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

• More than 100 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’ has brought information to 105 localities in which 79 digital certificates were made • The municipalities of the province have received more than 2.8 million from the State Pact Against Gender Violence • The meeting was attended by the deputy delegate of the Government, Faustino Sánchez, and the president of the Provincial Deputation, Gerardo Álvarez Courel

November 15, 2023.- The delegate of the Government in Castilla y León, Virginia Barcones, accompanied by the subdelegate of the Government in León, Faustino Sánchez, and the president of the Provincial Council, Gerardo Álvarez Courel, met today with more than 100 mayors of the province. 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. The meeting was attended by 30 area chiefs of the services that the General Administration of the State (AGE) provides to citizens.

The meeting took place in the auditorium of the Labour Inspectorate building. The delegate recalled that the objective of the meeting that has taken place is to ensure that the best service is provided to citizens and for this she has considered it essential to promote maximum collaboration between institutions, from coordination and loyal cooperation, in favor of the general interest. “They are going to be present head of service and it is necessary that there is a close and trusting relationship with the localities to speed up the day-to-day processes,” he stressed.

Precisely, among the functions of the Government’s subdelegations 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 Subdelegation of the Government in León: Agriculture, Industry and Energy, Unit against Violence Against Women, Civil Protection, Health, Legal Services, Registration and Information or Work and Immigration.

Among other leaders of the various areas that make up the General Administration of the State and that are not part of the Subdelegation, the mayors present have agreed to the explanations offered by heads of the National Police, the Civil Guard Command, the Military Emergency Unit, the General Directorate of Traffic or the Province of Telecommunications Inspection.

They have also provided useful information from the National Institute and the General Treasury of Social Security, the State Public Employment Service, the State Road Demarcation, the Territorial Labour Inspectorate, Renfe, the Douro Hydrographic Confederation and the Minus-Sil Hydrographic Confederation, 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 assistance that may be requested at the national, regional and provincial levels. Tragsatec has four workers in each province who are coordinated by a group of four people at the regional level. A team to collaborate with commissions that are very useful, especially for those municipalities that already have grants from the DUS and the PIREP.

More than 15 million euros have been distributed in León under the DUS 5000 Programme and are to be distributed in 27 projects. In addition, 3.2 million have been allocated to 12 projects under the PIREP. 19.6 million have also been approved for 18 projects linked to Environmental, Social and Digital Infrastructure Projects in municipalities in areas affected by the Energy Transition or distributed 552,000 euros between nine municipalities for territorial innovation and reactivation of socio-economic activity and the fight against depopulation. The Diputación de León has received 459,000 euros within the line of aid for the support of the commercial sector in rural areas and 1.6 million for the Modernization and Digitalization of local entities. Under the Destination Tourism Sustainability Plans program, Carucedo will receive 1 million euros.

The delegate has pointed out that in seven years the same funds will be received from the European Union as in the previous 34 years. “This is an opportunity that we have to take advantage of. The more coordinated we are, the better we are going to do it,” he said.

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 León has been responsible for 571,322 euros this year. Since 2018 and until this 2023, the municipalities of León have reached more than 2.8 million. In the whole of Castilla y León we talk about 22.6 million in total.

The municipalities have the competence to carry out activities in the field of combating gender violence. The examples of events carried out in our Community 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.

The municipalities of 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 subsidies from the PRTR 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

In total, about 34,000 public employees of the State serve in Castilla y León. Almost 7,500 do so in León, with a quality requirement that guarantees that practically all face-to-face consultations are attended in less than 10 minutes and telematics are answered in a maximum of 24 hours on business days.

The Government Subdelegation in León offers an extensive Charter of Services to Citizens. It offers a Charter of electronic services aimed at making it easier for citizens to communicate with the Administration by electronic means. It can be done at any time and from anywhere in the province thanks to the investment in digital technology of recent years has provided new services that can be processed totally or partially electronically, at the click of a button, without the need to 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 route 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 the province of León, 105 places have been visited in which 79 certificates have been made and hundreds of people have attended. During the month of November we have visited Cimanes de la Vega and Villamidos and we are going to visit Cubillas de Rueda.

REDUCE THE DIGITAL DIVIDE

The ‘Administration Close to You’ helps reduce 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.

This initiative of the Government of Spain 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, it should be noted that broadband will be a reality for all of Castilla y León in 2025 thanks to the Single Broadband Program. In those places where fiber has not yet arrived, the Rural Only program is a temporary solution to that 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 León, 66 million euros will be invested so that internet and telephony, through the 5G Program, reach all points of the territory. In this way, 30 million will be desinated for broadband and 36 million for 5G. “This information has to reach the residents of the villages of León. That the Government of Spain guarantees connectivity by any of these means,” he said.