Sophan Reveals 18% Budget Cut for 2570, Orders Committees and MPs to Halt Foreign Study Trips
Parliament's budget faces an 18% cut for 2570, prompting Speaker Sophan to suspend foreign study trips for committees and MPs while ordering departments to prepare plans for incomplete projects by June.
On May 5, 2569, at Parliament House, Speaker Sophan Sararum convened a meeting with Deputy Speakers Mallika Jirapunthuwanich and Lertsak Pattanachaikul and House secretariat executives to establish policy directives. Sophan announced that for incomplete projects without Terms of Reference, departments should prepare plans by June for speaker approval. The 2570 parliamentary budget allocation faces an 18 percent reduction, prompting Sophan to request that the executive branch refrain from further cuts, citing substantial reductions already imposed. He directed the facilities office to expedite landscaping improvements to enhance the parliamentary building's appearance for the benefit of representatives, senators, staff, and the public. Additionally, unused rooms will be converted into a nursery for employees' children, with Deputy Speaker Mallika overseeing coordination with Bangkok Metropolitan Administration for a cooperation agreement. Sophan also issued an order suspending foreign study trips for committees, civil servants, and MPs during this period, though international relationship missions may proceed on a case-by-case basis when formally invited, given their importance to diplomatic and international strategic mechanisms.
