The Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency begins its first course in strategies to fight corruption, for public integrity and the protection of informants

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#AVAFTraining

Valencia. – November 7, 2023

The first two editions of the AVAF course “Laws and strategies to combat corruption, for public integrity and the protection of people who report regulatory infractions” approved by the IVAP, have begun on November 2 and 7 in person at the Faculty of Law of the University of Valencia.

The AVAF course, 16 hours long and in hybrid mode, is held in two editions throughout the entire month of November 2023; in the first edition, on Thursdays November 2, 9, 16 and 23, and, in the second edition, on Tuesdays November 7, 14, 21 and 28.

The course is aimed at public employees of any public administration, including people who work in public companies or public universities, and preferably to those people with responsibility for the direct management of internal information systems, anti-fraud committees, managers of personnel, contracting and subsidy files. Registration for both editions of the course has exceeded initial forecasts and has exceeded 160 people.

Those attending the in-person sessions on November 2 and 7, 2023 received, as a complement to the training, the publication of the AVAF Integrity Code of the Valencian Community in physical format although anyone who is interested in your query can download it online here

Joan Llinares, the director of the Agency, began the AVAF course with his presentation “The authorities for the prevention and fight against fraud and corruption in Spain and the Community.” Throughout his speech, he stressed that public service must be aligned with the general interest and, only on this basis, can there be integrity in the management of public administration.

Teresa Clemente, deputy director and Legal Affairs of the AVAF, carried out the second intervention, addressing the topic of “The value of Law 11/2023, creating the Agency and Law 2/2023, regulating the protection of informants”, a norm that, if properly developed, is destined to substantially change the strategies to combat corruption in Spain.

Irene Bravo, head of the Agency’s Prevention Service, ended the session on both days with a presentation on public integrity strategies in public administrations.

The AVAF course will be taught entirely by specialist public employees of the Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency, from the different departments in which the Agency is organized (Legal Analysis, Investigation, Prevention – Training)

Public employee personnel serving local administrations of the province of Valencia, Castellón and Alicante, with a very varied population; From municipalities of 276 inhabitants to cities of 330,000 inhabitants, they are present in the formation of the Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency, as well as the autonomous administration, entities of the Valencian instrumental public sector.

From the AVAF we want to thank the Faculty of Law of the University of Valencia for its collaboration in carrying out the course, especially in the face-to-face sessions.

The AVAF participates in the Cáceres Provincial Council in the INAP decentralized course on the impact of Law 2/2023 on small and medium-sized local entities

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Caceres. – November 6, 2023

The work and experience of the Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency has been present in the course “Reporting channels at the local level: proposals, difficulties and solutions for the application of the Law regulating the protection of people who report regulatory infractions” organized by the Provincial Council of Cáceres and the National Institute of Public Administration.

Pilar Moreno García, training technician at the Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency, gave the first of the sessions, on November 6, where she presented a global approach to international, European and state policies in the fight against corruption and the most outstanding issues of the new Law 2/2023, of February 20, regulating the protection of people who report regulatory infractions and the fight against corruption

The difficulties of applying Law 2/2023 and the proposals for compliance in small and medium-sized local entities were also developed, along with the impact of the personal data protection regulations on the application of the new Law.

Integrity systems, which need to be implemented in small and medium-sized local entities, were other issues addressed throughout the session, along with a checklist to assess the degree of compliance with the integrity strategy in small and medium-sized local entities.

In the 5-hour session held in the Assembly Hall of the Pintores Building of the Provincial Council of Cáceres, in the city of Extremadura, the workshop on conflicts of interest that is regularly carried out by the Training Service of the AVAF.

The training aroused great interest among the more than 60 attendees and proof of this was the large number of questions asked throughout the session, among which those related to the reality of small and medium-sized local entities for compliance with the law and the system stand out of integrity.

The approval of Law 2/2023 and the obligations it entails for small and medium-sized local entities requires training on it for public employees who provide their services in municipalities with up to 20,000 inhabitants.

With the aim of approximating the new reality for local entities with smaller populations in terms of protection of informants, internal information systems and promotion of integrity among public employees who provide services in small and medium-sized local entities, the Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency has participated in this 26-hour course.

The AVAF participates in the International Congress of land use to make a city of the UV

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#AVAFPrevention

Valencia.- November 3, 2023

The abuse of urban planning as a source of local financing in terms of public integrity was the communication presented by Irene Bravo Rey, head of the Prevention Service and Jorge Ciganda Teruel, technician of the Prevention Service of the AVAF, International Congress on land uses to make a city of the University of Valencia.

In addition to the attendees representing the AVAF, professors, university professors, specialized technicians and students interested in the subject participated in the Congress, held at the Faculty of Law, on November 2 and 3, 2023.

On Friday, November 3, at 1:00 p.m., the presentation of the communication presented by the staff of the AVAF Prevention Service took place, selected by the organizing committee, which was followed by 70 people both in person and online.

The aforementioned communication details that a local public administration or instrumental public sector entity that, with powers or participation in the city creation process, looks the other way and postpones compliance with obligations related to public integrity frameworks will be opening the doors to practices in their public housing policies or economic activities based on private interests. Consequently, it would be directly colliding with the constitutional principles of good administration: objectivity, impartiality, effectiveness, efficiency, legality, among others.

Some of these subjective, partial practices or those derived from undetected or uncontrolled conflicts of interest lead, for example, to “a la carte” tertiary use locations following the interests of private companies. And, in the same way, they result in the creation of ghettos that do not respond to sustainable planning criteria, or land reserves for certain industrial estates or projects. Which, together with the controversial figure of expropriation by operation of law, has put the public accounts of many Valencian municipalities in check.

“The abuse of urban planning as a source of local financing. In terms of public integrity” will be the subject of development in the next General Recommendation of the Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency.