Urgent appeal: budget resolution for social infrastructure necessary!

Urgent appeal: budget resolution for social infrastructure necessary!

The current developments surrounding Saxony's double budget 2025/2026 not only concern the political committees, but also shed a lot of light on the social infrastructure in the Free State. On June 11, 2025, a day that is associated with tense expectations, State Parliament President Alexander Dierks calls for a quick decision on the budget. This demand is supported by David Eckardt, chairman of the League of Free Welfare in Saxony, who warns of impending dangers for the social infrastructure. “Every lost month endangers proven offers and trust in the country’s ability to act,” emphasizes Eckardt. This worrying situation requires immediate action by MPs to strengthen social services and ensure reliable financing for the various providers, as Eckardt notes in an open letter to political decision-makers. This is reported by [bistum-dresden-meissen.de].

But the challenges are complex. The state government's draft budget for 2025 and 2026 comes about in a tense economic situation. The meeting of the 8th Saxon State Parliament on April 3, 2025 made it clear that tax revenues increased due to inflation and not the economy. Personnel expenses in particular have increased enormously, for example due to collective bargaining agreements, which have increased expenses by around 600 million euros. In this respect, there is an urgent need for savings and cuts in the budget, which include debt advice, addiction and psychiatric help as well as offers for migrants and
could affect young people, according to the report from finanzen.sachsen.de.

Demands for security and planning

The League of Independent Welfare Services has clearly emphasized the need to reach a budget resolution before the summer break. State parliament member Simone Lang also emphasized the demand for faster decisions. Eckardt says: “We need reliability and planning security in social work.” For this purpose, votes from the opposition should be needed in order to achieve a majority for the budget resolution.

The possible consequences of the provisional budget management and the planned cuts in Section 8 of the State Ministry for Social Affairs are particularly worrying. Sponsors from various areas report impending project abandonments and staff losses that could jeopardize the diversity and quality of social offerings. The responsibility to prevent this lies in the hands of the MPs, who, according to Dierks, must be aware of their responsibility in order not to further jeopardize the social infrastructure.

Economic framework conditions

In the context of this debate, the economic situation in the Free State must also be taken into account. The Saxons are experiencing an economic decline in gross domestic product and rising inflation, which makes the starting position for the new budget even more difficult. Infrastructure Minister Regina Kraushaar has pointed out that the scope for the Saxon State Ministry for Infrastructure and Regional Development (SMIL) has decreased. With an available budget volume of 4.4 billion euros, the need to set priorities becomes clear. This development could have far-reaching effects on infrastructure and social housing projects. According to medienservice.sachsen.de, the promotion of social housing is viewed as a priority, but bottlenecks can also threaten here.

The discussion about the budget shows that the Free State needs a strong and effective environment that can be achieved through responsible action by politicians. It remains to be hoped that the demands for more security and planning security in the social infrastructure will be heard in order to ensure the diversity and quality of social services for all citizens in Saxony.