444 million euros. This is the 2022 budget of the Departmental Council of Cher. It is voted on Monday, January 24. The largest part of this budget is devoted to social issues, with 60% of the total. “Social policy is one of the main competences of the departments. And this year, given the crisis, social policy will be up to 206 million in 2022”, says Jacques Fleury, president of the Cher departmental council. In 2021, 196 million euros were dedicated to social issues in the department.
“It is a choice especially for children in danger, because we have noticed that this exit from the Covid crisis has caused a kind of explosion of intra-family violence, especially on children”, he says.
Jacques Fleury also specifies that a large part of the budget will be devoted to support municipalities in their projects to attract new residents. “We must revitalize the towns which have sometimes become a bit deserted”, according to him. The department lost 10,000 inhabitants between 2013 and 2019.