The Government aims to double the households that receive the minimum vital income with an improvement package
Double the families that receive the minimum vital income. From the current 350,000 to about 700,000. It is the Government's objective thanks to a package of improvements in the state minimum income to reduce poverty that the ministers José Luis Escrivá and Ione Belarra presented this Monday. These include a new allowance per child of up to 100 euros, which will reach IMV beneficiary households, but also others with up to three times more income. It also includes measures to facilitate access to minimum income from unemployment and in situations of sudden income reduction, among others.
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The ministers of Social Rights and Social Security have presented in a press conference the list of changes in the minimum vital income, which will be approved via amendments in the parliamentary processing of the IMV law that is currently in Congress. Both the Ione Belarra team and the José Luis Escrivá team hope to carry out these measures "before the end of the year." The forecast is that the regulation will be approved in December.
One of the most notable changes, which both ministers announced last week, consists of an allowance per child of between 50 and 100 euros for families benefiting from the IMV, but also others with higher incomes. In the absence of the fine print of the amendment that is approved in Congress, the intention is that the supplement reaches families with income up to three times higher than the current IMV access thresholds.
Specifically, the supplement proposed by the Executive is 100 euros for children from zero to three years, 70 euros from three to six years and 50 euros per child from six to 18 years. Minister Escrivá has been reluctant to quantify how many children and families will benefit from the aid, given the failed estimates of the past, but has stressed that this change will be one of those that notably increase the number of beneficiaries.
Minister Ione Belarra has reported important improvements to access and the amount of IMV for families with a member with a disability. Households will receive a 22% income if they have a member with a disability equal to or greater than 65%. In addition, dependency benefits will not be counted as household income for access to IMV, an issue that Belarra has highlighted violated "the principle of equity" of these families in poverty and with added difficulties due to disability.
Catwalk from unemployment
Another of the most notable changes is to facilitate access to the state minimum income for people who exhaust unemployment benefits and are in a situation of poverty, as well as those who are suddenly in this situation, after a large reduction in your income.
Regarding the first question, the Government works on a kind of "gateway" with the SEPE for unemployed people who exhaust their subsidies and meet the criteria of the IMV. The intention is that they will not be left with zero income at any time as is the case today, Minister Belarra explained, which can greatly complicate the situation of households. For example, with a loss of housing, the minister has pointed out, or other situations that lead these families to fall "into the loop of poverty", from which it is then more difficult to get out.
