- The management of penitentiary institutions will remain, from October 1, 2021, in the hands of the Autonomous Community
- Miquel Iceta: “The transfers show the reality of political and administrative decentralization, strengthen self-government and are essential for the development of the State of the autonomies”
The Minister of Territorial Policy and Public Service, Miquel Iceta, chaired this noon the Joint Commission on Transfers General Administration of the State-Basque Country, which met in Bilbao and in which the transfer of four new competences to the Basque Country has been agreed.
The minister has framed these transfers in democratic normality and in “compliance with the Constitution”, as well as to advance in the development of the status of Gernika. “They show the reality of political and administrative decentralization, strengthen self-government and are essential for the development of the State of autonomies,” he insisted.
Among the new competences that the Basque Country will assume is the management of penitentiary institutions, specifically, the Penitentiary Center of Bilbao, the Penitentiary Center of Álava/Araba and the Penitentiary Center of San Sebastián.
This involves the functions of direction, supervision, organization, economic and administrative management and inspection of penitentiary centers located in the Basque Country. Prison regulations will continue to be a State competence, common throughout Spain.
Iceta has highlighted the importance of this transfer “both because of its importance and the considerable means to be transferred and because of its financial impact”.
The transfer, which will take effect on October 1, 2021, includes real estate related to the prison service located in Bilbao, Basauri, San Sebastián, Nanclares de la Oca and Álava. The State also transfers almost 700 occupied and vacant jobs, currently attached to the General Secretariat of Penitentiary Institutions and the State entity of public law Penitentiary Work and Training for Employment.
In addition, six supplementary agreements relating to contracts, management orders, savings and cafeteria services, among others, are adopted.
In the Commission, co-chaired by the Basque Government by its first deputy minister and security councillor, Josu Iñaki Erkoreka, the transfer of personal, budgetary and patrimonial resources relating to private transport, ancillary and complementary activities, transport, arbitration and professional competence for transport and ancillary and complementary activities in the field of road transport has also been agreed.
On the other hand, the Basque Country will assume a third competence: it will exercise, within its territorial scope, the corresponding functions in terms of granting international codes of identification of serial publications (ISSNs) in relation to companies and entities based in the Basque Country.
Finally, a building is transferred to the port of Ondárroa (Bizkaia), which was the former headquarters of the Maritime District.
With these new transfers, 10 have been executed since December 2018, when the transfers were resumed after seven years. The minister highlighted "the will of the Government to advance in the development of the status of Gernika".