Catalonia Probes La Seu d'Urgell Town Hall Over Technician Tender Irregularities

Catalonia's Anti-Fraud Office (OAC) has opened an investigation into a public tender launched by La Seu d'Urgell town hall to fill a technician position in the Educational Environment Plan.

The probe follows a complaint alleging irregularities in the selection process, which the town hall initiated last October to appoint an interim civil servant to the role. Mayor Joan Barrera said the council learned of the complaint yesterday and has already sent the OAC all requested documentation. He expressed confidence that the process was handled correctly, stating they are "completely calm" because they "did things properly".

According to the complaint, accessed by local media, the council previously ran a similar tender in the 2020/2021 fiscal year to fill the same position on a temporary basis. That process accepted candidates with any university degree or diploma, with the merit phase carrying limited weight and the outcome largely determined by a written exam. The selected candidate ranked fifth out of seven in the merits stage but secured the role based on exam results.

In contrast, the recent tender restricted eligibility to holders of a Social Education qualification and doubled the weighting of professional experience—up to a maximum of six points. The scoring heavily favoured prior work as a technician in the Educational Environment Plan or local administration. The complaint notes that the duties remain "basically identical" to those in the earlier call.

It also highlights that the 2020/2021 tender has vanished from the town hall's website, unlike other council notices still available in the public register. The complainant attached a copy recovered from institutional publicity by the Barcelona Provincial Council. The document argues that these changes, combined with the removal of the prior notice, suggest an effort to limit competition and predetermine the outcome.

Barrera dismissed the concerns, insisting the council would provide full files to the OAC and that the investigation would confirm the process's validity. The OAC has admitted the complaint for processing but provided no further details on its progress.