Virginia Barcones informs the mayors of Palencia 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 municipalities of the province have received more than 1.7 million from the State Pact Against Gender Violence • The program ‘The Administration near you’, which has already brought information to 33 municipalities of the province, has made 118 certificates and 218 permanent keys during its visits

November 10, 2023.- The delegate of the Government in Castilla y León, Virginia Barcones, accompanied by the subdelegate of the Government in Palencia, Ángel D. Miguel, has met today with more than 60 mayors of the province of Palencia. During the working meeting, 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 took place at the headquarters of the Provincial Directorate of the General Treasury of Social Security is to ensure that the best service is provided to citizens and for this it has considered essential to promote maximum collaboration between institutions, from coordination and loyal cooperation, in favor of the general interest. “In May there were elections, there are new mayors and mayors and the objective is that they know each and every one of the services of the General Administration of the State and what are their functions,” 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 STATE SERVICES INFORMATION

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, they have been present to answer the questions and resolve responsible doubts of the areas that are integrated in the units of Government Subdelegation in Palencia: 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 Highway Unit, the National Statistical Institute, the Wage Guarantee Fund, 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 municipalities of Castilla y León, with preference to those with fewer than 5,000 inhabitants, with information on the 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. “Mayors have to know the Government of Spain, through Tragsatec it has professionals in each province to help them with the procedures of those funds. They just have to join,” he explained to remember in the next six years the same amount of funds will be managed as in the previous 36 years.

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.”

STATE PACT AGAINST GENDER VIOLENCE

Under the State Pact against Gender Violence, the province of Palencia has been allocated 435,515 euros this year. Since 2018 and until this 2023, the Palentine municipalities have reached more than 1.7 million. In the whole of Castilla y León we talk about 22.6 million in total.

Since the amendment of the Law on Local Regime Bases, municipalities have been competent to carry out activities in the field of combating gender violence. The examples of events carried out in Castilla y León by the municipalities that receive these funds are very varied and range from the usual merchandising to graphic or audiovisual campaigns, through explanatory guides or conferences and congresses among other actions. These actions must be continued throughout the year ensuring the development of an activity on two key dates, November 25, International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women; and March 8, Women’s Day.

In addition, municipalities with between 550 and 19,999 inhabitants are now beginning to receive a laptop for the management of the Service for Care and Protection of Women Victims of Gender Violence (ATENPRO). These computers, financed by PRTR grants that the Government grants to the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces, must be made available “to the professionals who run the Atenpro Service, the social services”.

CITIZEN CARE

The Government Subdelegation in Palencia offers an extensive Charter of Services to Citizens and, in addition, a Charter of Electronic Services aimed at facilitating 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.

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 Palencia 118 certificates, 218 permanent keys have been made in situ as well as the recovery of six keys during the 33 visits to locations that have taken place and in which 353 people have attended. During the month of November this program has visited Villaluenga de la Vega and Frómista and will visit Ampudia (day 15), Santervás de la Vega (day 17) and Castrillo de Villavega (day 21).

REDUCE 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. 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, in the province of Palencia more than 24 million euros are going to be invested for the internet and telephony, through the 5G Program, to reach all points of the territory.