Paul Moss

Ahead of the last election, Prime Minister Donald Tusk had promised to introduce a bill legalizing civil partnerships within 100 days.

but he struggled to deliver reforms because of his coalition government's more conservative wing.

Poland is mostly Catholic, and many religious conservatives have criticized measures advocating for LGBT rights as gender ideology backed by destructive foreign powers.

The president, Karol Nowrocki, has said he'll veto any bill that, as he puts it, undermines the constitutionally protected status of marriage.

Prime Minister Tusk acknowledged this bill's limited scope is the result of a compromise.

I realise this, but this is the minimum of civilisation that Poland must be able to afford.

Our task is to make life easier and to ensure that those who choose partnership and therefore who benefit from the status of next of kin will be able to be treated by the Polish state as all citizens deserve.

The first reading of the bill is scheduled for next month.

If it gets through both houses of parliament, it'll then need to be signed into law by the president.

So, still a long way to go.

But Warsaw has described the cabinet's adoption of the bill as a historic moment in itself.

the LGBT community's reaction has been more reserved.

Some say it's a necessary compromise in the right direction, but others have voiced frustration.

One campaigner described the bill as a paradox.

He said the government finally acknowledges our existence, but remains too afraid to grant us dignity.

A recent survey found only about a third of polls support the introduction of same-sex marriage, but nearly two-thirds back some form of legal recognition for same-sex unions.

Poland remains one of the most restrictive European Union states on LGBT rights, alongside Bulgaria, Romania and Slovakia.

Anna Aslam.

Still to come in this podcast... We provide a kind of lump sum of cash to people who are experiencing homelessness and it recognises that actually they're probably the best people to make decisions for themselves.

Giving straightforward money donations to homeless people, does it solve their problems?