Fundación Secretariado Gitano

Minimum Income in Spain must be better adapted to the profile of beneficiary families and generate opportunities for social, educational and employment inclusion [editar]

• Acción Institucional
• Social Inclusion
• National level

In May 2020, the Spanish government established the Minimum Income (MI) benefit, aimed at preventing the risk of poverty and social exclusion of people in a situation of vulnerability.

Fundación Secretariado Gitano today presented the conclusions of the Study on the impact of the Minimum Income on the poverty situation of the Roma population in Spain, 2023, at the headquarters of the the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration. The event included the participation, among others, of the Minister Elma Saiz, who opened the event, and the Secretary of State for Social Rights, Rosa Martínez, who closed it. Sara Giménez, Director General of Fundación Secretariado Gitano also intervened, as well as Sara de la Rica and Lucía Gorjón, from the Iseak Foundation, who are part of the research team that carried out the study.

This study focuses on the pressing socio-economic situation of the Roma population and on the capacity of the Minimum Income to reverse this glaring inequality. The main objectives are both to estimate the scope of the MI and to find out the limitations and obstacles encountered in order to become a beneficiary. The results have made it possible to identify and analyse the barriers to access, and to offer proposals for reforms and improvements to the current configuration of the benefit in order to achieve a more effective anti-poverty policy.

The Minister for Inclusion, Social Security and Migration, Elma Saiz, inaugurated the presentation of the study and stressed that “we have made progress, but much remains to be done. The Roma population continues to face major challenges. It is therefore very necessary to heed what this study says and to redouble our efforts to expand the coverage of the MI”.

For her part, Sara Giménez, Director General of Fundación Secretariado Gitano, said that ‘the MI is a good instrument for protecting Roma people from poverty, but it is not developing its full potential. It should be better adapted to the profile of beneficiary families and generate opportunities for social, educational and employment inclusion’.

The Roma population, due to their special lack of protection and high poverty rates, has been placed among the priority groups for the MI. The figures show the scale of the challenge to be faced: 86% of the Roma population is below the poverty risk threshold, 67% in severe poverty and 46% in extreme poverty. The child poverty rate among the Roma population is 89%.

Main conclusions

The survey data show the low coverage of the MI among the Roma population, which is lower than that estimated for the population in poverty as a whole. The MI only reaches 29% of the total Roma population potentially eligible, compared to 35% of the general population in social exclusion, according to the estimate offered in the 2023 second report of the Independent Authority for Spanish Fiscal Responsibility (AIREF).

In addition, the rate of non-take-up (those who, meeting the requirements, do not access the benefit), among the Roma population is 71%, well above the 58% for the population as a whole, according to the second report of the AIREF.

Lack of information, difficulties with documentation, long processing times and the digital divide are some of the barriers to accessing the MI highlighted by the study, which make an instrument such as this one less effective. Hence the importance of assistance or support from public administrations or third-sector entities when applying for and managing a benefit such as the MI. The study shows that, with direct support adapted to the circumstances and profiles of the most vulnerable population, the scope and coverage of the benefit increases significantly.

The low coverage of the MI, coupled with insufficient amounts to overcome the relative poverty thresholds, means that its impact on poverty reduction is weak. The study shows with data that the MI does not reduce the incidence of poverty in the Roma population, but it does reduce its intensity: it contributes more to overcoming extreme poverty, but hardly affects severe poverty, and in no case does it remove people from the risk of poverty.

On the other hand, a benefit such as the MI is a necessary but not sufficient condition in the fight against poverty, which is why the MI law itself contemplates activation mechanisms associated with the benefit. However, the study shows that the current configuration of the development of the MI does not guarantee the implementation of activation measures that facilitate access to employment, or social and educational support for families. 82% of MI recipients have not received support to seek employment; however, 74% would accept a job if it were offered to them. Only 12% of households with children have been offered educational support, and over 95% have accepted it. This means, in short, that the MI does not break the generational cycle of poverty affecting the Roma population.

← BACK TO MAIN ‘NEWS’ PAGE