Spain is planning to pay a basic monthly income to about a million of the country’s poorest households to help them weather the impact of the coronavirus outbreak, Social Security Minister Jose Luis Escriva said Friday. It has yet to be decided how much will be paid per month and Escriva declined to say what it would cost the government, though he said it would be funded with new public debt. The Socialist Party and its far-left coalition partner Unidas Podemos agreed in January to create such a basic income as part of their four-year programme, though the coronavirus crisis has changed priorities.
