Mayors urge stronger funding for social services

Mayors from the Metropolitan Arc of Barcelona have called on the Generalitat to increase financial support for municipal social services, citing a sharp rise in social precarity. The request followed a meeting on Thursday 12th November 2026 with Social Rights and Inclusion Minister Raúl Moreno, during which local leaders highlighted growing pressures on households due to rising housing costs, inflation, and stagnant wages. The representatives warned that financial strain now affects not only low-income families but also households with regular incomes struggling to cover basic living expenses. As a result, demand for local social aid has surged, placing a disproportionate burden on city councils.

€30 million pledged for homelessness support

During the meeting, Moreno confirmed the Generalitat will allocate an additional €30 million to municipalities in 2027 to address homelessness, doubling current funding. This increase, first announced on Friday 18th September 2026 after the Institutional Roundtable for Addressing Homelessness at Can Batlló, is intended to strengthen frontline services and deploy over 115 new social professionals across Catalonia. More than 6,700 people are estimated to be without shelter in Catalonia, including over 2,400 in Barcelona. The funding will support meal services, shelters, outreach teams, and day centres, with compulsory minimum services to be established by the end of 2027.

We are not starting from scratch; we are increasing resources.

, Raúl Moreno, Minister of Social Rights and Inclusion

Call for coordinated action and long-term strategy

The ombudsman of Catalonia, Esther Giménez-Salinas, has proposed a 35-point national agreement to end street homelessness by 2035. She called for stable annual funding of at least 0.15% of the Generalitat’s budget, equivalent to €73 million, to ensure sustainable action. While the agreement is not legally binding, it aims to create shared responsibility among all signatories. Municipalities are expected to develop local intervention plans by the first half of 2028. The proposal also includes enabling homeless individuals to register on the local padrón, a prerequisite for accessing public services. The mayors welcomed the new programme contract model recently signed between the Generalitat and local entities as a step forward, but stressed that resources must continue to adapt to evolving social needs.

Sources: El Periódico, Barna.News News Desk, Marta Puig i Vidal, Ara.