Official translation government of the republic of lithuania resolution no 824 of 25 June 2003 on the approval of the Co

Official translation government of the republic of lithuania resolution no 824 of 25 June 2003 on the approval of the Conceptual Framework of Decentralisation and Deconcentration of Certain Functions of Central Administration Institutions Vilnius To implement point 468 of the Measures for the Implementation of the Programme of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania for 2001-2004 approved by Resolution No 1196 of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania of 4 October 2001 (Valstybės žinios (Official Gazette) No 86-3015, 2001), the Government of the Republic of Lithuania h a s r e s o l v e d:

1. To approve the Conceptual Framework of Decentralisation and Deconcentration of Certain Functions of Central Administration Institutions (as appended).
2. To instruct the Ministry of the Interior to draft a plan of the first stage of implementation of the Conceptual Framework of Decentralisation and Deconcentration of Certain Functions of Central Administration Institutions, and to submit it, in the prescribed manner, to the Government of the Republic of Lithuania within two months of the entry into force of this Resolution.
3. To repeal Resolution No 476 of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania of 26 April 2001 on the Conceptual Framework of the County Governing Reform, on the Directions of the County Territorial Reform and on the Plan of Measures of Making Available the Directions of the County Territorial Reform for Public Consideration (Valstybės žinios (Official Gazette) No 37-1250, 2001). Prime Minister Algirdas Brazauskas Minister of the Interior Virgilijus Bulovas APPROVED by Resolution No 824 of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania of 25 June 2003 Conceptual Framework of Decentralisation and Deconcentration of Certain Functions of Central Administration Institutions I. GENERAL PROVISIONS
4. The Conceptual Framework of Decentralisation and Deconcentration of Certain Functions of Central Administration Institutions (hereinafter – the Conceptual Framework) has been drafted to implement point 468 of the Programme of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania for 2001-2004 approved by Resolution No 1196 of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania of 4 October 2001 (Valstybės žinios (Official Gazette) No 86-3015, 2001), i.e. “to draft a conceptual framework of decentralisation and deconcentration of certain functions of central administration institutions and appropriate legal acts”.
5. The Conceptual Framework: 2.
6. describes the system of public administration entities in Lithuania, i.e. the institutional framework and territorial entities of public administration; 2.
7. defines factors that predetermine the necessity to reorganise the system of public administration; and 2.
8. sets goals, key directions and stages of the redistribution of functions among individual public administration entities and of the improvement of the system of public administration.
9. For the purpose of this Conceptual Framework: Deconcentration shall mean the transfer of functions from central entities of State administration to their territorial units or to a territorial entity of State administration, i.e. the county governor, for the purpose of bringing the functions performed by these entities closer to people. In this case, the functions so transferred shall remain a part of State administration. Decentralisation shall mean the transfer of functions performed by central and territorial entities of State administration to entities of municipal administration. District of territorial State administration shall mean a defined area within which administration is carried out by territorial entities of State administration. Deconcentrated administrations shall mean territorial units of central entities of State administration. II. ThE current System of public administration Entities in Lithuania
10. The system of public administration entities that currently function in Lithuania consists of the following: 4.
11. central entities of State administration (ministries, bodies under ministries, Government agencies, other state institutions and bodies in charge of administration on the whole territory of the State); 4.
12. territorial entities of State administration: 4.2.
13. territorial units of central entities of State administration that perform the functions within the districts of territorial State administration. Depending on the size of the district in which they carry out administration, entities of territorial State administration may be divided into: 4.2.1.
14. territorial units that operate within the districts of territorial State administration that are larger in the area than higher-level administrative units, i.e. counties, (e.g., 8 regional environmental departments, 5 territorial customs offices, 4 directorates of state reservations); 4.2.1.
15. territorial units that operate within the districts of territorial State administration that overlap the area of higher-level administrative units, i.e. counties, of the territory of the Republic of Lithuania (e.g. territorial patient funds, county tax inspectorates, county statistical bureaus, county archives); 4.2.1.
16. territorial units that operate within the districts of territorial State administration that are smaller in the area than higher-level administrative units, i.e. counties, (e.g., 15 hypothecary divisions of the Central Mortgage Office; 28 regional park directorates, 39 branches of public health centres, 43 territorial divisions of county tax inspectorates, 46 territorial labour exchanges, 52 territorial divisions of the State Social Insurance Fund, 56 environmental agencies, 79 police commissariats); 4.2.
17. territorial entities of State administration that operate within higher-level administrative units of the Republic of Lithuania, i.e. counties: the county governor (through the county governor’s administration established to assist the county governor), the representative of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania; and 4.
18. entities of municipal public administration (municipal council, director of the municipal administration, municipal controller, the mayor, other entities empowered by laws or decisions of the municipal council to exercise public administration rights in the territory of the municipality). III. The key factors that necessitate the improvement of the system of public administration
19. The key factors that necessitate the reorganisation of the system of public administration are the following: 5.
20. certain functions of entities of public administration are sometimes performed inefficiently (e.g., personal health-care services of the secondary level; administration of basic vocational training); 5.
21. foreign experience and documents passed by the institutions of the Council of Europe promote the implementation of regional self-government principles and democratisation of regional administration; 5.
22. initiatives launched by political parties, public organisations, individual researchers and their groups concerning reorganisation of administration.
23. Since 1998, several attempts have been made to reorganise the current system of public administration through the deconcentration and decentralisation of functions: 6.
24. Resolution No 92 of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania of 26 January 1998 on the Transfer of Certain Powers, Objects, and Material and Financial Resources of Ministries and Government Agencies to County Governors' Administrations (Valstybės žinios (Official Gazette) No 10-253, 1998) defined the powers, objects, and material and financial resources to be transferred to counties in such fields as civil safety, culture and monument conservation, social care, public and personal health-care, forest management, and education. Not all the powers transferred under the above-mentioned Resolution were implemented. Moreover, ministries have not transferred the prescribed functions, as the Resolution has not set the deadline for such transfer. 6.
25. The Conceptual Framework of the County Administration Reform approved by Resolution No 476 of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania of 26 April 2001 (Valstybės žinios (Official Gazette) No 37-1250, 2001) set forth the main goals and principles of the county administration reform, and the division of functions among county governors, municipalities, ministries, and other public administration entities. The redistribution of functions as prescribed by the Conceptual Framework of County Administration Reform has been fulfilled partly. Ministries have diverse positions about the implementation of the Conceptual Framework of County Administration Reform, and the plan of its implementation measures is still lacking. 6.
26. At the end of 2001, a partial reorganisation was opted for: following the principle of subsidiarity, certain powers of the county governor exercised by territorial units of county governor administration already operating within municipalities were transferred to municipalities. From 1 January 2002, the power to issue certain construction permits was transferred, by law, from county governors’ administrations to municipalities (Law on the Implementation of the Law on the Amendment of the Law on Construction of the Republic of Lithuania (Valstybės žinios (Official Gazette) No 101-3598, 2001)); from 1 April 2002, certain functions in the agricultural sector were transferred likewise (Law Amending Articles 8, 17, 19, 21 of the Law on Local Government of the Republic of Lithuania (Valstybės žinios (Official Gazette) No 110-3984, 2001), Law Amending Articles 4, 5, 10 and 12 of the Law on the Governing of the County of the Republic of Lithuania (Valstybės žinios (Official Gazette) No 112-4088, 2001)). IV. Goals and Directions of the Reorganisation of the system of public administration
27. The reorganisation of the system of public administration as proposed in this Conceptual Framework aims at the following: 7.
28. to separate the functions of public administration entities of different levels of administration and to base the separation of powers on the reconciliation of national interests and principles of self-governance; 7.
29. to improve administration, through deconcentration and decentralisation; 7.
30. to establish optimal relations among central administration institutions, institutions functioning within counties, and municipalities.
31. To achieve the goals set forth in paragraph 7 of this Conceptual Framework, the system of public administration in Lithuania needs to be improved multi-directionally and by stages (functions carried out by central administration institutions should also be deconcentrated and decentralised).
32. The planned reorganisation will contribute to the creation of the system of public administration capable of better addressing the needs of the population, taking account of documents and recommendations adopted by the institutions of the Council of Europe.
33. The system of public administration shall be improved through: 10.
34. deconcentration of functions of central entities of State administration; 10.
35. decentralisation of functions of central and territorial entities of State administration; and 10.
36. democratisation of county administration by establishing autonomous representative institutions within higher-level administrative units of the Republic of Lithuania, i.e. within counties.
37. The improvement of the system of public administration shall be carried out by following the principle of subsidiarity: executive functions shall be transferred to higher-level public administration entities only when lower-level public administration entities fail to perform their functions efficiently (economically, effectively, productively, and with good quality).
38. Once the planned reorganisation of the system of public administration system is implemented, it is expected that: 12.
39. decisions that are necessary for the activities of residents and economic entities will be taken at public administration bodies closest to them. 12.
40. the provision of public services and the administration thereof will be efficiently distributed among institutions, which will better meet the needs of local and regional residents; 12.
41. more clarity will be given to the definition of functions to be carried out by the county governor and to the position of the county governor as the entity of territorial public administration in the overall system of public administration of Lithuania; 12.
42. conditions will be created for the introduction of regional self-government principles in Lithuania that comply with the provisions of documents adopted by institutions of the Council of Europe and the proposals concerning democratisation of regional administration. V. Implementation Stages of the Conceptual Framework
43. The Conceptual Framework shall be implemented in the following stages: 13.
44. the first stage (2003-2004) shall consist of deconcentration and decentralisation of certain functions of central administration institutions and redistribution of certain state functions; 13.
45. the second stage (from 1 July 2005) shall consist of decentralisation of certain functions being carried out by central administration institutions, redistribution of responsibility for the performance of functions among county governors and municipalities, and democratisation of county administration; and 13.
46. the third stage shall consist of further democratisation of county administration; its duration will depend on the results of the second stage.
47. During the first stage, the following reorganisations shall be carried out: 14.
48. Vocational training institutions shall be reorganised into public institutions of vocational training, namely multi-profile vocational training centres, to be founded by county governors’ administrations, municipalities and social partners together with the Ministry of Education and Science. Approximately 10 public institutions of vocational training will be founded in different regions of the country (by 1 July 2004). Reorganisation of vocational training institutions into public institutions of vocational training, namely multi-profile vocational training centres, is advisable for the following reasons: 14.1.
49. the development of training institutions into public institutions will allow county governors’ administrations, municipalities, employer organisations, other social partners, science organisations, enterprises, etc. to be involved, as founders, in the activities of these institutions on the same level as the Ministry of Education and Science. In this way, rights and responsibilities for the proper training of specialists and workers, as well as for other functions of vocational training will be shared; 14.1.
50. the enhancement of professional qualifications and the retraining taking account of labour market needs in the region will be better ensured; 14.1.3.better representation of interests of employers and employees in the regional problem-solution process will be ensured; 14.1.
51. public institutions of vocational training will receive funding for vocational training and general education of a technological profile from the Ministry of Education and Science under the “pupil’s basket” principle; 14.1.
52. requirements of the European Union for the recognition of qualifications and for transparency will be fulfilled; vocational training curricula will be responsive to regional development policies; and issues related to the training of specialists on demand in the region and to employment will be dealt with more flexibly. 14.
53. Reorganisation of the structure of the Pedagogical-Psychological Centre of the Ministry of Education and Science shall consist in the transfer of functions to pedagogical-psychological services to be established within municipalities (by 1 January 2005). 14.
54. Functions of a founder of county libraries and certain theatre and concert agencies shall be transferred to county governors (by 31 December 2004). Such transfer is to be effected under Resolution No 92 of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania of 26 January 1998 on the Transfer of Certain Powers, Objects, and Material and Financial Resources of Ministries and Government Agencies to County Governors' Administrations (Valstybės žinios (Official Gazette) No 10-253, 1998). 14.
55. To improve the administration of health-care institutions and the organisation of their services, efforts shall be made to strengthen the role of county governors in the organisation of personal health-care services of the secondary level; the organisation of personal health-care services of the primary level will remain the function of executive institutions of municipalities. While expanding the role of counties in this field: 14.4.
56. regions and counties will be considered main territorial units for health-care needs, institutional structure and location purposes; 14.4.
57. county health-care institutions restructuring plans will be drafted and, once agreed on with municipalities, approved; 14.4.
58. in the field of personal health-care of the secondary level, efforts shall be made to strengthen county physician institutions; they will be responsible for dealing with health-care problems in an integrating manner, implementing restructuring plans, assessing the quality of services, and ensuring compatibility of national, county-wide and regional plans; 14.4.
59. aiming at a higher quality of services, the services, medical equipment, human and financial resources will be more efficiently allocated in institutions of different subordination; 14.4.
60. state and municipal property will be passed over to health-care institutions, to be administered and used by the right of trust. 14.
61. The following functions in the field of health-care shall be transferred to county governors: 14.5.
62. certain functions of county public health-care centres (from 1 January 2004). The transfer is advisable for the following reasons: 14.5.1.
63. county governors have clearly defined powers in the field of personal and public health-care; county governors can manage affairs in a more flexible and speedy way, taking account of health-care-related problems in their respective counties; 14.5.1.
64. county public health-care centres implement the public health-care strategy within the territory of the county, like county governors; 14.5.
65. to implement certain mandatory state health programmes on the county level; 14.5.
66. to monitor and analyse health-related problems of county population and reasons behind those problems, and to provide conclusions of such analysis and proposals to natural and legal persons; 14.5.
67. to participate in the formation of county public health databases; 14.5.
68. to educate people about a healthy lifestyle and to involve people into dealing with health problems; 14.5.
69. to collect, accumulate and process, within one’s competence, information on violations of legal acts on public health protection, and on social, economic and other reasons for such violations, as well as on any other actions affecting public health-care. 14.
70. As regards the organisation of social services, the function of organising and implementing social workers’ certification shall be entrusted to county governors. 14.
71. Certain functions of land-use planners shall be transferred to municipalities (by 1 January 2005), such as: 14.7.
72. the establishment of land easement, following the procedure set forth by laws, on land plots passed over to municipalities to be administered by the right of trust; 14.7.
73. the adoption of decisions to lease or transfer for use without compensation the state land passed over to municipalities to be administered by the right of trust.
74. The choice of the period of the second stage was determined by the need to give time for the new Government of the Republic of Lithuania formed after the elections to the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania to make preparations for the implementation (and modification, if appropriate) of the reorganisation planned for the second stage; by that time, members of the newly elected municipal councils will already have gained sufficient experience and be ready to work on county councils formed by the principle of delegation. The second stage shall cover the following reorganisation: 15.
75. transfer of certain functions of land-use planners to municipalities. The choice of the deadline for this transfer was determined by the fact that these functions may be transferred to municipalities only at the end of the land reform, i.e. after the restitution of rights to ownership of land. Taking account of the specifics of the reorganisation, this transfer should be implemented in the second stage: 15.1.
76. municipalities will be charged with certain land-use planning functions, namely: 15.1.1.
77. approving land-use schemes for municipal territories; 15.1.1.
78. consulting and agreeing on land-use projects of rural areas; 15.1.1.
79. setting terms and conditions for the use of land administrated by municipalities by the right of ownership or by the right of trust or attributed to municipalities under territorial planning documents; 15.1.1.
80. making proposals to the institution in charge of administration of national or EU support funds allocated for agriculture and rural development, concerning the allocation of these funds for the implementation of measures planned in land-use projects; 15.1.
81. county governors will retain certain functions of administration of state land, other than those transferred to municipalities; 15.
82. redistribution of responsibility among county governors and municipalities for organising social services: 15.2.
83. the choice of the period for the reorganisation was determined by the fact that measures to be implemented during the first stage (2002-2004) of the Social Services Reform were supposed to create legal conditions for a more efficient distribution of functions and responsibility for organising social services; 15.2.
84. the responsibility for organising more sophisticated and specialised services at social service institutions will be transferred to county governors. The provision of these services (such as social services for persons with mental or complex disability or with severe disability, etc.) in every municipality is not necessary since the demand for them is low; municipalities will retain the responsibility for organising services needed by their residents. Moreover, a part of the responsibility for providing residents with compensatory equipment will be given to county governors; 15.
85. democratisation of territorial administration by forming an autonomous representative county institution, i.e. a county council, with expanded powers and by granting this institution decision-making powers with respect to certain functions currently being carried out by county governors (also functions currently being carried out by regional development councils): 15.3.
86. the choice of the period for the reorganisation (in the second stage) was determined by the fact that by that time regional development councils would have gained sufficient experience, by carrying out powers vested in them by the Law Amending the Law on Regional Development (Valstybės žinios (Official Gazette) No 123-5558, 2002); 15.3.
87. the following public administration entities will be functioning within a county: 15.3.2.
88. the county council as an institution representing municipalities. The county council shall be formed, by way of delegation, of representatives of municipal councils functioning within the county; 15.3.2.
89. the county governor as an executive institution of the county, appointed by the Government of the Republic of Lithuania. The country governor shall act as an executive institution that implements county council decisions and is empowered by laws to carry out certain public functions; 15.3.2.
90. the county administration as a public administration institution (implementing decisions made by the representative and executive institutions of the county); 15.3.2.
91. other public administration entities, such as deconcentrated administrations and representatives of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania; 15.3.
92. functions to be carried out by public administration institutions of the county referred to in paragraphs 15.3.2.1 to 15.3.2.3 of this Conceptual Framework may be classified into the following two categories: 15.3.3.
93. those of a limited autonomy (decision-making powers concerning these functions shall be vested in the county council); 15.3.3.
94. public (powers to carry out these functions shall be vested in the county governor); 15.3.
95. functions of a limited autonomy consist of: 15.3.4.
96. public administration functions: county development planning, approval and monitoring of development programmes; territorial planning; 15.3.4.
97. administration of public services: personal health-care services of the secondary level; certain services of public health-care; administration of education, culture, and social care institutions; 15.3.
98. public functions consist of: 15.3.5.
99. control (monitoring) functions: state monitoring of territorial planning and construction, and of land-reclamation equipment; inspection and monitoring of education institutions; 15.3.5.
100. other public administration functions: management of state land; civil protection; organisation of mobilisation and preparation and employment of the mobilisation reserve; coordination of activities of deconcentrated administrations acting within counties; 15.3.
101. the county council formation principles set forth in paragraph 15.3.2.1 of this Conceptual Framework are in line with the key principles of regional self-government formulated by the Steering Committee on Local and Regional Democracy of the Council of Europe and defined in Model 6 of Helsinki Declaration on Regional Self-Government adopted by the Conference of European Ministers responsible for local and regional government held in Helsinki on 27-28 June 2002, i.e. regions with decision-making powers (without legislative powers) and with councils elected from municipality representatives; they are also in line with practices employed by certain other countries (e.g. Poland, Netherlands); 15.3.
102. to implement democratisation of territorial administration, amendments to Article 123