This year, the City Council will increase aid for social groups with an extraordinary contribution

The Consistory begins its new economic stage after reaching ‘zero debt’ with an increase in the amount allocated to entities in the municipality that work in the care of vulnerable people, which will add 119,000 euros to the 173,000 already committed.

The City Council of Estepona is going to expand this year the economic item for social groups in the municipality through an extraordinary aid, so that during this year the various groups and social entities will see a considerable increase in municipal contributions. It is one of the first measures adopted by the Consistory after reaching the ‘zero debt’ and thanks to the surplus that showed the liquidation of the budget of last year 2024.

This year, the Consistory is increasing its efforts so that the groups working with vulnerable people not only have their basic needs covered, but can also have an extra to face new actions aimed at improving care. Thus, to the 173,000 euros already committed for this year will be added another 119,000 of extraordinary item.

The councilor attached to the area of Citizen Participation and Social Services, Maria Aguilar, indicates that this extraordinary contribution, which will be punctual for this year, “responds to the effort that the City Council makes in support of entities that provide services to those who need it most, to collaborate so that they can continue to develop their care programs. He also underlines that this measure can be adopted thanks to the solvency of the municipal coffers, with a surplus in the liquidation of last year’s budget that reached 45.63 million euros, and once the totality of the 304 million euros of debt inherited from previous governments has been paid.

In addition, the 2025 Municipal Budget continues to have a marked social character and sets as one of its main objectives the attention of the most vulnerable people. To this end, the economic amounts linked to aid and social programs will continue to be ‘expandable items’, that is, they may grow if social circumstances so require.

Last year the City Council of Estepona delivered a total of 336,000 euros in financial aid between those that went to the associations that during that year developed various projects to serve the most vulnerable groups in the city, and those managed through the delegation of Social Services at the request of citizens. Among the latter are emergency aid, family, the project of Prevention of Residential Exclusion and aid from the Social Fund SAD (Home Help Service). Most of them are intended to help with the payment of bills, the payment of rent or the purchase of food products.

Along with these direct aid, from the City Council also process other requests made by families, including applications within the Program to Strengthen Child Feeding in public schools of Early Childhood and Primary Education with dining room of Andalusia, the bonuses of the Water Rate in its two forms: bonus in the rate of water and special bonus (to meet certain requirements), the electric social bond or technical assistance from the Home Help Service.