The 2023 budget included plans for the acquisition of a new facility, tailored to the needs of the social care services provided at the Taco Social Care Unit, which is now deemed to be in a state of limbo.
Rubens Ascanio, Councillor and co-spokesperson for Unidas se puede in La Laguna, will once again bring to the La Laguna council meeting this Thursday the request to complete the improvement of the Taco Social Care Unit (UTS). For years, the unit has experienced increasing deterioration and has proven inadequate in meeting the needs of the community, lacking the appropriate space to attend to citizens.
“In September 2024, we were informed, in response to our inquiry, that while a suitable property had been identified in 2022 to house the new UTS, it was decided during this term to abandon that plan in favour of ‘other options like expanding the second floor of the current office building, which has been communicated to the Public Works Department.'” Ascanio points out that this option has been known to be unviable since 2020 due to the protection of the current building.
A year has passed since the last response, and to our knowledge, there has been no change regarding a facility that continues to deteriorate. Ascanio recalls that work began in May 2020 to seek new spaces upon realising that expanding the current building, located near a Cultural Interest Asset (BIC), was not feasible. “We are talking about providing a better service to thousands of individuals who rely on the UTS for sensitive cases, who lack privacy and sufficient waiting areas,” he asserts.
The Councillor is struck by the fact that while over six million euros have been invested in new municipal buildings in the Casco area, vacant lots and unused public buildings, such as the annex to the old church of San Agustín, remain. In Taco, the long-standing demands from the community and the individuals working in that space are not being addressed. “If a space was identified in 2022, if we managed to include the budget for purchase in 2023, if the Urban Planning reports and those from other departments were positive… what explains why that proposal was set aside?” he questions.
Ascanio hopes that available resources will be utilised effectively and not sacrificed for less urgent initiatives. He suggests that even a project for a sustainable and efficient building could be proposed on municipal land near Calle Los Custodios. “It simply requires establishing a line of work and following it, as was done before, to prevent social care for hundreds of people in Taco from further deteriorating,” he concludes.
