Child benefits and tax breaks as Polish government gears up for election

FILE PHOTO: Poland's Law and Justice (PiS) leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski and Poland's Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki applaud as they attend a Law and Justice (PiS) party convention ahead of the EU election, in Krakow, Poland May 19, 2019. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel -/File Photo

WARSAW (Reuters) - Poland's governing Law and Justice Party (PiS) will extend its child benefit programme from Monday, in a move critics say is a clear attempt to buy national election votes that will also divert much-needed investment from public services.

All Poles will be able to start applying for a 500 zloty-a-month (£105) payment for first-born children - a benefit hitherto reserved for poorer families - and the money will arrive on their accounts by the end of October, probably just in time for the autumn ballot.