Álava urges for the expansion of occupational positions for 156 people with disabilities

The Social Policy Commission of the General Assemblies of Álava approved Motion 75/2026 on October 22, 2026, which urges the Provincial Council of Álava to present, before the end of the legislature, a plan to expand places in occupational and day centers for people with grade 2 and 3 disabilities. The agreement is published in the Official Gazette of the Historical Territory of Álava no. 126, dated November 2, 2026, in section I, under official reference 2026-03068.

The motion stems from the conclusions unanimously approved in the Report on the current situation and future of Social Services attending to people with disabilities, an internal forum of the Álava Chamber that established the position of all groups regarding the care model. The text signed in Vitoria-Gasteiz on October 22, 2026, by the President of the General Assemblies of Álava, Irma Basterra Ugarriza, specifies that unanimity in three mandates directed at the provincial Executive, which must respond to the Social Policy Commission itself.

The data supporting the initiative is the forecast that 156 people will complete their educational stage in the next five years in Álava, a group that requires a place in occupational or day resources upon leaving the school system. The motion sets this five-year horizon as a reference to size the public offer and prevent the exit from school from becoming a period without care.

A plan with a calendar, places, and budget

The first point of the motion specifies the minimum content of the plan that the Provincial Council of Álava must develop. The document requires that the instrument include three closed elements:

• An implementation calendar for the new places.
• The number of places committed for each fiscal year.
• The annual budgetary allocation associated with that expansion.

The design of the plan is not left exclusively in the hands of the provincial institution: the text orders that it be developed with the participation of the sector and families, and that it be coordinated with the second Social Services map, the planning tool that organizes the resources of the territory. The coverage of the 156 predicted people operates as an explicit objective of the plan.

Transition protocol from the final school year

The second mandate addresses the critical moment of the process: the transition between the educational system and social services. The General Assemblies demand an active transition protocol for the assessment and allocation of places that is activated from the start of the final school year, and not upon completion of the educational stage.

That protocol must be established in coordination with the Basque Government, the competent administration in educational matters, as stated in the published agreement. The declared objective is twofold: to avoid gaps in care when transitioning from one system to another and to reduce the uncertainty of families, who face leaving school without a guaranteed placement.

Annual report before the Social Policies Commission

The third point introduces a political control mechanism. The Provincial Council of Álava must conduct an annual follow-up of the plan and issue a public and accessible report, which will be presented before the Social Policies Commission of the General Assemblies of Álava to account for its compliance.

With this instrument, the Álava Chamber reserves the capacity to evaluate each year whether the committed placements have been created and whether the announced budgetary allocation has been executed, in addition to demanding that the information be provided in a format understandable to families and third-sector entities.

Impact on families and the third sector

The motion moves to the institutional level a problem that directly affects Álava families with children with grade 2 and 3 disabilities: the absence of a guaranteed placement in occupational and day centers upon completion of compulsory schooling. The approved mandate commits the Provincial Council of Álava to plan five years ahead, with an identified budget and annual verification before the provincial Parliament, and links the response to the sector and the families themselves in the design of the plan.

Source: Official Gazette of the Historical Territory of Álava, no. 126, November 2, 2026, section I (General Assemblies of Álava and Provincial Administration of the Historical Territory of Álava), page 1 (official reference: 2026-03068).