- The Secretary of State for Territorial Policy and Public Service has highlighted the Government's drive for legislative reforms to reverse the LRSAL's power cut and to approve the Basic Statute of the Municipalities with a Smaller Population
The Secretary of State for Territorial Policy and Public Service, Víctor Francos, stressed that the Government promotes, “within co-governance mechanisms”, the participation of the local world in public affairs.
In the recovery process, the FEMP, already represented in the National Commission of Local Administration (CNAL) and present at the Conference of Presidents, the Interterritorial Council of the National Health System or the CARUE, will also participate in the Sectoral Conference of the Frank Recovery Plan, which has closed the Conference “Application of the European Charter of Local Autonomy in Spain”, organized by the Fundación Democracia y Gobierno Local and the Diputació de Barcelona, has recalled the ratification by Spain of the European Charter of Local Autonomy, since then.
The government is committed to municipalism, he said, “because municipalities are a basic pillar for our democracy and the gateway to our welfare state, being the administrations closest to the citizens.”
The Ministry of Territorial Policy and Public Function works “so that our municipalities are autonomous and free and have the necessary competences and resources to design their own public policies and meet the needs of their citizens wherever they reside,” he reiterated.
Government measures to boost local autonomy
Francos acknowledged the exemplary work of the municipalities during the health crisis: “They are instruments for equality, for the provision of services and for the guarantee of rights, they have had and have an essential role for social and territorial cohesion.”
The Secretary of State has highlighted regulatory reforms undertaken, for example, “the regulation that gives them the leading role they deserve in the management of European funds for recovery.”
The Ministry will invest, he explained, 1,000 million euros within the Spain Can Plan to modernize public administrations, of which local entities will receive 391.4 million euros in three years, 40% of the total.
The municipality claims to improve local regulation in order to strengthen the position of local governments. “The Ministry of Territorial Policy and Public Service is sensitive to these requests,” he said.
Impetus for local legislative reform
Francos recalled that both he and Minister Miquel Iceta have been in favor of promoting legislative reforms at the local level, which involve two things: “To reverse the curtailment of competences represented by the Law on Rationalization and Sustainability of Local Administration (LRSAL) and approve the Basic Statute of the Municipalities of Lower Population, to improve their management and fight against depopulation.”
The reform of the local regulations in which the Ministry works, has pointed out, “will redesign the municipal competency regime, regulate the telematic vote, improve the procedure of elaboration of local regulations promoting citizen participation, expand the right of access to information and improve the regulation of the modes of management of public services.”
The Government will also approve the Basic Statute of the Municipalities with a Smaller Population, which will include “measures of organizational and procedural simplification, instruments of co-governance and assistance from other public administrations and will establish a dispensation regime for the provision of compulsory local public services by introducing some personnel specialties”.
Víctor Francos concluded his speech by stressing that “our road map must be to commit ourselves and develop the European Charter of Local Autonomy”.