Last November, the flagship measure of the Madrid City Council’s Plan for the Promotion and Conciliation of Births came into force: direct assistance at birth. With retroactive effect to June 1, the Consistory headed by José Luis Martínez- … Almeida will offer families 500 euros for the first child, 750 for the second and 1,000 from the third. There are no conditions to obtain it, except having been registered in the city for at least five years.
Is direct assistance common? ABC Castilla-La Mancha consulted the five provincial capitals and, spoiler!, only Ciudad Real supports Madrid.
Toledo
“I hope. I would like it, but at the moment the budgetary availability we have in Toledo is not the same as that of Madrid”, recognizes Marisol Illescas, PP councilor in charge of Social Affairs, Inclusion, Family and Elderly. He would like to, but admits it’s complicated and adds that the closest thing is “Some wink at large families, who benefit from IBI bonuses or are not billed for the ORA”. Either way, “we don’t forget families: during Children’s Week, we organize family activities; in that of Gender Violence, the same; In May we have the family celebration…”
Guadalajara
From the space led by Eva Henche, from Vox, they respond that there is no direct aid in childbirth, but that there is there is “for nursery schools, in addition to the subsidy to the Mother Foundation, which supports young pregnant women”. And they put it into context: “Municipal councils have a problem when they assume powers that are not municipal. Its increase has been considered, but it is not easy. All competences in matters of social assistance, dependency and unregulated preschool education belong to him. Sometimes municipal councils provide these services due to lack of services or in collaboration with the regional government.
Albacete
In Albacete, municipal sources report that in this year’s budgets “the the school voucher with an endowment of 500,000 eurosbenefiting 650 children and guaranteeing the right of families to freely choose the educational center for their children. Furthermore, aid for the purchase of school supplies was increased to the tune of 105,000 euros, affecting more than 1,100 families, while The language check has doubled to reach 100,000 eurosaffecting 600 children.
Gala de la Calzada, of the PP, is the advisor for Family, Women, Equality, Children, Elderly and Youth, responsible for “increase the agreement with the Red Cross to 110,000 euros which includes, for the first time, a child feeding program aimed at providing milk to families in extremely vulnerable situations; and also collaborates with the CaixaProinfancia programdedicated to improving the well-being and integral development of minors and their families in the Franciscanos district.
Royal City
Ciudad Real is the only capital in Castile-La Mancha benefiting from direct aid. “Here we have the baby check, which amounts to 1,000 euros for a birth or adoption. This measure It was launched when Rosa Romero, of the PP, was mayor; At the time of the PSOE it was 750 euros and we, when we came to government in 2023, we increased it to 1,000 euros.. You must be registered and meet a series of requirements, such as not exceeding the Iprem – Multiple Effect Public Income Indicator – by 2.5 times – which we will review so that more and more families can benefit from it. We allocate 150,000 euros to this position,” explains Aurora Galisteo, PP advisor for Social Services, Elderly and Family.
Likewise, Galisteo details: “We have increased the IBI reduction, which can reach 90%, for large families and, for the first time, for single parents with two children. To promote conciliation, we offer assistance of up to 300 euros to cover daycare or playroom costs. Furthermore, we are launching an appeal, with 15,000 euros, to payment for nursery schools. There will be 30 scholarships of 500 euros. And we have a package of 40,000 euros for canteen scholarships.
Basin
“In the case of the Cuenca City Council, we consider that the best birth project is to make a livable city, with a projection towards the future, in which families have conciliation measures, affordable housing for which they do not have to pay almost one hundred percent of a salary (as is the case in Madrid) and a good quality of life. And this is where we focus our efforts, for example with a Concilia Center in which families can cover this need while minors carry out cultural and recreational activities”, they explain from the Department of Social Services, Equality and Cooperation, led by Estela Soliva, of the PSOE.
Soliva adds: “That said, it is also important to take into account the spending capacity of each municipality. Because the 6.277 million in Madrid’s budget are not the same as the 65.4 million in Cuenca City Hall.
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