The government will pay household bills of orphans, said Housing Maintenance and Utilities Minister Vladimir Belokhvostov as he presented a new bill at the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of Belarus on October 4. The bill is supposed to amend the law regulating guaranteed social protection for orphans and parentless children. The bill has passed the first reading. It specifies the reimbursement of telephone bills, household bills to individuals, who take care of orphans and parentless children as well as children taken care of by guardians and foster families, by family-type children’s homes. As household bills grow larger, such families are having difficulties with paying the bills. The government decided to support the families where orphans grow up. According to the Housing Maintenance and Utilities Minister, the bill’s implementation will need Br11.2 billion of additional budget money. The bill was brought about as Belarus’ Marriage and Family Code does not force guardians to take care of children using their own funds. As such expenses are quite burdensome, they will be reimbursed. The reimbursement will not exceed the housing bills paid for 20 square metres of the residential premises per child.