Costa Blanca

Birth rate at all time low in Alicante

According to the research The Cost of Parenting by Save the Children, the average monthly expense for raising a son or daughter in Alicante and the Valencian Community in 2024 is 839 euros, which is 18% more than in 2022. Motherhood and fatherhood have become financial burdens for many families due to inflation, rising house prices, and utility price increases.

Birth rates, meanwhile, are still declining. The region’s rate of 1.19 children per woman is one of the lowest in Europe, indicating a widening disparity between the desired and actual birth rates of children. Almost half of women who did not have children would have like to have more, and 20% of women over the age of 40 who already had children would have preferred to have more, according to the CIS Survey on Fertility, Family and Childhood.

The cost of raising a child is skyrocketing: why is this the case?

Important commodities and services have been severely impacted by inflation, according to Save the Children. There has been a 67% increase in home supplies and a 25% increase in food since 2022.

A staggering 45% of youngsters now reside in households that are severely unable to handle unforeseen costs; this number has increased by 4% in the past two years alone.

The three most expensive items since 2022 have been food (up over 25%), housing (up over 67%), and household supplies (up over 67%), which is a major aspect in the economic burden.

Particularly at risk are homes headed by a single parent, as the report notes. One study found that among the over 66,000 homes in the community headed by a single mother, 67.5% were at danger of poverty or social exclusion.

Director of Save the Children in the Valencian Community Rodrigo Hernández says that women’s capacity to afford the costs of having children is directly affected by their unstable employment situations and bad working conditions.

In relation to age, what is the average cost of raising a child?
Monthly costs associated with raising a child rise steadily when they enter puberty and continue to fluctuate throughout their formative years.

This is the age-based monthly expense for each child: Between the expenses of the nursery, home adaption, and food, the total cost approaches 650 euros for children aged 0 to 3. A bit more, up to 759 euros a month, between the ages of four and six. The anticipated monthly cost is 846 euros up until the age of 12, mainly because food prices go up and furniture needs to be replaced. The peak price point, at about 967 euros, occurs between the ages of 13 and 17. Spending on entertainment, apparel, and electronics rises at this point. “With adolescence, the cost shoots up: leisure is more expensive, children no longer play with toys, but with electronic devices, and food continues to increase,” the survey notes.

Adding insult to injury, the expense of housing is on the rise. From 2022 to 2018, the cost of housing and utilities increased by 67% and 84%, respectively.

Reversing the birth crisis requires greater public assistance.
In light of this, Save the Children maintains that public policies should be strengthened to assist in child raising. Among its suggestions are the following: a universal benefit for dependent children, mimicking programs in other European countries; streamlining the Valencian Income for Inclusion (RVI) to make it easier for more families to receive aid without bureaucratic red tape; and adjusting the aid to reflect the current economic reality, making sure that financial assistance truly covers the expenses of raising children.

The chance to ensure the rights of the most vulnerable children has presented itself with the reorganisation of the RVI, Hernández says.

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Hospitality and recreation establishments in Elche receive 36 infringement reports from local police

The Elche Local Police conducted an operation that involved inspecting thirteen hospitality and leisure outlets in various neighbourhoods, resulting in one arrest and 36 violations. The data was made public on Friday, 28th March, mainly as a reminder of the work that is being done. Councilman Juan de Dios Navarro gave the police top for their efforts.

According to local police inspector José Antonio Corrales, the majority of the infractions included drug usage and possession, including four for cocaine possession and seven for hashish, as well as improper company documentation. Additionally, there were two reports for disturbing the peace or disrespecting law enforcement, four for not following the minimum hygienic standards for food storage, one serious infraction for conducting the activity after hours and behind closed doors, and seven for irregularities found on the property, including improper documentation.

Additionally, officers found six infractions for permitting smoking in unapproved indoor locations, three for type “B” slot machine identification guide deficiencies, and one major infraction for emergency escape and door flaws. Additionally, a report was made about the selling of illegal tobacco at a pub, where 20 packets were confiscated and one individual was detained on court order and imprisoned.

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Visitor to Catral cemetery locked inside

As nightfall approached on one of these soggy spring days in March, a young man decided it would be a good idea to visit a cousin or acquaintance’s grave and take a walk through the cemetery. Because the cemetery still closes its (automatic) gates at six o’clock at this time of year, but without the winter gloom that may discourage anyone from going.

However, the door was locked when he attempted to exit. The visitor didn’t seem to want to spend any more time among the cemeteries, despite the cemetery’s reputation as a particularly tranquil spot. Unaware of the placard bearing the mobile phone number for anyone needing help, he dashed out the gate. It was all on camera.

Joaquín Lucas, the mayor of Catral, maintains that this occurrence is unrelated to the privatisation of the cemetery works and feels that management by an outside company is an efficient approach to provide this service in a municipal office. He went on to say that the young man who who was locked in is from the nearby municipality of Dolores rather than Catral.

The local police took to social media and atacked the man’s “reckless” behaviour. He has been named in connection with “criminal proceedings for a crime against another’s property.” Nonetheless, the business will be liable for any damages brought on by the damaged door anchors.

In addition to clarifying that the business employs two workers—a gravedigger and a labourer who maintains the communal areas and restrooms—the Councillor for Services, Daniel Escudero, reaffirmed that the automatic door is an option offered by the company itself.

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Five arrested in Alicante and Murcia for shoplifting

Five individuals involved in grocery theft have been taken into custody by the Guardia Civil. In the regions of Alicante and Murcia, the thieves were stealing in a number of locations for a well-known supermarket company. The things that were stolen are worth over 8,000 euros in total.

The investigation started after the retail chain representative filed a complaint. The pattern was consistent across all cases: three or four people went into the store, and one of them loaded up a cart with expensive things like canned goods, extra virgin olive oil, sausages, or alcoholic drinks. The last one hurried out of the grocery without paying, and another diverted the attention of the staff.

It was discovered that the same people were responsible for the crimes in multiple towns in Alicante and Murcia after examining the security footage from the impacted businesses. Since the suspects did not live in the residences where they were registered and lacked a stable address, it was very difficult to find them.

Shortly after committing another theft at a store in a suburban neighbourhood of Rojales (Alicante), officers caught two of the suspects off guard and took them into custody. Many of the stolen goods were found at that time and brought back to the impacted business.

The other three were later taken into custody in the cities of Almoradí (Alicante) and Guardamar del Segura. The majority of the pilfered items were sold on. Additionally, the two cars that were utilised in the crimes were taken.

Eleven thefts have been resolved as a consequence of the investigation conducted by the Novelda Civil Guard’s investigation section. The cities of Novelda, Torrevieja, Almoradí, Catral, and Rojales in Alicante as well as the municipalities of San Javier, Jumilla, San Pedro del Pinatar, Cartagena, Archena, and Caravaca de la Cruz in Murcia were the sites of these crimes.