Mayor Margarita del Cid urges the Ministry of Equality to reconsider its rejection of funding for the 'Torremolinos Concilia 2026' programme due to its overlap with school hours. The City Council argues that the service would cover personal care for minors without taking on teaching responsibilities.
The mayor of Torremolinos, Margarita del Cid, has requested the Ministry of Equality to review the criteria that prevents funding for the project “Torremolinos Concilia 2026: Support Service for Co-responsibles”. The refusal was communicated on 30 September in response to an inquiry from the Andalusian Government, according to the City Council.
The council defends that the proposed service does not replace teaching staff nor take on educational personnel's responsibilities. It is a municipal service focused on the personal care and hygiene needs of minors, aimed at facilitating family and work reconciliation.
“The need to reconcile does not disappear when children enter school. If a mother or father has to stop working to attend to a hygiene or personal care need of their child, the problem arises at that moment,” Del Cid has pointed out.
The mayor has questioned whether the overlap of the service with school hours is a sufficient reason to reject its funding. In her opinion, offering a solution after classes have ended does not address the family's needs.
“We are not asking for funding for teachers or to cover school staff. We are asking for a response to a need of families,” the mayor has stated.
The City Council of Torremolinos has expressed its willingness to clarify the programme's operation and to adapt professional profiles to the requirements of the Co-responsibles Plan. According to the council, care could be provided in suitable spaces outside the classroom, with the necessary authorisations and coordination, and through an organisation of the municipal service.
Del Cid has called for the involvement of the Ministry of Equality, in coordination with Education and the Andalusian Government, to review the project's fit. If the opposing criterion for its funding is maintained, she requests a motivated response identifying the specific impediments and allowing for alternative solutions to be explored.
“We are going to defend this service because it responds to a real need. The Government must explain how it plans to help these families if it rejects the solution proposed by the City Council,” she concluded.
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