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1. Existence of a National Strategy on social inclusion

2. Scope and contents

3. Responsible authority

4. Revisions/ Updates

Existence of a National Strategy on social inclusion

The National Strategy for the inclusion of young people is embodied in the Youth Strategy 2022-30 (Estrategia Juventud 2022-30) and developed in the resulting Action Plans. In any case, it is not an inclusion strategy exclusively, but inclusion is one of its strategic axes, namely number 5.

The Youth Strategy 2022-30 (Estrategia Juventud 2022-30)  was approved by the Council of Ministers on May 17, 2014 (Consejo de Ministros el 17 de mayo de 2022).This strategy was elaborated in a participatory manner during 2021-22, convening for its design all the Ministries of the General State Administration, the General Directorates of Youth of the Autonomous Communities within the framework of the Interterritorial Youth Council, and the General Directorates of Youth of the Autonomous Communities.

framework of the Interterritorial Youth Council, and part of the youth civil society, constituted by the Youth Council of Spain and more than 40 national entities. There were 3 phases, the first in April-October, the second in September-October and the last in November.

The 2019-2023 National Strategy national strategy for the prevention and fight against poverty and social exclusion (Estrategia Nacional de Prevención y Lucha contra la Pobreza y ExclusiónSocial) , is the other reference in the configuration of a State Strategy for inclusion. These Inclusion Plans have been developing since 2001 with a biannual character.

Scope and contents

The 2019-2023 National Strategy national strategy for the prevention and fight against poverty and social exclusion (Estrategia Nacional de Prevención y Lucha contra la Pobreza y Exclusión Social) indicate three areas of action of particular relevance for the inclusion of young people:

1. Employment: persistently high rates of youth unemployment in Spain point towards the need to establish specific action programmes for young people, especially when the absence of employment is the main cause of exclusion in other areas (health, housing, etc.). In this sense, some of the actions outlined in the National Action Plan on Social Inclusion and the Action Plan are addressed.
2. Education: the main challenges in education are the fight against early school-leaving, the improvement of the general educational level, which is below the European average, the promotion of vocational training and the search for educational alternatives of interest to encourage the return of adults who left their studies prematurely.
3. Housing: In the years of economic prosperity, constant rises in the price of housing created accessibility problems for groups such as young people and families with limited resources.

However, in the same Plan there are no objectives and action measures exclusively aimed at young people regarding access to housing. It should be understood, therefore, that young people are subject to the same measures of action as the rest of society in this matter, as long as they meet the income criteria indicated. However, they do have the programme Eurodesk, an information and career guidance service on housing opportunities in Europe.

In the area of health, since the 2022 Youth Strategy (Estrategia Juventud 2022-30), the development of socio-health and employment programmes for people at risk of exclusion is mentioned.

The National Action Plan sees young people as a particularly vulnerable group and therefore the target of specific inclusive interventions beyond those already mentioned in terms of employment and education.

The groups identified in the NAPincl as the ‘most vulnerable’ and therefore the target for specific actions are:

1. Youth and young families.
2. Adolescents and young women victims of male violence and sexual violence or at serious risk of social sexual violence or at serious risk of social exclusion.
3. Adolescents with disabilities.
4. Youth and adolescents and adolescents who belong to the LGTBIQ+ group.
5. Foreign youth: gypsy, African and Afro-descendant, Asian, Arab, Latin American, Amazigh or Indo-Pakistani youth, Latin American, Amazigh or Indo-Pakistani.
6. Migrant youth and adolescents unaccompanied and under guardianship, unaccompanied and under and unaccompanied migrant children and adolescents.
7. Young people in deprivation of liberty.

For its part, the Youth Strategy 2022-30 and the Action Plan do not differ substantially from the National Action Plan, which lays out a roadmap aimed at creating policies that promote housing, education, emancipation and employment. This Youth Action Plan stems from the problems outlined in the Youth Strategy 2022-2030. The Plan is based on the existing difficulties in Spain: financial crisis, health crisis, etc. Therefore, it is intended to protect young people.

Responsible authority

2022-30 Youth Strategy and Action Plan

The highest authority responsible for the approval and implementation of the strategy is the Inter-Ministerial Youth Commission. At a second level, the Youth Institute (INJUVE) is responsible for an annual follow-up that will be reflected in a report.

National Strategy for the prevention and fight against poverty and social exclusion 2019- 2023

The highest authority responsible for the preparation, implementation and follow-up of the 2019- 2023 National Strategy for the prevention and fight against poverty and social exclusion is the Ministry of Social Rights and 2030 Agenda.

Within the ministry, the Secretariat of State for Social Rights (Secretaría de Estado de Derechos Sociales), together with the General Directorate of Services for the Families and Children (Dirección General de Servicios para las Familias y la Infancia), are the main bodies responsible for the preparation, coordination and follow-up of the plan, as established in the Royal Decree, 2/2020.

The General Administration of the State (Administración General del Estado), Regional Administrations, Local Administration through the Federación Estatal de Municipios y Provincias (State Federation of Municipalities and Provinces,FEMP), NGOs and the Economic and Social Council (Consejo Económico y Social,CES) also participate in the elaboration and execution of the 2019-2023 National Strategy for the prevention and fight against poverty and socialexclusion.

Revisions/Updates

National Action Plans for Social Inclusion

Since 2001, these have been the National Action Plans for Social Inclusion approved in chronological order: I PNAin: 2001-2003, II PNAin: 2003-2005, III PNAin: 2005-2006, IV PNAin:2006-2008, V PNAin: 2008-2010, VI PNAin: 2013-2016 and the last,  Operational Plan for the development of the national strategy to prevent and combat poverty and exclusion in the country (2019-22).

The last plan is no longer called the National Action Plan for Social Inclusion (PNAIN), it is now called Operational Development Plans of the National Strategy for the Prevention and Fight against Social Exclusion. This plan in turn integrates 4 plans that go from 2019 to 2022, with one per year. Each of these integrate 4 strategic goals: The first the fight against poverty (income guarantee and economic policies), the second investment in people (equitable and inclusive education and employment), the third protection against life cycle risks (health, support for minors and families, social services and dependency, housing) and the last, the effectiveness and efficiency of policies (cooperation, collaboration with various institutions, information, innovation).

As regards the items dedicated to inclusion, as indicated in the document, The 10 years of the National Action Plans for Social Inclusion in the Kingdom of Spain (Los 10 años de los PlanesNacionales de Acción para la Inclusión Social en el Reino de España): ‘Measures to combat social exclusion of young people and promote their inclusion, occupy the fourth place by level of resources, and more than 9 600 million Euros have been invested in them, or 3.41%of the total budgeted for in the plans. However, they have experienced the greatest increase of resources in the period of validity of the National Action Plan, and its endowment in this time has multiplied by more than 17’.

2022 Youth Strategy and its Action Plans

This strategy follows the same steps as the previous one, it wants to create a new social contract that guarantees access to the present and future of young people. The differences with previous strategies stem from a different paradigm: youth has changed. The rise of the feminist movement and the social interest in social movements is becoming evident, while there is another, more vulnerable sector, which only worsens the situation of immigrants without studies.

In turn, the covid-19 pandemic also leaves a big impact not only on the economy but also on all people at risk of social exclusion. Question that this plan contemplates.