Pedro Sánchez announces that the Government has approved the largest investment in long-term care in the history of Spanish democracy: more than €2.2 billion extra to 'provide[...]

The head of the Executive emphasised that this investment represents an almost five-fold increase in state funding for long-term care since 2018 and is "a decisive step towards consolidating a much stronger, more humane and fairer system".

Institute for the Elderly and Social Services (IMSERSO), Madrid

The President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, has announced that the Council of Ministers will approve a Royal Decree-Law "with the largest investment in long-term care in our democratic history: €2.218 billion extra to provide better care for those who need it most". This investment "represents an almost five-fold increase in state funding since we came to power" and is "a decisive step towards consolidating a much stronger, more humane and fairer system that leaves no one behind when they most need the support of society as a whole", he stressed.

During a meeting on policies supporting disability and dependency, Sánchez added that this investment will enable the Government to fulfil one of the major commitments of this parliamentary term which he outlined in his inaugural address: that "the General State Administration will finance 50% of the dependency system, increasing its contribution to over 7.2 billion euros by 2027".

The president pointed out that "this year we will complete one of the most significant transformations of the dependency system since its creation in 2006". He explained that the Royal Decree-Law approved today increases the minimum amounts received by the Autonomous Communities, which are responsible for this area, so "people with Level II dependency will receive double the funding to guarantee their care," and "those with Level III will see that support more than doubled. Furthermore, we are maintaining Level III+, which we approved less than a year ago, for people in extremely difficult situations, such as ALS patients". "All of this will enable us to improve the conditions of more than 1,600,000 people and their families", he added. This boost to the long-term care system will achieve three fundamental objectives: "further reduce waiting lists, guarantee more and better care, and improve the working conditions of caregivers", he pointed out.

Pool Moncloa/Fernando Calvo

"To those who ask why this government wants to continue despite all the difficulties and obstacles, I say the answer is here. We continue for this reason, to improve people's lives. We continue to expand and consolidate social rights. We continue to build a fairer and better Spain. "Because building our nation and strengthening our democracy means looking after those who need that care the most," he emphasised.

During his speech, Sánchez also pointed out that this Government had taken on the task of "rebuilding and strengthening a system that had been virtually dismantled and abandoned for years" as a result of austerity policies. In this regard, he pointed out that between 2012 and 2020, the Spanish State's contribution "remained stagnant at historic lows" and since then, what we have done year after year has been to triple the investment in Dependency, going from just over 1.3 billion euros to almost 3.8 billion euros in 2025", he emphasised.

Non official translation

• Pedro Sánchez: "This is a Government that has made social progress its...