Vulnerable residents and mental health patients miss out as grants go unused
The Torrevieja City Council has been forced to return more than €615,000 in unspent social welfare funding to the Generalitat Valenciana, along with a further €32,700 in late-payment interest — money that will now be paid by local taxpayers.
The returned funds were intended to finance key Social Services programmes in 2023 and 2024, including support for people at risk of social exclusion and specialist care for residents with chronic mental health problems. Neither service was delivered.
Inclusion programme left unused
The largest repayment relates to the Social Inclusion Pathways Programme, designed to help vulnerable people access employment, housing and healthcare. Torrevieja has returned €325,278, of which €303,750 was the original grant and €21,528 was interest added after delays in processing the refund.
The return was formally requested by the Alicante Territorial Directorate of Social Services in November 2025, under the regional programme contract covering 2021–2024.
Mental health care never provided
A second repayment of €279,000, plus €11,171 in interest, corresponds to the Specific Primary Care Service for people with chronic mental health problems (SASEM) for 2024. According to official reports, the service was simply not provided at any point during the year.
SASEM is intended to deliver community-based psychosocial support, helping people with long-term mental illness maintain independence and avoid institutionalisation — a service for which Torrevieja already has long waiting lists.
“No lack of need — just no staff”
Normally, funds are returned when demand is lower than expected. That is not the case in Torrevieja, where social and mental health services are overstretched and largely delivered by external foundations and private providers.
The core problem, according to internal reports, is a chronic shortage of specialised staff in the Social Services department. Without personnel, vulnerable residents simply cannot be reached — even when funding exists.
Although Social Services have been reinforced since early 2025 after the situation deteriorated sharply, the city has once again been unable to utilise the funds made available by the regional government.
PSOE: “The same story every year”
The local PSOE has strongly criticised the situation. Socialist councillor Carolina Ponce said the repayments show a repeated failure in management.
“Year after year, the same thing happens. Torrevieja receives large sums of money for Social Services — and then gives them back unused,” she said.
“In just three years, almost €850,000 was allocated to SASEM. The service was never implemented, and the money was returned, with interest.”
Ponce also condemned the fact that late-payment interest is being paid by residents, despite receiving no service in return. “There must be responsibility. Public money must be used for the people it is intended to help. When mismanagement costs taxpayers money, political accountability must follow.”
