The Government allocates 25.2 million euros to the Community of Madrid for the care of child poverty and the protection of families

• The Council of Ministers authorizes, on the proposal of the Ministry of Social Rights, Consumption and Agenda 2030, the distribution of 200 million euros to the autonomous governments aimed at financing social action programs and covering the basic needs of the most vulnerable families.
• With this investment, the Ministry of Social Rights reaffirms its commitment to public, accessible and quality social services, capable of offering efficient responses to situations of need.
• The Government has also adopted an institutional declaration for the 20th anniversary of the International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, held on 3 May.
• In addition, the Council of Ministers has approved a Royal Decree that includes the professional women’s football league as a direct beneficiary of the collection of the sports betting tax.

The Government has authorized this Tuesday in the Council of Ministers, on the proposal of the Ministry of Social Rights, Consumption and Agenda 2030, to allocate 25.2 million euros to the Community of Madrid for the care of child poverty and the protection of families.

The total investment proposed for the autonomous communities and cities mobilizes 200 million euros (198,704,000 €) to strengthen social services, protect families in vulnerable situations and combat child poverty. This investment, which starts from the ministry led by Pablo Bustinduy, will be transferred to the regional governments, which are the competent administrations in the field of social services, and will serve to finance different programs at both regional and local levels. The programmes financed under these headings are intended for all types of families with unique protection needs, including single-parent families, large families or families living in rural areas.

Specifically, the investment is articulated in three major programs. The first, with 65 million euros, of which 6.5 million are for the Community of Madrid, will finance social intervention projects and benefits for families with children at risk of poverty and social exclusion. They can be used to meet basic needs such as hygiene, food or clothing, educational needs such as the financing of school supplies or assistance for the dining room, or resources for basic household supplies. It includes the VECA program, which will guarantee the basic right to food, leisure and culture of minors during school holidays and the reconciliation of family and work life in non-school periods.

The second program, with 25 million, will strengthen the social services teams to prevent and detect any type of risk of violence towards children, with a clear commitment to professional profiles of social work, social education, psychology and family care, as well as the promotion of greater coordination with educational and health centers, in line with the implementation of Organic Law 8/2021, on the integral protection of children and adolescents against violence (LOPIVI). From this item, 3.5 million euros corresponds to the Community of Madrid.

For its part, the Basic Benefits of Social Services plan, endowed with more than 108 million euros, being 15.1 for the Community of Madrid, will ensure access to key benefits such as social guidance, home help, alternative accommodation and prevention and social inclusion programs. In addition, the operation of shelters and reception centres, which are essential to respond to people in situations of special vulnerability, will be supported.

Rights of Persons with Disabilities

The Council of Ministers also approved on Tuesday an institutional declaration for the National Day of the United Nations International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which was held on May 3, on its 20th anniversary.

The declaration highlights the progress made in Spain in terms of equality, inclusion and guarantee of rights, and highlights measures in the areas of non-discrimination, rights in childhood and education, rights of women and girls with disabilities, universal accessibility or access to justice. It also underlines the Government’s commitment to full social, economic and political participation of people with disabilities, promoting a transversal approach in public policies.

Tax on Sports-Charitable Gambling Activities

In addition, the Ministry of Social Rights has been the proponent, together with the Ministries of Education, Finance and Equality, of the Royal Decree regulating the distribution of the tax collection on sports betting and charitable activities, which establishes that the professional women’s football league will directly benefit from 15% of this collection, which strengthens the role of women’s sport in the Spanish sports system and advances towards greater equity in funding.