5 per cent price rise.
Federal National Council member Saeed Al Remeithi raised the issue with the Minister of Economy yesterday, during a packed session that touched on the cost of living, insurance and medical treatment.
The youngest member of the chamber referred to an unspecified report that he said found the UAE has the highest car prices in the Gulf.
He said a cap, like that set out to ensure residential rental prices could rise by a only certain amount and no more, would be fair for consumers.
“Today there is a lot of talk that the UAE has the highest prices in the Gulf, and with value added tax … there is a fear of inflation,” he said. “This is a trend that will have many effects on society.”
Mr Al Remeithi also said that many young drivers overstretch themselves when they spend on a car. But eventually the payments weigh them down and they “find themselves unable to afford any other social commitments”.
The Minister of Economy, Sultan Al Mansouri, said the Government was not willing to interfere in the “free economy” and had the environment to consider. He also said that a car remained a luxury and not a necessity.
“Putting a cap for a luxury good contradicts with this [free economy] principle, and it is not a basic commodity, like food. The UAE is also committed to certain environmental standards.”
But he said he would consider price controls such as that seen in the rental sector.
He said that prices fluctuated for a range of factors.
“Since 2008, there have been changes to the law, with regards to car specifications, especially in Europe and Japan, where they took into consideration security and environmental features, and this led to higher prices,” he said.
Currency fluctuations also affect prices, as do other issues.
“For instance, in Saudi Arabia they import a higher amount of cars than the UAE and this quantity plays a big role with regards to pricing,” he said.
He also said car prices had reduced since August, that the UAE market was very competitive and “we expect even further drops in 2018”.
Prices between this region and Europe vary significantly, with tax and other factors playing a part. For example, a Toyota Land Cruiser Prado sold in the UK starts at about Dh180,000, compared with Dh125,000 in the UAE.
But motoring industry figures said it was difficult to compare prices between countries in the Middle East.
Bill Carter, the chief systems and innovation officer at Autodata Middle East, said: “To do a price comparison between the nations is virtually impossible because each nation’s vehicles will have a different specification level even though the vehicles are badged the same. A vehicle may be badged GXR in every country – that doesn’t mean they are all equal.”
Each country orders its cars built to a certain specification. And it can vary between dealers.
Nevertheless, the issue of where vehicles are most expensive is a hot topic.
“I’ve been here 10 years and if it hasn’t come up every year then every other year.”
He said regulating the prices will be useful only “if there was an agreement between all the dealers and all the manufacturers that specifications would be the same. And that’s never going to happen.”
Mr Carter said environmental regulations do not affect prices much.
“The UAE is bringing out more of these environmental regulations compared with the rest of the GCC. But there are moves to standardise regulations across the GCC.
“But if you make sure you are comparing like for like, the price variation is not very big,” he said.
The Minister of Economy, Sultan Al Mansouri, said the Government was not willing to interfere in the free economy