BackThe Catalan Ombudsman, Rafael Ribó, who has handed in the Annual Report 2013 to the president of the Catalan Parliament, Núria de Gispert, has underlined the need to protect social policies, the defence of which has led to several actions carried out by the institution. In 2013 the Catalan Ombudsman has handled over 27,000 actions and has obtained a 98% percentage of acceptance of its rulings.
Satisfied with the degree of acceptance of Ombudsman’s recommendations, Rafael Ribó has highlighted the efficiency of the task carried out by the institution and has asked for the cooperation of the Administration in order to guarantee the fulfilment of the accepted recommendations.
The report shows the fragility of social policies that define the core of the welfare state
As a result of some outstanding actions in the social policies sphere, the Catalan Ombudsman shows the effect of budgetary cuts on social policies. In this sense, the Ombudsman asks the Administration to guarantee the payment of acknowledged social benefits and reminds that the economic situation can not undermine social rights.
Access to public information is an essential tool for democratic control and to encourage citizen participation
As for the right to good administration, the Ombudsman underlines that access to public administration should be fulfilled directly and without obstacles. Waiting for the new law to be passed, the Ombudsman suggests that all of the administrations act pursuant the highest transparency possible, with no need to wait for the new regulation.
The report, divided into five chapters, includes a new one about the follow up and fulfilment of the Ombudsman’s decisions. The third chapter contains the most outstanding actions, distributed in different scopes, including complaints and ex-officio actions, and the fifth contains the institutional activity.
The Spanish version of the Annual Report 2013 is available on the website of the Catalan Ombudsman.
Source: Office of the Catalan Ombudsman, Catalonia/Spain
