Over 200 Brits attend open day in Algorfa

The British Consulate open day in Algorfa was attended by over 200 local residents keen to hear about consular services and find out what their pension, benefit and healthcare entitlements were. Bearing in mind that Algorfa is the town with the highest percentage of British nationals in Spain, almost 60%, there was a lot of interest from residents to discuss local issues and get up to date information from the experts about their entitlements in Spain.

The Consul used the presentation to explain what the Consulate can and cannot do and also to encourage residents to integrate and get involved in their local community. He explained the importance of voting in the regional elections to ensure that people’s concerns are heard, and said he was pleased that many of those present were taking advantage of town hall’s Spanish lessons, as learning a bit of the language plays a key role in integration.

The Pension, Benefit and Healthcare team then went on to clear up doubts that British nationals have about how to access healthcare in Spain and what benefits they can continue to claim once they leave the UK. They explained that all the information covered in their presentation can be found on the UK Foreign Office website in Spain – ukinspain.fco.gov.uk.

The councillor for European Residents, Samantha Biddles, also attended to answer questions on town hall services. During her presentation she outlined her plans to create a better support system for the residents of Algorfa. She explained that she does not want to duplicate assistance that already exists, rather to fill any gaps that there are, drawing on the residents of all nationalities that live in Algorfa.

After the event, British Consul Paul Rodwell said, “It was a great to see over 200 Brits attending the event yesterday and to listen to their concerns as well as giving them a better understanding of what the Consulate does. It is clear from speaking to them that the lack of Spanish is a barrier to integration and this means that many of them are not aware of what their local Spanish social services offer. It is encouraging to see pro-active initiatives from the town hall in offering Spanish lessons and I support the initiative of Sam Biddles, the Councillor of European Residents, to set up a charity in Algorfa to work with social services and other charities up and down the costa to support residents living there.”

As well as finding general information about living in Spain on ukinspain.fco.gov.uk, local residents can also find information about Algorfa town hall services on www.algorfa.es