With financial support amounting to CZK 6 billion, the Ministry of Regional Development has created the preconditions for improving the quality and accessibility of social services
PRESS RELEASE ON AUDIT NO 24/10 – 19 May 2025
Between 2014 and 2024, the Ministry of Regional Development (MoRD) invested a total of CZK 5.97 billion from national and European Union funds in the development of infrastructure for regional social services. The MoRD supported 664 projects, primarily focused on the acquisition of facilities, construction modifications, and enhancement of the material and technical base of existing services. Through this financial support, the Ministry created the fundamental conditions for improving both the quality and availability of social services, which are in increasing demand in the Czech Republic—particularly in light of demographic trends. The MoRD took these evolving needs into account when selecting projects for support. However, certain exceptions were noted. In some cases, overly broad criteria set by the MoRD allowed beneficiaries, for example, to purchase unnecessary vehicles, which were subsequently used for social services only to a minimal extent. These findings emerged from an audit conducted by the Supreme Audit Office (SAO), which focused on the use of these funds.
“Of the 14 projects audited, the SAO found that most beneficiaries used the funds effectively or exhibited only minor shortcomings. However, in two projects, we identified significant financial irregularities suggesting a breach of budgetary discipline, amounting to as much as CZK 19.1 million,” summarized Jan Kinšt, a Member of the SAO, who led the audit.
One such example indicating a breach of budgetary discipline was the underutilisation of newly acquired vehicles. Of the 27 vehicles purchased, the SAO found that four were used only minimally for social service purposes. In one case, eight vehicles were acquired for a care service with a capacity of six clients, yet one vehicle was used only twice a week. In two other care services, one vehicle was used only three times per month, and another just once per month, covering an average distance of less than three kilometres per journey. In another case, a vehicle was purchased for a professional social counselling service, but this car was used merely once every four weeks.
Nevertheless, the audit also highlighted examples of good practice. One such project successfully facilitated the transition of 48 individuals with varying degrees of disability from institutional care to a natural living environment—specifically, nine newly constructed community homes. This shift, particularly the enhanced privacy afforded to service users, resulted in a demonstrable improvement in their quality of life. Another commendable example was a project aimed at enhancing respite care services. According to the auditors, this initiative contributed to the increased self-sufficiency of clients with multiple sclerosis by enabling them to use smart training apartments equipped with modern technologies and IT tools to practice alternative communication methods in a home-like setting. Over the course of a year, more than 100 clients benefit from this facility.
In setting the conditions for the financial support, the MoRD collaborated with the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (MoLSA), which holds sectoral responsibility for social services. However, the SAO found that the MoRD did not monitor whether the support from the Integrated Regional Operational Programme (IROP)—which was the focus of this audit in relation to EU funding—was effectively complemented by assistance provided through MoLSA’s Operational Programme Employment (OPEm). This lack of coordination poses a risk that improvements in the quality and availability of social services may not be fully realised, for example, due to an insufficient number of social workers in the absence of follow-up support from OPEm. For this reason, the SAO underlines the importance of closer coordination between the two Ministries and explicitly recommends this in its audit report to the MoRD.
Communication Department
Supreme Audit Office