Measures to face increases in spending
The Permanent Deputation of the Parliament has today approved a credit supplement of 1,850 million euros to meet the increases in spending after the budget extension of the 2023 accounts. This is due to the failure to approve this year’s budgets, which which led to the elections being moved forward to May 12. The content of the decree has been presented by the Minister of Economy of the Generalitat, Natàlia Mas, and has been approved with the votes in favor of PSC, ERC, Junts and Comunes, the rejection of Vox and the abstention of CUP, Cs and PP. As detailed by Mas, with the supplement the higher expenses expected in areas such as health, education, the 2% salary increase planned for civil servants will be able to be met, and it grants an extraordinary credit of 9.8 million for a subsidy in the center Leitat technological. Mas has assured that it is essential that the decree go ahead ‘for the proper functioning of the public services of Catalonia and also for all the public employees that make it up’.
Measures in education and health
In the field of education, the continuity of measures is guaranteed such as the recurrence of the places necessary for the 2023-2024 academic year, the deployment of the economic module for students with special needs and the coverage of the school cafeteria and scholarship applications, both in public and subsidized centers. In terms of health, the necessary financing is also foreseen to address new spending needs derived from the aging of the population, such as an increase in outpatient hospital medication or a longer duration of treatment for chronic diseases, as well as measures that affect personnel costs.
Pay increase and job improvements
The credit supplement will also cover the 2% salary increase for public workers and its proportional impact on educational, health, social services, equality and feminism agreements, as well as the staff of university centers. In addition, improvements in the working and salary conditions approved for health professionals can be materialized and the increase in positions for Mossos, firefighters and penitentiary center officials can be addressed. Finally, supply and service contracts and expenditure commitments already acquired with third parties may be paid, such as tendered works that have begun execution or multi-year subsidies already granted.
Measures to alleviate drought
The credit supplement includes an item of 145.2 million euros in investments and aid to alleviate the effects of the drought. This includes 30 million to finance possible actions to provide water to the supply system of internal basins, such as the transportation of this resource by boat and the use of portable desalination plants. The Minister of Climate Action, David Mascort, has highlighted that the decree will ensure the investments planned for 2024, both for emergency works and to ensure the water supply. Mascort has stated that this is a ‘priority and cannot be postponed’ decree.
