According to Istat data for the year 2021, overall spending by Italian municipalities on social, welfare and socio-educational services was 10.3 billion euros, of which 1.2 billion reimbursed by the NHS and 745 million linked to contributions paid by citizens. Spending increased at a national level by 6.7% compared to 2020 (4.7% considering inflation) with a greater increase in the South. Significant differences remain between the different areas, in particular between the North-East where there is an average spending of 197 euros per capita and the South 72 euros.
At the regional level, the municipalities of the Island in 2021 spent 279 euros per capita on social interventions and services, a significant figure especially when compared to other regions in the South such as Campania and Sicily, which respectively spend only 66 and 86 euros and, moreover, almost double the national average which stands at 142 euros per citizen.
In absolute terms, welfare spending in Sardinia in 2021 was over 443 million euros, a figure that represents 5.3% of the national total. Over half of the total spending was allocated to services dedicated to the disabled, just over 20% was spent on families and minors, 13.9% on the elderly, 11.5% on combating poverty and social hardship. Other smaller spending items follow.
Sardinia first in support for the disabled
Among the categories of users to whom the individual items of social and welfare spending are intended, disabled people are the main beneficiaries. In fact, over 225 million euros have been spent on services and interventions dedicated to them. A figure that in percentage terms represents 49.9% of the total welfare spending on the Island in the year 2021.
A percentage that places Sardinia in first place among the Italian regions, followed at a long distance by Abruzzo which allocated 36.9% of the total social spending to the disabled. In third place is Marche with 33%.
On the contrary, the percentage of social spending dedicated to families and minors is much lower than the national average of 37.4%, representing 20.3% of the total spending items. The percentage of spending on services for the elderly is even lower, only 14% of the regional total. 11.6% of spending is instead allocated to combating poverty and social hardship.
Sources of funding, the role of regional funds
To support social spending in Sardinia, regional funds play a fundamental role since they contribute 55.4% of the total, a figure three times higher than the national average of 18.3%, which places the region in second place in Italy behind only Valle d’Aosta.
Indistinct funds for social policies, on the other hand, reach 20.4% of the total funding for social spending on the Island, followed by the municipalities’ own resources which represent 14.7%, the second lowest percentage behind only the municipalities of the Aosta Valley which contribute 11.5% to regional welfare.
Finally, the funds earmarked for social policies from the State or the European Union constitute only 6.2% of the total funding available for social spending on the Island, a percentage almost half lower than the average of the Italian regions.
Municipal spending: almost half in direct interventions and services
As for the destination areas, 48.3% of the social and social assistance expenditure of the individual and associated municipalities of Sardinia is allocated to direct regional welfare interventions and services. A percentage almost ten points higher than the average of the other regions.
39.6% of the total, however, is included in direct cash transfers in the form of vouchers, care allowances, social health vouchers and the like. This is a rather common social support methodology on the Island and in fact represents the highest percentage at the national level.
While the region ranks first in Italy, ahead of Veneto and Friuli, in the percentage of welfare spending dedicated to cash transfers to citizens in need of social support, it ranks last in the area relating to structures, to which only 12.1% of total social spending is allocated.
The importance of socio-professional services
In the implementation of welfare, an important role is played by professional consultancy and information interventions for citizens on available services, as well as support activities for people in situations of hardship or difficulty. In this area, the largest percentage of expenditure by Sardinian municipalities is dedicated to professional services for the disabled with 31.2% of the total, more than double the national average.
The second largest expenditure item for socio-professional services is dedicated to families and minors in difficulty with 24.1% of the total, one of the lowest percentages among the Italian regions, behind only Piedmont (23.9%) and Friuli Venezia-Giulia (21.3%).
Professional services related to poverty, adult hardship and homelessness represent the third most important area of intervention, collecting 23.9% of the total social spending of the municipalities of Sardinia, a percentage slightly higher than the average of the other regions.
Home care numbers
Among the main welfare services aimed at elderly citizens, disabled citizens, citizens with serious pathologies or physical, mental or sensorial difficulties, there are home social assistance, home assistance integrated with health services, proximity services, teleassistance, meal distribution, as well as vouchers, care allowances and social health vouchers.
In 2021, 61.4% of the expenditure of the municipalities of Sardinia was dedicated to home social assistance services, three points above the average of the other regions. 21.9% of the total was allocated to the item vouchers, care allowances and social health vouchers.
The share of expenditure reserved for home care integrated with health services is decidedly lower, reaching 7%, a percentage below the national average of 10.4%. 0.7% was allocated to meal distribution and/or home laundry services, while a further 9% falls under the heading of other home care services.
Request for services: over 34% of questions remain unansweredto
One of the indicators of the level of welfare services and interventions is given by the ability of municipal bodies and associations to satisfy citizens’ requests. In this sense, Sardinia in 2021 was among the last five Italian regions.
In fact, the percentage of non-responses was equal to 34.7% of the total requests for interventions and social services, a good 12 points above the national average. Only Calabria (54.8%), Campania (48.8%), Molise (47.9%) and Abruzzo (37.9%) did worse than Sardinia.
Of a total of 406 entities active in the regional territory between associations and municipalities, 141 are non-responsive. In particular, of the 377 Sardinian municipalities, 246 responded to citizens’ requests, while 131 did not follow up on their requests. At the level of associations active in the provision of social services and interventions, of a total of 29 entities, 19 responded, 10 did not.
Regional and municipal welfare policies
The Regional Government in the programmatic declaration of President Alessandra Todde of May 10, 2024, underlined the urgent need to innovate social policies through the implementation of paths that actively involve the political and administrative institutions of the territory. Paths that require direct investments in social security and economic protection of the most fragile people with particular reference to education, the fight against marginalization and social inclusion measures.
Among the interventions to support families and minors, the Regional Council with resolution of 10 July 2024 confirmed for the three-year period 2024-2026 the plan of interventions for access to early childhood services through the reduction of the fee for attending nurseries and micro-nurseries. The measure known as “free nurseries”, cumulative with the nursery bonus paid by INPS, provides 200 euros per month for 11 months, for each child from 0 to 36 months, in the case of an ISEE lower than 40 thousand euros.
With reference to the assistance of the sick and disabled, several intervention plans are in force, including “Mi prendo cura” and “Ritornare a casa plus”, dedicated respectively to ALS and multiple sclerosis patients and to subjects in a state of total loss of autonomy who require daily assistance. In this sense, the Social Policies Directorate of the Region recently paid 2 million euros in favor of the municipalities for the first of the two plans and 2.6 million euros in favor of the bodies managing the “plus” areas of the second plan.
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