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Your support makes all the difference.Spain’s cabinet has approved the creation of a national minimum income, according to a government spokesperson.
Deputy Prime Minister Pablo Iglesias told a news conference on Friday the creation of a minimum income worth €462 (£416.92) a month will target some 850,000 households or 2.5 million people.
The government would pay the monthly stipend and top up existing revenue for people earning less so that they receive at least that minimum amount every month, he said.
The minimum income would increase with the number of family members, up to a maximum of €1,015 (£916.30) each month. The programme would cost the government about €3 billion a year.
Mr Iglesias said: “Today is a historic day for our democracy. Today this government is showing that its political choice is social justice and that it takes the [Spanish] Constitution seriously.”
Proposals for a guaranteed minimum income scheme was first floated in December 2019, in which the Socialist Workers’ Party and the left-wing Unidas Podemos agree to create a “general mechanism to guarantee earnings for families with no or low income”.
According to English-language Spanish newspaper El Pais, the scheme was brought forward due to the coronavirus outbreak. The government announced the first details of the plan in April.
Individual claimants must be at least 21 years old and under 65 to be eligible, unless the claimant is a victim of abuse or human trafficking. Under such circumstances, the requirements do not apply.
Families must be defined as “vulnerable” in order to claim the minimum income, which means their monthly income is €10 or more below the minimum income, reported the newspaper.
Additional reporting by Reuters
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