Linke: program for the 2026 Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania state election

The Left wants to grant business subsidies only when social criteria are met. Workforces are to find it easier to take over companies, backed by rights of first refusal and a state investment fund. The program also focuses on skilled trades, the health industry and the games sector.

Companies often get money from the state. The Left wants to attach rules to this. Companies that pay very low wages should get no money. Workers should be able to take over their own company. The state should also support skilled trades and the health industry.

The Left wants to introduce a tourism levy to pay for infrastructure, quality and housing for employees. Shipyards are to be stabilized and modernized, with civilian shipbuilding given priority. For skilled workers in tourism, the party calls for higher wages and predictable working hours.

The Left wants a new levy on tourism. The money should pay for roads, buildings and good services. There should also be housing for workers. The shipyards in the state should be kept. They should mainly build civilian ships. Workers in hotels and restaurants should get higher pay.

The Left wants six weeks of vacation for all employees and, in the long run, a 35-hour week without loss of pay. Employees are to get a right to full-time work and a right to return from part-time. The party wants to defend the Working Hours Act and the eight-hour day.

All employees should get six weeks of vacation. Later, the work week should be only 35 hours. Pay should stay the same. People who work part-time should be allowed to return to full-time. The eight-hour day should stay.

The Left wants a statewide action plan against poverty with binding targets. It also wants reliably funded minimum standards for social infrastructure in every region. The platform describes poverty not as personal failure but as a result of structural inequality.

The Left wants a plan against poverty for the whole state. The plan should have fixed goals. Every region should have advice and help services. The Left says poor people are not to blame for being poor.

The Left wants to press the federal government for welfare benefits that cover real living costs. Sanctions and bureaucratic hurdles are to be reduced. Job centers and social welfare offices are to become easier to reach.

The Left wants higher welfare benefits. The money should really be enough to live on. There should be fewer penalties and less paperwork. Job centers and welfare offices should be easier to reach.

The Left wants to remove barriers in public and private settings and make accessibility a condition for public investment. The minimum wage is to apply in sheltered workshops for people with disabilities. It also plans a state allowance for deaf people and a dedicated commissioner.

People with disabilities should be able to take part everywhere. Public contracts should only go to accessible projects. The minimum wage should apply in workshops for people with disabilities. Deaf people should get their own allowance from the state.

The Left wants to push at the federal level for removing value-added tax from staple foods. On energy, households are to be protected from energy poverty and supply cutoffs; it should be possible to require utilities to reverse cutoffs.

The Left wants to keep food and energy affordable. Basic foods should no longer carry sales tax. Nobody should have power or water cut off. People with debts should be able to pay in small installments.

The Left wants everyone who works to pay into the statutory pension system, including civil servants, politicians and the self-employed. It opposes tying retirement provision more closely to capital markets. Health and long-term care insurance are also to be financed by everyone according to income.

Everyone who works should pay into the public pension system. That includes civil servants, politicians and self-employed people. Pensions should not depend on the stock market. Everyone should also pay into health and care insurance based on their income.

The Left wants to abolish the debt brake because, in the party's view, it blocks needed investment. The state is to invest in education, children and social security rather than cut there. In addition, the budget is to be checked in the future for its effects on gender equality.

The debt brake limits new government debt. The Left wants to abolish it. Then the state can spend more money. The money should go to schools, daycare and social services. The budget should also treat women and men fairly.

The Left wants to give cities and towns more funding and more reliable funding. At the federal level, the Gewerbesteuer (local business tax) is to become a municipal business tax that depends less on the economic cycle. The federal government is to fully cover costs and tax losses caused by its laws.

Cities and towns should get more money. The local business tax should be changed. It should bring in steady money even in bad times. The federal government should pay when its laws cause costs. Towns with old debts should get help.

The Left wants to levy the wealth tax again, with an allowance of one million euros per person. It adds a reform of the inheritance tax, a one-time wealth levy and an end to Ehegattensplitting (joint tax filing for married couples). The party expects up to 1.7 billion euros a year in extra revenue for the state.

Very rich people should pay a tax on their wealth again. The first million euros stays tax-free. A home the owner lives in should be spared. Large inheritances should also be taxed more. The tax break for married couples should end.

The Left wants to use the Bundesrat to have a basic right to housing written into the constitution. It supports a nationwide rent cap in areas where housing is scarce and wants to reform the Mietpreisbremse (rent brake). People with low and middle incomes should have to spend less than 30 percent of income on housing.

The Left says housing is a basic right. This should be written into the constitution. Where homes are scarce, there should be a limit on rents. People with little money should not pay too much for housing. There should be more dorm rooms for students and trainees.

The Left wants to secure the finances of municipal and cooperative housing companies and prevent their sale to private owners. Land owned by the state and municipalities is to stay in public hands and be used for social housing. In the party's view, these companies ensure affordable housing over the long term.

Many homes belong to cities or cooperatives. The Left wants to protect these companies. They should not be sold to private firms. Land owned by the state and towns should not be sold either. Social housing should be built there.

The Left wants to introduce a Kindergrundsicherung (basic child benefit) to fight child poverty. It is to include higher child benefit payments and supplements for single parents and low-income families. According to the program, at least one in six children in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is affected by poverty.

Many children in the state are poor. The Left wants to change that. It wants to introduce a basic child benefit. This is money from the state for all children. The regular child payment should go up. Single parents and poor families should get more.

The Left wants to introduce a children's card that gives every child up to age 18 a monthly credit of 50 euros. The money is meant to be used for sports, culture and education.

The Left wants a children's card. Every child up to age 18 gets 50 euros a month with it. The money is for sports, culture and education.

The Left wants to require municipalities to provide child and youth work and to fund the state youth plan according to need. It also calls for an independent commissioner for children and youth with cabinet rank, children's rights in the Basic Law, and more money for sports.

Towns and cities should have to offer youth work. Today this is voluntary. There should be an independent person for children and youth in the government. Children's rights should be written into the constitution. Sports should also get more money.

The Left wants to introduce 28 days of paid parental leave for the second parent after a birth. Care work is to be shared more fairly between the sexes. Nursery, daycare and after-school care are to remain free of charge.

After a birth, the second parent should also get 28 days off. This time is paid. Women and men should share family work more fairly. Nursery, daycare and after-school care stay free.

The Left wants to pass an education package worth 300 million euros. The money is meant for more staff and for individual support for children. The party also wants to negotiate what it calls an education peace agreement.

The Left wants to spend 300 million euros more on education. The money should pay for more staff. Children should get better support. The party also wants a firm agreement on education. It calls this an education peace.

The Left wants daycare to remain free of parental fees and wants to improve quality, starting with nurseries and after-school care. Groups are to become smaller step by step. The party also wants a mandatory preschool year.

Daycare should stay free for parents. Groups should get smaller. A nursery group should have four children. An after-school group should have 18 children. Before school starts, there should be a required preschool year.

The Left wants to give schools considerably more staff and build teams drawn from different professions. Teachers would in the future be required to teach only 25 hours per week. Every school is to have school social work.

The Left wants more staff in schools. This includes teachers, helpers and psychologists. Teachers should teach fewer hours each week. Every school should have a school social worker. This should give teachers more time for children.

The Left wants students to experience democracy in practice in everyday school life. Student councils at every level are to receive more money and more rights. Mandatory class councils, a project day and mock elections are added to this.

Students should have more say at school. Student councils should get more money and more rights. Every class should have a class council. Once a year there should be a project day about democracy. All schools should hold mock elections for young students.

The Left wants to make everyday school life less stressful for students. Grades in art, music and physical education are to be dropped, and no more than two exams or tests per week would be allowed. The party points to stress and overwork, especially among children from poorer families.

The Left wants less stress at school. There should be no more grades in art, music and sports. There should be at most two tests per week. There should be a new subject on relationships, sex and health. Students should get digital devices from their school.

The Left wants at least one school social worker at every school, permanently funded through a state program. It also wants more mental health services for young people. The platform says children and teenagers are increasingly strained by stress and crises.

Every school should get at least one school social worker. The state should pay for this for good. There should also be more mental health help for children. The Left says children suffer more and more from stress and crises.

The Left wants to turn all special-needs schools into inclusive mainstream schools step by step. Children with and without disabilities would then learn together. The platform sees inclusion as a task for society as a whole.

The Left wants to change special schools step by step. They should become regular schools for all children. Children with and without disabilities then learn together.

The Left wants BAföG (federal student aid) that is paid regardless of parents' income, does not have to be repaid and is above the poverty line. Cafeterias would offer at least one daily meal for no more than 2.50 euros. In the party's view, studying should not depend on background or income.

Students should get money from the state no matter what their parents earn. They do not have to pay it back. The cafeteria should offer one meal a day for 2.50 euros at most. There should be more places in student housing.

The Left wants permanent positions for ongoing tasks at universities and a collective agreement for student employees. The state's base funding for universities is to rise. To protect academic freedom, universities are to be given the right to appoint professors themselves.

Universities should have more permanent jobs. Students who work there should get a collective pay agreement. The state should give universities more money. Universities should decide themselves who becomes a professor.

The Left wants to modernize the state's universities through a permanently funded digital pact and make them climate-neutral through investment. It also wants to attract more students and researchers from abroad to Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.

The Left wants to modernize universities. A digital pact with steady funding should pay for this. University buildings should stop harming the climate. More people from other countries should study and do research here.

The Left wants to carry out the proposals of the "Pakt für Pflege" (Pact for Care) with state money from a new fund. Home care, counseling and prevention are to be strengthened, especially in sparsely populated areas. At the federal level, it wants care to stop being an investment object for private funds.

The Left wants a state fund for care. Care at home should get more support. Rural areas should also have enough care. Private investors should no longer make profit from care.

The Left wants to strengthen prevention and health literacy, especially among children and young people. First-aid courses in schools are to be expanded and prevention programs made available across the state.

The Left wants people to stay healthy. Children and young people should learn more about health. Schools should offer more first-aid courses. Prevention programs should be available everywhere in the state.

The Left wants to keep and attract more medical staff in the state because many doctors will soon retire. Foreign qualifications are to be recognized faster and young professionals supported in a targeted way.

Many doctors will retire soon. So the Left wants to attract more skilled workers. Degrees from other countries should be accepted faster. Young people studying medicine should get more support.

The Left wants to organize medical care across the state as one connected chain, especially in rural areas. Hospital sites are to be kept during the hospital reform, supplemented by health centers and telemedicine.

The Left wants good care everywhere in the state. This matters most in villages and small towns. Hospitals should stay open. Health centers and video appointments should be added.

The Left wants to prevent profits from operating hospitals and have public money go only into care. In the platform's view, health must not be a commodity; the system is to be financed on a solidarity basis and geared to the common good.

The Left wants no profits from hospitals. Tax money should only pay for care. The party says health is not a product for sale. Everyone should pay together for health and nursing care.

The Left wants to end deportations to war zones, explicitly including Syria, Afghanistan and Iran. It calls for legal and safe escape routes and a state admission program of its own for Afghanistan. It calls the fundamental right to asylum non-negotiable.

The Left wants no deportations to war zones. That includes Syria, Afghanistan and Iran. People should be able to flee safely and legally. The state should take in people from Afghanistan itself.

The Left wants to give priority to decentralized housing for refugees and require protection plans with independent complaint offices in existing shelters. Integration is to be a task for every policy area. The party describes integration as a two-way process.

Refugees should live in apartments rather than big shelters where possible. Shelters should have fixed rules for protection. Refugees should be able to complain there. They should learn German early and be allowed to work.

The Left wants to abolish the payment card for refugees in its current form. The cap on cash withdrawals is to go, and bank transfers are to be allowed. Refugees should be able to take part in financial transactions on equal terms.

Refugees today get a payment card instead of cash. The Left does not want this card as it is now. Refugees should be able to withdraw as much cash as they want. They should also be able to transfer money.

The Left wants more places in women's shelters and permanent funding for the support system for victims of violence. The state action plan on the Istanbul Convention is to be updated and carried out in a binding way. Counseling and training on digital violence are also to grow.

Women should be better protected from violence. There should be more places in women's shelters. Counseling centers should get lasting funding. There should also be more help with violence on the internet.

At the federal level, the Left supports repealing Section 218 of the Criminal Code, which governs abortion, without replacement. Abortions are to count as health care. In the state, it wants to secure counseling, medical care and obstetric services close to home.

Abortion is in the criminal law today. The Left wants to remove that section. An abortion should be part of normal health care. There should be counseling, doctors and midwives everywhere in the state.

The Left is seeking a parity rule for the next local elections to bring more women into political office. Women are to be supported in leadership positions and paid equally for work of equal value. The platform points out that women are underrepresented in leadership and earn less.

In local elections, as many women as men should run. The Left wants a rule for that. Women should become bosses more often. Women and men should get the same pay for work of equal value.

The Left wants to write the protection of queer people into the state constitution and keep pushing in the Bundesrat to add sexual identity to the Basic Law. It wants to fully fund the state action plan for sexual and gender diversity. It opposes a ban on gender-inclusive language in government offices and schools.

Queer people should be protected in the state constitution. Queer means, for example, lesbian, gay or trans. The federal constitution should protect them too. The Left is against banning gender-inclusive language in offices and schools.

The Left wants a separate anti-discrimination law for the state and more counseling centers. The federal General Equal Treatment Act is to be reviewed and tightened. The platform argues that discrimination must not go without consequences.

The Left wants its own state law against discrimination. Discrimination means someone is treated worse than others. There should be more counseling centers. People affected should be able to sue more easily.

The Left wants to promote wind and solar power as well as storage, and to involve local residents. Green hydrogen is to be used only where no more climate-friendly solution exists. Energy costs are to be shaped along social lines, among other things by cutting industry discounts.

The Left wants more power from wind and sun. Local people should have a say. Power should be stored better. Green hydrogen should only be used where nothing better works. Energy should stay affordable for everyone. Oil companies should pay an extra tax.

The Left wants to make Mecklenburg-Vorpommern climate-neutral by 2045 at the latest, with verifiable interim targets. The costs of the transition are to be shared on a solidarity basis because, in the platform's view, the climate crisis is also a social issue.

The Left wants the state to be climate-neutral by 2045. That means the state no longer harms the climate. There should be fixed targets along the way. The costs should be shared fairly.

The Left wants to rewet all drained peatlands used for farming or forestry by 2045 and fund this comprehensively. The platform treats peatlands, forests and soils as natural carbon stores; affected regions are to be supported by a structural change law.

Wet peatlands store a lot of CO2. So the Left wants to make all dried-out peatlands wet again. This should happen by 2045. Affected regions and businesses should get help.

The Left wants to protect natural areas better, designate new protected areas and add staff for nature conservation. Groundwater, lakes, rivers and coastal waters are to be protected consistently, and more water is to be kept in the landscape.

The Left wants to protect nature better. There should be new protected areas. More people should work in nature conservation. Water should stay clean and be kept in the ground.

The Left wants to secure animal welfare institutionally, for example through an office reviewing animal welfare in sports and a right for associations to sue. The platform points out that animal welfare is a constitutional state objective and that animals cannot speak for themselves.

The Left wants to protect animals better. A new office should check animal welfare in sports. Animal welfare groups should be able to go to court. Circuses should no longer have animals.

The Left wants to raise the share of forest in the state's area to at least 30 percent by 2030. Forests are to be converted quickly into deciduous and mixed woodland that can cope with climate change and does not catch fire easily.

The Left wants more forest in the state. By 2030, forest should cover at least 30 percent of the land. The forests should have leafy and mixed trees. Such forests do not burn as easily.

The Left wants collective wage agreements everywhere and reliable social protection for workers in farming, forestry and fishing. Seasonal workers, too, are to get a minimum wage above the poverty line and social insurance.

The Left wants better pay in farming. Union wage agreements should apply everywhere. Seasonal workers should also have social insurance. They should get a wage that protects them from poverty.

The Left wants to support regional processing and marketing of farm products and limit the market power of large retail and processing corporations. In the platform's view, regional supply chains secure local incomes and affordable food.

The Left wants to strengthen food from the region. Local businesses should process and sell it. Big corporations should have less power. Farmers should get fair prices.

The Left wants to extend organic farming to at least a quarter of farmland and significantly reduce pesticide use. Farms are to be paid for what they do for animal welfare and for climate, nature and environmental protection.

The Left wants more organic farming. At least a quarter of the fields should be organic. Farmers should use fewer pesticides. Those who protect nature and animals should get paid for it.

The Left wants an agricultural structure law against speculation in farmland and wants local and young farmers to get priority when land is allocated. Livestock farming is to be shifted to high standards in a socially acceptable way. According to the platform, land is a basis of life and not a commodity.

The Left wants to limit speculation in farmland. Speculation means buying land to sell it at a higher price. Local farmers and young farmers should get land first. Animals should be kept in better conditions.

The Left wants to preserve and further develop both commercial and recreational fishing in the state. Because ecological and economic conditions are changing, the program relies on sustainable use of waters and new prospects for fishers.

The Left wants to keep fishing alive in the state. This covers professional fishers and anglers. Fishers should get new ways to earn money. The waters should be protected while doing so.

The Left wants to cap the Deutschlandticket (nationwide transit pass) at no more than 49 euros and make buses and trains free for people under 21. Transit is to be funded in part by a levy on businesses with 50 or more employees.

The Left wants cheaper buses and trains. The nationwide transit pass should cost no more than 49 euros. People under 21 should ride for free. Larger businesses should pay a fee for this.

The Left wants to bring disused rail lines back into service and expand the rail network. The platform argues that a rail connection strengthens rural regions as places to live and do business and slows out-migration.

The Left wants to reopen old rail lines. New lines should be built too. This should help villages and small towns. Then fewer people will move away.

The Left wants to expand, modernize and improve the safety of the bike path network for everyday use and tourism. Cycling and walking are to be given more weight relative to cars.

The Left wants more and better bike paths across the state. Cycling should become safer. People who bike or walk should matter more. So far, cars often come first.

The Left wants to draw up a state strategy called "Digitales MV" with clear goals, responsibilities and funding. By 2030, fiber optics and mobile coverage are to be available everywhere in the state, because the program sees digitalization as part of basic public services.

The Left wants a plan for digitalization in the state. By 2030, fast internet and mobile coverage should exist everywhere. This includes villages. Public offices should offer more services online.

The Left wants authorities to use surveillance technology such as state trojans less often and under stricter rules. The program calls digital self-determination a fundamental right that it sees as threatened by surveillance and uncontrolled use of data.

The Left wants less surveillance by the state. A state trojan is a program that lets authorities secretly spy on devices. Such programs should be allowed less often. Data protection should become stronger.

The Left wants the state to help launch proceedings to ban the AfD before the Federal Constitutional Court. Militant far-right networks are to be pursued consistently, including possible bans and the disarming of neo-Nazis. The party sees right-wing extremism as one of the greatest dangers to democracy.

The Left wants a court to examine a ban on the AfD. The Federal Constitutional Court decides on this. The state should act firmly against violent far-right groups. Neo-Nazis should not be allowed to have weapons. May 8 should become a public holiday.

The Left rejects state spyware, blanket data retention and automated facial recognition in order to secure the right to informational self-determination. The Palantir software and pervasive video surveillance are also not to be used.

The Left wants less surveillance. The state should not use spy software on phones and computers. It should not store people's data just in case. Cameras should not recognize faces automatically.

The Left wants to set up an independent complaints office for police misconduct and introduce receipts for police checks. The Verfassungsschutz (domestic intelligence agency) is to face stronger democratic oversight and use informants only where strictly necessary. At the same time, the police are to get sufficient staff and equipment.

The Left wants better checks on the police. An independent office should look into complaints. People who are stopped should get a receipt. The domestic intelligence agency should also be watched more closely.

The Left wants to modernize fire and disaster protection through a state program and equip it centrally. Procurement is to run through the state so that municipalities and counties pay less.

The Left wants better protection against fires and disasters. The state should start its own program for this. The state should buy equipment centrally. That saves towns and counties money.

The Left wants to gear the prison system toward enabling people to live crime-free and independent lives after release. In the program's view, mere confinement does not create safety; that takes education, health care and good transitions into work and housing.

The Left wants to change the prison system. Prisoners should be able to live without crime after release. For this, prisons should offer more education and better doctors. Some people should get a different penalty instead of prison.

The Left wants victims of violence to find easily accessible, professional help everywhere in the state. To that end, forensic clinics for victims (Opferambulanzen) are to be funded permanently and better equipped.

The Left wants to help victims of violence better. Victim clinics should get lasting funding. These clinics examine and record injuries. The help should exist in every region.

The Left wants to expand civic education for all age groups and give the state agency for civic education more funding. The hurdles for popular initiatives and referendums are to be lowered. Participation formats such as youth parliaments and citizens' assemblies are to get more support.

The Left wants more civic education for everyone. The state agency for civic education should get more money. Citizens should find it easier to vote on laws themselves. This is called a referendum. Youth parliaments and citizens' assemblies should also get more help.

The Left wants to put programs and initiatives that promote democracy on a secure long-term financial footing. Funded projects are to run for at least two years, and a state democracy promotion law is to be drafted. The party cites the need of associations and initiatives for planning certainty and protection from political interference.

Many associations work for democracy. The Left wants to give them money for the long term. Projects should get money for at least two years. A new state law should set the rules. This helps the associations plan ahead.

The Left wants to make the judiciary crisis-proof with more staff and better organization. Justice system employees are to be better protected from threats and attacks, and the independence of courts and prosecutors is to be secured. Hate crime is to be prosecuted consistently.

The Left wants to strengthen courts and prosecutors. They should get more staff. Judges and other staff should be better protected from threats. Politicians should not interfere with courts. Crimes driven by hate should be pursued firmly.

The Left calls for an institutional separation of state and churches. State payments to the churches are to be phased out step by step, and general labor law, including the right to strike, is to apply fully in church-run institutions. The party wants to keep church asylum.

The Left wants a clearer split between state and church. The state now pays the churches money every year. These payments should end step by step. People who work for a church should be allowed to strike. Church asylum should stay.

The Left wants to invest in training, continuing education and working conditions in the justice system and keep courts within reach in cities and rural areas. Digitalization is meant to improve access to justice without shutting anyone out; artificial intelligence must not replace judges.

The Left wants to strengthen the justice system. Courts should stay within reach everywhere in the state. Staff should get better working conditions. Computer programs may help, but they must not make rulings.

The Left wants to give municipalities more lump-sum funding and more freedom to decide so they can shape infrastructure and social and cultural services themselves. Equal opportunities and participation across the state are to be written into the state constitution.

The Left wants to give towns and villages more money. They should decide for themselves how to spend it. Weak regions should get lasting support. Equal chances for all should be in the state constitution.

The Left wants to create a transparency law modeled on Hamburg's that provides for an easily accessible information register. This is meant to lower hurdles and costs for citizens and strengthen trust in democracy.

The Left wants a transparency law. Public offices should put their information into a register on their own. Anyone can read it there. Hamburg already has such a law.

The Left wants to strengthen European encounter and exchange programs and expand cooperation in science and culture. It describes Europe as a project of peace, culture and education that grows from the bottom up.

The Left wants more exchange in Europe. Young people, artists and researchers should meet across borders. Universities should work with other countries. People should have more say in Europe.

The Left sees itself as part of a peace movement that wants to settle conflicts peacefully and calls for disarmament, demilitarization and negotiated peace. It invokes the Basic Law and announces resistance to anything that goes beyond the mandate of defense.

The Left stands for peace. It wants fewer weapons instead of more. Conflicts should end through talks. The military should have less room in everyday life.

The Left wants to establish culture as a mandatory task in state policy and create a culture funding law. The program justifies this by saying cultural work has often depended on uncertain budgets and short-term decisions.

The Left wants a law for funding culture. Culture should be a fixed task of the state. The money should be secure for several years. This helps theaters and clubs plan better.

The Left wants to require binding minimum and base fees for publicly funded projects. According to the program, cultural workers often work under precarious conditions, and artistic freedom depends on material security.

The Left wants to pay artists better. Projects with public money should have a minimum fee. Time for preparation should also be paid. Artists should have better social protection.

The Left wants to keep cultural venues from being displaced and create protected status for them in building law. At the same time, barriers to accessing culture are to come down so that everyone can take part, regardless of income, origin or place of residence.

The Left wants to protect places for culture. Theaters, clubs and centers should not be pushed out. Everyone should be able to enjoy culture. For this, obstacles should go, such as high prices or steps.

The Left wants to expand media education in schools, outside of school and for adults. The program points to growing disinformation, manipulated content and hate messages, especially on social media.

The Left wants everyone to handle media better. Children and adults should learn this. Teachers should get training for it. The state's media authority should get more money.

The Left wants to give the state's consumer advice center lasting, adequate staffing and funding. In addition, an independent office for care law is to be set up, because contracts and rules in long-term care are said to be hard for those affected and their relatives to understand.

The Left wants to strengthen the consumer advice center. People get advice there, for example in disputes with companies. The advice should be available across the state. There should be a separate advice office for questions about care.