SPAIN’S government plans to boost family incomes with a universal child-rearing benefit worth €2,400 per year per child.
The Ministry of Social Rights- which is behind the measure- says the new benefit will go to all households with children under 18 years of age, regardless of their income.
The government claims that universality guarantees more coverage, less bureaucracy and lower stigma than traditional means-tested schemes.
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The benefit has been approved by the Council of Ministers but will still need approval by Congress.
Families would get a universal payment of €200 per month for each child under the age of 18- totalling €2,400 per year per dependent minor.
Officials anticipate a progressive roll-out, coordinated with existing benefits such as the Minimum Vital Income supplements for children and the monthly €100 maternity tax credit for children under three.
The final drafting of the measure before Congress will clarify how the benefit will be adjusted for inflation over time and whether any additional money will go to children with disabilities or special needs.
Spain has for years recorded some of the highest child poverty rates in the European Union, with indicators of risk of poverty and social exclusion among minors above those of the general population.
Social organisations and expert reports have repeatedly warned that households with children, particularly single parent families and those with low work intensity, have suffered in covering basic expenses such as housing, food, energy and school materials.
The Government argues that a universal child benefit is one of the most effective tools to tackle these issues because it provides a steady monthly income which would help families plan their budgets.
The measure is also presented as a way of supporting fertility and having children in a country where people are having children later and in smaller numbers, partly because of unstable jobs and high living costs.
The universal child rearing benefit comes with the goal of eradicating the most severe forms of child poverty in the short term and to significantly cut the overall child poverty and social exclusion rate by 2030.
Government estimates and independent projections suggest that a generous universal payment could lift hundreds of thousands of children above the poverty line and narrow the income gap between families with and without children.
Particular attention is placed on single parent families, households with several children and homes where adults are unemployed or working in precarious, low wage jobs, as these groups consistently appear among those with the highest poverty risk.
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