València, 15 December 2023.- One of the obligations imposed by the entry into force of Law 2/2023, of 20 February, regulating the protection of people who report regulatory and anti-corruption infringements is for administrations and public bodies to have an internal information system.
The purpose of this internal system is to ensure that possible conduct or irregularities that may be followed up can be reported within the organisations themselves.
The internal information system is made up of three elements: an internal channel (mailbox) where information or complaints can be collected; a procedure that regulates how the information or complaints received will be handled, and finally, the designation of the person who will be responsible for the management and processing of the complaints and information.
Those responsible for internal information systems can be both a natural person and a collegiate body that will be appointed by the governing body or body of the administration, which will have a period of 10 working days from the appointment to communicate it to the Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency, which is the body designated in the Valencian Community to manage the Register of Heads of Internal Information Systems.
The Law established a deadline of June 13 for public administrations and agencies to notify the Agency of the persons responsible for their Internal Information Systems. In the case of municipalities with less than 10,000 inhabitants, the deadline ended on 1 December. To date, only 134 bodies have complied with this procedure of notifying the Agency of those responsible for internal information systems, a procedure that can be carried out through the Agency’s electronic office.
Among the town councils with more than 10,000 inhabitants, 31 town councils of the 102 required have completed the procedure; while among those with less than 10,000 inhabitants, only 50 of the 440 have reported it to those responsible for the internal information system.
According to the Law, failure to comply with the obligation to have an Internal Information System can constitute a very serious, serious or minor infringement depending on the circumstances and can be sanctioned with fines ranging from 1,000 euros to 1 million euros.
With the aim of helping public administrations in complying with the requirements set out in Law 2/2023, not only with regard to compliance with the implementation of internal information systems, but also with the requirement to have external complaint mailboxes or the design of anti-fraud plans, the Agency has signed 88 collaboration protocols with city councils, Provincial Councils and Public Enterprises.
In the event that an administration or public entity is interested in signing this type of protocol with the Agency, it can request it through the following email: jurídico@antifraucv.es
Attached is the list of the municipalities that have made the communication of the internal information manager.
Anselm Bodoque, head of the AVAF Training Service, moderated the debate on reinforcing ethics and public integrity, as well as the importance of prevention, awareness and citizen organization, and explained the functions of analysis and investigation and protection of informants carried out by the Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency.
Pilar Moreno García, a technician from the AVAF Training Service, participated in the seminar, providing the perspective of “Gender, corruption and the route to integrity”, together with professor Manuel Villoria from the Rey Juan Carlos University, who focused his presentation on the preventive field and the Next Generation funds.