The PP will submit to the Plenary of Congress next week a non-binding proposal with which it intends to suppress the requirement of mandatory prior appointment to carry out procedures before the General State Administration, guarantee face-to-face attention both with and without an appointment, and adopt the necessary organizational measures to reconcile face-to-face services with telematic channels.
In the text that will be debated next Tuesday, the 'popular' insist that the relationship between citizens and Public Administration must adhere to the principles of "accessibility, effectiveness, proximity, and service to the general interest".
The initiative, reported by Europa Press, recalls that the Law on Common Administrative Procedure of Public Administrations recognizes natural persons the right to choose whether to interact with the Administration in person or electronically, "except in legally established cases".
Furthermore, they emphasize that "in no case does the rule establish the mandatory nature of prior appointment as the exclusive condition" for receiving in-person attention and that the "imposition" of this system has become in practice an "effective obstacle to the exercise of administrative rights".
It cannot become a barrier
Although they admit that, especially since the coronavirus pandemic, it has been shown that prior appointment can be a "useful organizational tool", the PP warns that "it must not become a barrier to access".
According to their diagnosis, in numerous bodies dependent on the General State Administration, it is extremely difficult to obtain a prior appointment or it is granted with "prolonged delays", which causes "legal uncertainty" and, on occasion, "loss of rights due to expiry of deadlines".
"It is not about eliminating prior appointment as a management tool, but about returning it to its original nature: a voluntary system that facilitates the organization of the service for those who freely wish to use it," emphasize the 'popular', who argue that "direct, immediate, and face-to-face" attention must remain a real and effective option, particularly for the elderly affected by the digital divide or for those who require an urgent response.
For all these reasons, the PP will propose that the Plenary urge the Government to abolish the mandatory nature of prior appointments as the exclusive requirement for in-person service at the offices of the General State Administration, to ensure direct service to any citizen who requests it, with or without an appointment, and to implement the appropriate organizational measures to make in-person service, online service, and a voluntary appointment system compatible.