The government of Salvador Illa will draft a law to guarantee the care in person and without appointment of citizens who depend on the Catalan administration. The measure is part of the plan to reform public services of the Generalitat, presented by the Minister of the Presidency, Albert Dalmau, which aims to bring greater efficiency and agility to the public sector, one of the most repeated promises of the CPS .
The reform includes a short-term shock plan and the creation of a committee of experts, led by political scientist Carles Ramió (from Pompeu Fabra University), to deepen the changes. Among the first, stand out the creation of 2,000 paid places for scholarship holders to “attract talent” from universities to the public service, as well as an aid plan for candidates and the overhaul of the School of Public Administration. .
Looking to the future, the project presented by Dalmau, approved this Tuesday at the Board of Governors, aims to “transform” public services to “protect and preserve” them. To do this, the commission of experts must propose measures to simplify regulations, digitize the Administration, guarantee face-to-face attention, create a new model of public management or give greater prestige to institutions.
“We cannot let civil servants spend their time doing bureaucracy instead of doing their jobs,” Dalmau said.
Regarding the attention in the Administration offices, Dalmau directly announced the end of the obligatory prior appointment. This measure has already been announced by the Minister of Digital Transformation and the Civil Service, even if it has not yet been implemented. “They must go their own way and we must do ours,” the city councilor simply declared, after verifying that the state plan was not moving forward.
“The pandemic has led to the expansion of mandatory appointment practices and there has been a lot of talk about it and little progress,” Dalmau acknowledged regarding complaints about the difficulties it creates for citizens to obtain a appointment or care online. “Every citizen, wherever they come from, should be able to access services without the need for an appointment,” he said.
“If this was possible before the pandemic, it must be possible after,” insisted Dalmau, who also recognized “relevant measures” on the part of his predecessors at the Generalitat in this regard. However, he stressed, his intention is to extend the end of the obligation of care not only in the public services of the Catalan Administration, but also in the provincial councils or town halls.
