The Socialist Municipal Group in Orihuela (PSOE) has accused the City Council of returning nearly €90,000 from a regional grant earmarked for mental health services.
According to the party, the council has repaid €87,144.43 from a €248,000 subsidy awarded by the Valencian regional government’s Department of Equality and Inclusive Policies to fund the 2024 Specific Care Service for People with Chronic Mental Illness (SASEM). An additional €1,099.48 in late-payment interest brings the total returned to more than €88,000.
The reimbursement was approved in a mayoral decree signed in January, reducing the original grant by almost 35%. The PSOE argues this reflects serious mismanagement and poor planning by the ruling Partido Popular (PP), given the social sensitivity of mental health provision.
Socialist councillor Juan López said mental health services “cannot afford poor management,” stressing that the programme supports people with chronic mental illness and their families through ongoing assistance, social resources and measures to improve personal autonomy.
The party also highlighted what it sees as a contradiction in the government’s messaging. In February, Social Services councillor Agustina Rodríguez publicly welcomed a separate €45,996.35 grant from LABORA to hire unemployed people with severe mental health conditions. López said it was positive to receive employment-related funding, but “incomprehensible” to celebrate a €45,000 subsidy while returning almost €90,000 from another mental health programme.
López insisted that the priority should be proper management of public funds, especially amid growing calls for increased investment in mental health. He questioned the repeated reference by Rodríguez to her 30 years as head of Social Services, asking what her assessment would be of a public official who, after three decades in charge, “loses €90,000 intended for social policies.”
The PSOE, alongside mental health associations and organisations, has demanded explanations from the governing team about which parts of the SASEM service were not implemented or properly justified. López warned that if the situation has affected service delivery or reduced the number of people assisted, the opposition will not let the matter rest.
