Only 1 of every 19 euros goes to family support
Spain is one of the EU countries that is among the least concerned about the family of Europe, as highlighted by the Institute of Family Policy (IPF) in its latest report The social protection of the family in Spain. This is the second study that the IPF makes public of a series of five investigations it plans to publish before the general elections.
This report shows that the family receives almost * marginal * attention in budgets and that the economic crisis has aggravated this situation. In fact, in 2013, only the 5.19% of all social protection benefits in Spain they were dedicated to the family. Since 2002, the year in which benefits fell to the lowest level, 4.55%, so little had ever been allocated to the family.
To better understand these percentages, if we pass them to figures we see that of every 19 euros that are destined to social expenses, only one is for the protection benefits to the family. What shows, according to the IPF, that family aid is not a priority in Spain.
The precarious situation of the family in Spain
In relation to the rest of the countries of the European Union, the report of the IPF shows the little effort that is made in Spain to encourage financial aid to the family. In general and globally, the GDP dedicated to the family has fallen in recent years. Thus, in 2013 it was only 1.3%, but five years earlier it had been 1.43%. A few percentages far removed from those considered in the European Union where 2.2% of its GDP is reached as an average in the items allocated to family policy.
In the ranking, Spain is ranked 21 out of the 28 EU states and is at the same level as Romania and Portugal.
Proposals for improvement for families
The Spanish family can perceive four types of direct allocations, but they are subject to restrictions. The Institute for Family Policy (IPF) has proposed the following improvements in this report:
1. The payment of one hundred euros per month. It is received by working mothers until the child reaches the age of three. Since 2003, it has lost 24% of its real value.
Improvement: increase the pay of 100 euros to 125 euros for working mothers.
2. The benefit for dependent children. This allocation remains frozen for fifteen years and is one of the lowest in the continent: it amounts to 24 euros per month, while the European average stands at 91 euros. The restriction is that only families that do not exceed 11,547 euros per year per family unit can receive it, while in a large part of the EU countries it is universal, that is, it is received by all families, regardless of their income.
Improvement: increase the benefit for dependent children, approaching the amount of European average (91 euros per month), with universal character so that all families receive it.
3. The GDP dedicated to the family. In 2013, only 1.3% of GDP was allocated to aid for families. The European average is at 2.2%.
Improvement: revalue annual family allowances and allocate 2.2% of GDP to favor this institution.
Marisol Nuevo Espín
