Massive regional aid plan announced
One of the principal measures is to cut regional government taxes
THE VALENCIA government is investing €944 million in measures to tackle the energy crisis and ‘reactivate the economic recovery’, announced regional president Ximo Puig.
The Plan Reactiva includes €45m for self-employed people, the collective ‘most affected by the rise in energy prices’, in the form of €100 per month for three months. There is also €50m in aid for businesses that depend on gas and which are not covered by state measures.
Furthermore, the regional financial institute will inject €110m in financial instruments for businesses that have recorded a drop in income, including petrol stations.
For particularly hard hit sectors, there is an extra €10m for the fund to subsidise agricultural insurance policies, and €18.6m in aid for replacing passenger and goods vehicles with electric ones.
One of the principal measures is to cut regional government controlled taxes, fees
and regulated prices by at least 10%, which it is calculated will save families and businesses €71m. This includes public transport ticket prices, tuition fees for artistic, musical and language studies, and total exemption from regional port fees for fishermen.
Measures to improve energy efficiency include €11m in aid for families to install renewable energy systems for central heating and hot water; and €188m to improve energy efficiency
in urban areas and homes.
And the regional government has simplified administrative procedures and cut bureaucracy required to approve new renewable energy plants, so that the time this takes could be reduced by a year.
Sr Puig assured this is the largest aid plan to have been put into action by a regional government.
He thanked the social organisations that had helped to design this plan and assured his government would continue its efforts to bolster the ‘social shield’.
For example, since the Socialist-Compromís-Podemos coalition came to power in 2015 the number of dependency aid beneficiaries has risen from 41,000 to 122,000, and those receiving the regional minimum income (RVI) from 23,000 to 75,000.
Self-employed pregnant women
In a separate measure for selfemployed pregnant women, the regional employment service (Labora) is offering them up to €4,000 to hire unemployed people to fill in for them while they take maternity leave.
This can cover expenses incurred from January 1 this year for people hired before the beneficiary starts their leave.
There is a total fund of €150,000 available and the deadline for applications is September 15.