On October 24, Minsk /Elena Prus - BELTA/. New average per capita minimum consumer budgets (MCB) for eight socio-demographic groups of the population have been approved in Belarus. This was reported to a BELTA correspondent by the department of complex problems of socio-labour sphere development of the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection. The average per capita minimum consumer budget for a family of four from November 1, 2012, to January 31, 2013, will amount to Br1,391,530 per month. This is 4.5% higher than the standard effective from August 1 to October 31, 2012 (Br1,332,100). According to specialists, the main expenditure items of the average per capita MCB for a family of four in September 2012 prices are as follows: food products - 55.6%, clothing, linen, footwear - 22.3%, housing and communal services - 4.8%, household services, transport, communication - 4.7%, cultural and household goods - 7.9%, sanitation, hygiene, medicines - 2.3%, cultural and educational events and recreation - 1.3%, contributions and payments - 1.1%. Average per capita minimum consumer budgets have also been approved for a young family of three - Br1,452,620, the working-age population - Br1,745,000, pensioners - Br1,358,780, students - Br1,360,790, children aged up to 3 years - Br1,080,530, children aged 3 to 6 years - Br1,289,580, children aged 6 to 18 years - Br1,562,920. The ministry explained that the Law of the Republic of Belarus "On the Formation and Use of the Minimum Consumer Budget" establishes the legal framework for determining and using the MCB. The minimum consumer budget is the expenditure on acquiring a set of consumer goods and services to meet the basic physiological and socio-cultural needs of a person. Minimum consumer budgets are approved quarterly by resolution of the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of the Republic of Belarus at the prices of the last month of the quarter for eight socio-demographic groups of the population. The MCB is used as a social standard for forecasting changes in the living standards of the population, strengthening social support for needy citizens, and substantiating the minimum levels of state social guarantees.