Four new Flash Reports prepared by the European Social Policy Network (ESPN) are now available and provide information on recent social policy developments in Cyprus, Ireland, Poland and the UK.

• Emerging from the 2013 crisis, Cyprus is now faced with one of the highest rates of Non-Performing Loans in Europe. In an attempt to protect the first residence of distressed borrowers and contribute to financial stability, the government has proposed the “Estia” scheme, as a solution based on social policy criteria. But is it quite so?
• In a context of increasing pressure on public and private resources around long-term care and heavy reliance in the long-term care system on family carers, Ireland is undertaking a programme of training and supports for family carers, using funds from dormant accounts for this purpose.
• In June 2019, a new occupational pension savings scheme will be introduced in Poland. The scheme will cover all workers and be based on an auto-enrolment mechanism with the possibility to opt-out. Contributions will be paid by employees and employers, with co-payment from the State budget. The government expects that this new scheme will improve the adequacy of the Polish pension system.
• A new approach to measuring poverty has been proposed by The Social Metrics Commission. This may end a dispute between the UK Government and its critics which has been running since 2010. The approach may also be of interest to other EU countries and the European Commission.