Virginia Barcones informs the mayors of Ávila of the services provided by the different areas of the Government of Spain in the province and how to access them

• More than 60 mayors receive specific and useful explanations from each of those responsible for the services deployed in the province by the General Administration of the State • The program ‘The Administration near you’, which has already brought information to 73 municipalities in the province, has made 74 certificates and 267 permanent keys during its visits

October 31, 2023. The delegate of the Government in Castilla y León, Virginia Barcones, accompanied by the subdelegate of the Government in Ávila, Fernando Galeano, met today with more than 60 mayors of the province of Ávila in a working meeting in which all the services that the Government of Spain provides in the provincial territory as well as the way to access them have been explained to them. At the meeting, 18 area heads of the services provided to citizens by the General Administration of the State (AGE) were present.

The delegate recalled that the objective of the meeting that has taken place in the Naturávila Complex is to ensure that the best service is provided to citizens and for this reason she has considered it essential to promote maximum collaboration between institutions, from coordination and loyal cooperation, in favor of the general interest. “We have to pamper that coordination. Last year this meeting was a success and this year there are new mayors to whom this information must be offered,” he said.

Precisely, among the functions of the delegations and subdelegations of the Government is collaboration and coordination with other public administrations. The relationship with local authorities is particularly important for monitoring the implementation and compliance of state funding programmes and ensuring information for citizens.

USEFUL INFORMATION ON STATE SERVICES

For more than two hours, the mayors who attended the meeting were able to listen, talk and ask the main leaders of many of the peripheral services of the General State Administration (AGE) in the province to get a clear and concise idea of what functions each one performs and how the action of their department affects their municipalities and the people living in them.

Thus, those responsible for the areas that are integrated into the Government Subdelegation units in Ávila have been present to answer questions and resolve doubts: Agriculture, Industry and Energy, Labour and Immigration, the Unit against Violence against Women and Civil Protection.

Among other heads of the various areas that make up the General Administration of the State in the province not integrated into the Subdelegation, the mayors present have acceded to the explanations offered by the heads of National Police, Civil Guard Command, the General Directorate of Traffic, the National Institute and the General Treasury of Social Security and the Public Service of State Employment.

They have also provided useful information from the Provincial Telecommunications Inspectorate, the Provincial Roads Unit, the National Statistics Institute, the Salary Guarantee Fund, the State Attorney’s Office, Penitentiary Institutions, the Douro Hydrographic Confederation or the Tax Administration Agency, among other services that the AGE provides to local entities and citizens.

The meeting was also attended by representatives of the public company TRAGSA, which, through its subsidiary Tragsatec, provides the small municipalities of Castilla y León, with preference to those with fewer than 5,000 inhabitants, with information on the national, regional and provincial calls for PRTR aid that may be requested by their municipality. The secretaries of the small municipalities have a lot of work to do, so these commissions are very useful, especially those that already have grants from the DUS and the PIREP.

Virginia Barcones has made it clear that mayors should not have “any qualms about asking questions about issues that affect their municipalities or their citizens,” since the final objective of the meeting is “to make known the services of the AGE and establish ties that allow us to improve the living conditions of our neighbors.”

ATTENTION TO THE CITIZEN

The Subdelegation of the Government in Ávila offers a broad Charter of services to citizens and, in addition, a Charter of electronic services aimed at facilitating citizens communication with the Administration by electronic means, at any time and from anywhere in the province, because the investment in digital technology of recent years has facilitated new services that can be processed totally or partially electronically without the need for travel.

THE ADMINISTRATION NEAR YOU

The intense day of work between the General Administration of the State and the Local Entities has also served to take stock of the long journey of the program ‘The Administration near you’, which the Government launched at the end of last year. It is a project that has already brought the information on the state services by municipalities of the province hand in hand and with the direct explanation of the public employees of the Government Subdelegation.

It is an initiative of the Ministry of Territorial Policy, in collaboration with the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces. In each locality, the displaced public employees inform all the neighbours who want to get closer about the services provided by the sub-delegations and government delegations; the operation of the e-government; the access and use of the citizen folder, the digital certificate of natural person and permanent key.

In addition, at the end of each meeting, the possibility of obtaining this digital certification is offered to the attendees to facilitate all electronic procedures with the Administration, among them some of the most requested ones such as those related to retirement, working life, driving license points or access to the young cultural voucher.

In Ávila, 74 certificates and 267 permanent keys have been made in situ during the 73 visits to locations that have taken place, the last one this morning in Hoyocasero. During the month of November this program plans to visit Aldea Vieja, Blascoeles, Navarrevica, San Juan de Gredos, Navatalgordo, Serranillos, Villanueva de Ávila, Bohoyo and El Hornillo.

BRIDGING THE DIGITAL DIVIDE

This initiative of the Government of Spain contributes to reducing the digital divide that separates citizens who have a higher level of digital performance from those who encounter more difficulties, especially in attention to the older and lower income people, who are the ones who need the most help in this process.

‘The Administration close to you’ seeks to strengthen territorial and social cohesion, contribute to establishing population in the rural environment and reinforce equal opportunities in access to public services.

In this regard, the delegate of the Government has indicated that broadband will be a reality for all of Castilla y León in 2025 thanks to the Single Broadband Program. In 2018, barely 200 localities had this service being today thousands that enjoy them in Castilla y León. He has also referred to the Unico Rural programme as a temporary solution to this extension of broadband. The Unico Rural allows you to have internet of 100 megas via satellite for 35 euros. In total, 40 million euros are going to be invested in the province of Ávila so that internet and telephony, through the 5G Program, reach all points of the territory.

Finally, the Government delegate thanked the mayors for their presence at the meeting as well as the effort they make daily to attend to their neighbors, in many cases combining their work in the Mayor’s Office with a commitment to work.