Social Protection in the Autonomous State

Abstract

Social assistance as a general form of social protection must be differentiated from social assistance as a specific power exercised by Spain’s autonomous regions through the Social Security System. In addition, the exercise of regional powers in the area of social assistance is affected by other State powers, such as those recognised in Art. 149.1.1 of the Spanish Constitution (CE in Spanish) on the basic conditions that guarantee equal exercise of constitutional rights and in Art. 149.1.13 CE on the bases and coordination of general economic planning; or the State power regarding public expenditure. The latter, although not strictly a specific power, enables the State to use its funds for any purpose. Likewise, certain constitutional precepts, such as that contained in Art. 139.1 CE, can have an impact on the exercise of the autonomous communities’ powers in the area of social assistance, which could imply a substantive limitation on their exercise.

Keywords

• social protection
• social assistance
• state with autonomous communities
• spending power
• welfare state
• equality