The Government Delegation and its island offices bring the administrative procedures of the State closer to 34 municipalities of the Canary Islands

The Government Delegation in the Canary Islands has moved throughout 2023 to 34 municipalities of the Canary Islands within the plan “The Administration near you”, with which the Ministry of Territorial Policy and Democratic Memory wants to facilitate that the inhabitants of the less populated municipalities do not have to make large displacements and can carry out the procedures from their localities of residence.

This plan, launched at the end of 2022, has allowed the issuance of 1,352 electronic identification systems, both digital certificates from the National Currency and Stamp Factory (FNMT) and permanent Cl@ves, which will allow these citizens to carry out their procedures with the public administrations directly from their homes, without having to travel to their offices or to the island capitals.

“This is an initiative that the Government Delegation wanted to join from the beginning, aware of the importance and usefulness that these visits by our staff were going to have in an environment such as ours, where the accesses to the headquarters of the Administrations in the capital, even in other islands, are not always simple and, on many occasions, involve the dedication of a whole day,” says the Government delegate in the Canary Islands, Anselmo Pestana.

“With this plan of the Ministry of Territorial Policy and Democratic Memory we have also managed to make citizens a little better aware of the work carried out by the State in the Canary Islands, an Administration that is also of proximity thanks to our two Subdelegations of the Government and five Island Directorates. During this year we will continue to bet on strengthening our presence in the least populated municipalities of the archipelago, facilitating the procedures to the Canaries and Canaries, informing about the benefits of e-government”, he adds.

The 133 visits made last year by the staff of the two Government Subdelegations and four Island Directorates, which include municipalities with up to 8,000 inhabitants, have had a potential 138,000 beneficiaries and have explained, among others, the operation of the mobile application of the Citizen Folder and has also been informed about the services offered by our headquarters, reflected in their letters of service.

Staff from the State Public Employment Service (SEPE) and the National Social Security Institute, who have provided information on the procedures of their respective agencies, have also participated in the sessions of the plan “The Administration near you”, and in La Palma and Lanzarote National Police agents have traveled to the municipalities included in this initiative to carry out ID procedures.

Also in La Palma and La Gomera, agents of the Civil Guard participated in the sessions within the “Greater Security” Plan, aimed at the prevention and improvement of the security of older people, particularly informing about the risks that affect them, while in Fuerteventura five Alternance Projects in Training with Employment (PFAEs) of the Canary Islands Government have been visited to offer information about the General Administration of the State.

In 2024, the Government Delegation in the Canary Islands, the Government Subdelegations in Las Palmas and Santa Cruz de Tenerife, and the Island Directorates in Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, La Palma and La Gomera will continue to develop this initiative of the Ministry of Territorial Policy and Democratic Memory, since the Island Directorate in El Hierro plans this year to be able to close the agreements with the Municipalities that allow these visits to be carried out on the island as well.

The objective of the Government is, in collaboration with the City Councils, to bring the State Administration closer to the citizens in order to strengthen social and territorial cohesion, combat the digital divide and strengthen equal opportunities, offering information and accompanying, helping and guiding citizens for a better use of the public services provided by the State in the territory.

Breakdown of data

The Canarian municipalities to which the visits were made in 2023:

• GRAN CANARIA (Government subdelegation in Las Palmas): Agaete, Artenara, Firgas, Moya, La Aldea de San Nicolás, Tejeda, Valleseco, Vega de San Mateo.
• TENERIFE (Government subdelegation in Santa Cruz de Tenerife): Arafo, Vilaflor de Chasna, The Tank, Fasnia, Buenavista del Norte, Los Silos, Garachico.
• LA PALMA (Insular Directorate): Barlovento, Breña Alta, Breña Baja, El Paso, Garafía, Puntagorda, Puntallana, San Andrés y Sauces, Tazacorte, Tijarafe and Villa de Mazo.
• LA GOMERA (Insular Directorate): Agulo, Alajeró, Hermigua, Valle Gran Rey and Vallehermoso.
• LANCELOT (Insular Directorate): Would and Tinajo.
• FUERTEVENTURA (Insular Directorate): Betancuria.