Santa Cruz de Tenerife 21 Feb. (Europa Press) –
The Minister of Social Welfare, Equality, Youth, Children and Family for the Government of the Canary Islands, Candelaria Delgado, declared this Friday in a parliamentary commission that the new cooperation agreement with the councils for the provision of services to individuals facing Dependency issues will come into effect in the first half of 2025, with financial implications retroactive to January 1.
“We are finalising negotiations with the island councils concerning the terms of the new Cooperation Agreement in this domain,” stated the minister, Candelaria Delgado, who noted that monitoring committees were held with each council between January 20 and 24.
She affirmed that during these meetings, proposals to be included in the new document were presented, including that the specialised home assistance service will be provided directly by the Ministry in Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, La Gomera, and Tenerife, while in El Hierro, La Palma, and Gran Canaria the existing system will remain in place.
The Minister also clarified that a recruitment process has been initiated to take on the management of this service directly, aiming to ensure that all users receive comparable provision and to prevent price variations from impacting service hours.
She announced that the telecare service will be overseen directly by the Canarian government starting in July 2025. The provision of this service has already gone out to tender, which will be funded with €22.6 million from European New Generation funds.
“The expectation is that we will be able to assist over 17,000 individuals, representing a substantial increase from the current 4,746 that benefit from this service across the islands,” stated the minister.
Regarding financing, she explained that a price per place will be set in accordance with the specific conditions of each island, and the new agreement will establish new participation percentages, proposing co-financing for transport, the specialised home assistance service, and the Personal Autonomy Promotion Service.
Concerning waiting lists, Delgado reported that unified criteria will be established across all seven councils to regulate access to reserved lists, a process that previously depended on each island’s administration, ensuring that accessing a waiting list is consistent throughout all the islands of the archipelago.
The new agreement will also incorporate a clause requiring third-sector organisations providing agreed services to secure the necessary accreditation. A deadline until the end of 2025 will be provided to rectify their situation.
Simplification of Administrative Processes
Regarding the draft decree on the rights of individuals in a dependency situation, the minister indicated that it is nearing completion of its processing. “We expect that it will receive approval from the Government of the Canary Islands within a month,” she stated.
According to the Ministry, this new decree will streamline administrative management and shorten processing times for recognising degrees of dependency and approving Individualised Care Plans (PIA), by establishing a configuration that requires a single visit rather than the current two.
