Fuerteventura and non‑capital islands fall below the legal disability waiting limit

Fuerteventura and the other non‑capital islands have succeeded in meeting the legal deadline of 180 days for the recognition of disability. In the capital islands of Gran Canaria and Tenerife, the government acknowledges that the waiting time is three times longer (565 days) and that about 26,000 people are still awaiting a decision.

Government Claims a Sharp Cut in Average Resolution Time

The Canary Islands government says it has reduced the average resolution time from 782 days to 391 days since the start of the current legislature, and that new cases are now processed in roughly 152 days. The opposition, however, accuses the administration of “tricks” and points to the number of deaths that have occurred while people waited for recognition.

“Less administrative waiting days, but more deaths. This is far from a management success.” – Natalia Santana (Nueva Canarias‑BC)

Elimination of the Dependency Waiting List in Non‑capital Islands

The regional government publicised the “achievement” of eliminating the dependency waiting list in Fuerteventura and the rest of the non‑capital islands, meaning that assessments are resolved within the maximum 180 days set by national law.

The islands of La Gomera, El Hierro, La Palma, Fuerteventura, Lanzarote and La Graciosa already meet this deadline, while the capital islands Tenerife and Gran Canaria still have work to do.

Measures Behind the Progress

Councillor Candelaria Delgado attributes the improvements to several actions:

• Decentralisation of the assessment system through agreements with island councils, creating local teams that handle cases on each island.
• Implementation of Decree‑Law 4/2025, which introduced procedural changes to speed up files, including the possibility of resolving certain chronic pathologies by medical report alone, without an in‑person appointment.
• Creation of itinerant teams for remote territories.
• Use of the electronic health record to avoid requesting documents already stored in the health system.
• Automation of part of the processing with robotics and artificial intelligence.

Management data show that the trend solidified in 2025. After years in which more files entered the system than were resolved, the last fiscal year closed with 17,265 resolutions, equivalent to solving about 185 % of the incoming cases and beginning to reduce the historic backlog.

The Triple Waiting Time in Tenerife and Gran Canaria

The improvement has not yet reached the capital islands. In Tenerife and Gran Canaria, the average waiting time remains at 565 days, although it was over 732 days at the start of the legislature. Approximately 26,000 people are still pending assessment in these two territories, down from more than 40,000 at the beginning of the mandate.

The government has set a new target: reduce this backlog in the capital islands by June 2027. It also argues that the new regulation has introduced a “fairer” prioritisation, extending preferential treatment from children aged 0‑6 to 18 years and adding severe social situations as an explicit urgency criterion.

Waiting Time for Disability Halved This Legislature

In a previous statement, the Canary Islands government reported that the Social Welfare area has halved the resolution time for dependency since the legislature began. Data released on 10 March show that the average waiting period fell from 782 days in July 2023 to 391 days today, according to IMSERSO figures.

Councillor Candelaria Delgado and Director‑General of Disability Dulce Gutiérrez highlighted that the current average still reflects older cases still in process. For newly submitted files, the average resolution time is now 152 days.

The administration links this improvement to organisational changes introduced from 2023, especially a decree that unified the assessment procedures and the individual care programme, aiming to accelerate processing and prevent files from being lost due to administrative disorder.

In parallel, the system has incorporated more than 26,000 people with recognised entitlement to aid over the past 31 months, raising the total from 44,506 to 70,611 (a 58.8 % increase). The average incorporation rate is now 842 people per month, compared with 272 per month in the previous legislature.

Recent Legislative Updates

A new decree approved this week completes the dependency‑benefits system in the Canary Islands. Key novelties include:

• Creation of Grade III+ for cases of extreme home‑based dependency.
• First‑time regulation of the Personal Assistance Economic Benefit (PEAP).
• Allowing compatibility between certain aids, such as Home Help Services and personal assistance.

The decree also sets maximum monthly amounts for the personal‑assistant benefit: €900 for Grade III, €577.25 for Grade II, and €436 for Grade I, effective the day after publication in the Official Gazette of the Canary Islands.

2,200 Deaths While Waiting for Dependency Assistance – NC’s Accusation

Nueva Canarias‑Bloque Canarista (NC‑BC) has warned that the reduction in deadlines does not necessarily translate into effective care. Deputy Natalia Santana stated:

“We celebrate the reduction of deadlines, but when it comes to the legacy, we demand that Delgado ‘does it completely’.”

In 2021, during the post‑pandemic period, 1,537 people died while waiting for dependency assistance. By 2025, with no pandemic and under Delgado’s leadership, more than 2,200 deaths had occurred. Santana criticised the practice of moving files from one list to another or recognising rights that are not actually delivered, calling it “cheating,” and demanded a change in the Canary Islands’ dependency policy.