A voucher for condoms and more rental assistance: Government and Commons make progress on budgets

BarcelonaA new step forward towards a budget agreement between Comuns and the Catalan Government. Jéssica Albiach's party has agreed with the executive to expand housing rental assistanceThe agreement includes increasing the family income limit for accessing the benefit to €36,279, up from the current €25,200, and raising the monthly rent limit to €800 (€1,135 in Barcelona). Meanwhile, the Comuns party has secured a commitment from the government to create annual vouchers worth €25 each for menstrual products and condoms for young people.

Albiach announced all of this at a press conference this Wednesday. Regarding rental assistance, she stated that it would reach an additional 49,500 families and 25% of all tenant families over the next two years. The morning of Catalunya Ràdio And ARA has been able to confirm this. However, prioritization criteria will be established for families that allocate more than 30% of their household income to rent, in order to also facilitate access to aid for those with lower incomes. "Given the increased cost of living, we are starting with those with the lowest incomes and gradually expanding to include others. Right now, having a salary or a job is no guarantee of decent living conditions," Albiach said.

In the past, the House of Commons had prioritized other housing measures over rental assistance. Now, however, they believe it is time to invest in it, both because of the rising cost of living and because market dysfunctions have already been addressed from other angles: for example, through intervention via rent caps in high-demand areas, and the regulation of seasonal rentals to prevent them from becoming a loophole to circumvent the law—100 such cases will be implemented in the first quarter alone. Rental assistance is already in place in countries like the UK, Denmark, Sweden, and the Netherlands. Its total cost will amount to €105 million. The assistance would reach €200 per month, and €300 in the case of the youth voucher.

The agreement comes after the president spoke on Tuesday evening. Salvador Illa once again placed housing as the "most important" issue and commit to finding "legally sound" proposals to address speculative housing purchases, the "essential" condition set by Comuns for reaching a budget agreement. However, Albiach has made it clear that the Government has no finalized agreement on this matter and has urged it to "take action."

The Minister of Territory, Sílvia Paneque, confirmed this Tuesday that there is "political will" to do so and that they are working with Albiach's party on a legal reform of urban planning regulations to achieve this. following the endorsement of the experts recruited by the Government for this approachSo where is the reef? "It's up to the Government to say. It's more a matter of vision," the leader of Comuns pointed out.

The new checks

The annual vouchers for menstrual products and condoms announced by the Comuns party will be worth 25 million euros. Initially, the party had proposed that the aid for feminine hygiene products, which has a 4% VAT, be available to all menstruating women, regardless of age. The agreement with the government limits it to women between 12 and 25 years old, with a commitment to study expanding it in the future. The measure is similar to one previously implemented by the Ministry of Equality and Feminism under Tània Verge, but goes further: while the aid was then only for reusable menstrual products, now it will cover any product, from tampons to sanitary pads. These can be purchased at pharmacies with a health card (if the budget is approved).

The sexual health voucher will only cover condoms, because the goal of the agreement is not only to ease the financial burden on young people between 16 and 25 years old, but also to promote "safety" in sexual relations. "It doesn't seek to moralize, but to guarantee rights," stressed Albiach, who pointed out the alarming increase in sexually transmitted diseases. In Catalonia they rise by 32% each year, above the average in Europe. where these diseases have become a public health problem in recent years. Among the causes of this increase, experts point to the rise in risky sexual behaviors, a decline in condom use, and an increase in the number of sexual partners a person has.

Sick leave

The other open front of dispute between the Govern and Comuns is the economic incentives for primary care centers to try to shorten sick leavewhich ERC and CUP have also demanded be withdrawn. The three groups submitted a request for the Minister of Health, Olga Pané, to appear before Parliament to provide explanations. For the time being, Albiach believes that Isla already took "a first step" in this direction yesterday when he stated that the only criterion for granting sick leave would be "the doctor."

The Socialist leader did not consider withdrawing the measure, but the Comuns are now awaiting concrete details from the Health Department to ensure that the president's promises are fulfilled. "It's a retraction without actually retracting. We know how this works," commented the Comuns leader in the Catalan Parliament.