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Date Published: 13/10/2021
ARCHIVED - Spain pays for English classes for leading government officials
The Government of Spain refuses to detail how much of the budget is being spent on these classes
It was revealed this week that the Spanish Government is paying for language classes, predominantly in English, French and German, for 58 high-ranking officials, but when questioned about the impact of these courses on the public coffers, President Sanchez proved rather evasive.
At a public meeting, PP deputy Carols Rojas demanded a break-down of the cost per official, but the Government has insisted that this is impossible due to contractual obligations in different departments. Mr Sanchez added that classes are held in a wide range of settings, including online, face-to-face and in groups, and so a definitive cost per person can’t be defined.
“All this means that, according to the available data relating to the current budget year, it is not possible to provide data with the breakdown that is requested”, the Government responded.
The president explained that training plans are agreed across departments every year, and that the courses reflect the specific needs of senior personnel who require additional languages to take part in international meetings and working groups.
However, in response to questions from the PP, the Government did admit to spending 15,000 euros on language classes for the Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande Marlaska, and the Secretary of State for Security, Rafael Pérez. In addition, the Director General of Home Affairs receives English classes, while the Director of the Minister's Cabinet takes English and French.
"It is a contract whose execution period includes from January 15 to December 10, 2021, for a maximum of 394 hours in total, to be distributed among all students", according to the parliamentary response.
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