Last Friday the British Consul in Malaga, Steve Jones, hosted a special Consular Open Day at the Old Convent in the centre of Coín. Around 140 members of the public attended the event, coming from Coín, Alhaurín El Grande and nearby villages. Also attending were the Consul General to Spain and Director of Consular Services to Iberia, Michael John Holloway and Robert Tinline, the new Head of the Consular Assistance Group from London. The Consul General said “I was delighted to be able attend the British Consular Open Day in Coín and was thrilled to see so many attendees. These events are a great way for British residents to find out about their rights and services available to them”.

Speaking exclusively to SUR in English before the event opened, Steve Jones, the Consul for Malaga, explained that the open day in Coín is part of a continuing programme of outreach events that are designed to provide customers with information and to answer any queries on health and pension issues. The Open Days also offer one to one interviews with consulate staff to resolve specific problems that British people may have in getting access to the right services and information. The Consul said “These events give us a chance to meet the people and to hear about some of things that they are not happy with”. When asked how the team chooses where to hold the events, the consul explained that the locations are chosen on the basis of the enquiries the consulate receives from different area, as well as the numbers of British people registered on the ‘padrón’ or town hall lists in each area. Coín’s event is the first one to take place inland of Mijas.

Coín councillor Daniel Hendrikx opened the meeting and explained the importance of registering at the town hall as services and funding are based on the number of residents registered in any area.

Steve Jones then outlined the workings of the consulate and the huge area that the Malaga office covers, from Portugal to Alicante and south as far as Melilla and Ceuta, and of the organizations that work closely with the team at the consulate, like Age Concern and the Royal British Legion.

After the event there were opportunities for members of the audience to meet with the Health and Pensions team to discuss individual cases. One person who took advantage of this service was Gary Whittock from Guaro who wanted to know more about health cover for people below pensionable age.

The Consul General said “I hope all those who came along found the information useful. There will be more open events coming up soon, so it’s worth keeping an eye on our website ukinspain.fco.gov.uk to see when there is one in your area.”