Labour Ministry Moves To Recover $533m In Returned Solidarity Programme Funds

The Ministry of Labour and Social Security has asked the Ministry of Finance to make available roughly $533 million from the Solidarity Programme, after that unspent amount went back to the Consolidated Fund when the fiscal year closed.

The ministry made the position public in a statement on Thursday, saying it wanted to set out the numbers and respond to concerns about how the Government's $1-billion initiative has been managed. The explanation followed strong criticism at Wednesday's meeting of Parliament's Public Administration and Appropriations Committee.

Questions intensified after it emerged that $230.4 million, or about 23 per cent of the programme's budget, had reached beneficiaries almost one year after the scheme began as support for Jamaicans in financial difficulty.

At the committee session, MPs returned several times to the figure of about $770 million that had not gone out through the programme. Some members pressed the ministry on why so much money was still not in the hands of people seeking help.

Dion Jennings, the ministry's acting permanent secretary, also told the committee that the remaining money had been paid back at the end of the financial year, as required under the rules for public spending.

In its release, however, the ministry broke down the original allocation differently. It said $230.4 million was paid straight to approved recipients, while $236.2 million was moved to the Rehabilitation and Social Pension Fund, where it was used for grants and other support to people in need.

On that basis, the amount that could not be used before the year ended was about $533 million, which the ministry said had to be placed in the Consolidated Fund.

The ministry's account separates the money lawmakers described as roughly $770 million unspent into two categories: funds shifted into other social assistance channels, and funds formally returned to the Consolidated Fund.

The Solidarity Programme was rolled out in June 2025 as a targeted welfare measure for older people, low-income informal workers, people with disabilities, medically at-risk individuals, and unemployed young adults aged 18 to 35 who were not in school or training.

Figures given to the PAAC showed that more than 18,000 applications were submitted. Of that number, 11,521 applicants were approved to receive payments.

The ministry said some approved beneficiaries have still not picked up their money. It added that the collection window has been pushed back to June 30, 2026, to allow those outstanding payments to be completed.

The ministry said it is continuing reconciliation and payment work while using its broader social protection programmes to assist Jamaicans facing hardship.