A MAN FOR ALL REASONS

The Leader was in the privileged position of being invited to chat with the new British Consul based in Alicante, Paul Rodwell last week. Mark Nolan went along to get the lowdown of the man behind the Consulate and what they actually do.

“I am the Consul, of the Consulate”, Paul started off, to try to clear some of the confusion behind the titles of the role and the organisation. “The Consulate is the building, or rather, more importantly, the team, as I am not doing this alone, and I am the Consul, the person in charge.

“The main brief is quite clearly helping British Nationals abroad, we can help with things like emergency passports etc, but what we really do is help out vulnerable people who are perhaps destitute, have no money etc.”

Paul then went on to explain how in the last year, the Consulate have helped some 2,600 people, which equates to nearly 8 cases every single day of the year. For a team of 9 people, that is no mean feat.

“It may be people who are hospitalised, it might be a detainee or some of the horrific cases such as assault that we deal with,” Paul continued. The consulate cannot lend people money, an often misconception, but they do arrange the contact of relatives to try to help them that way.

It is also not possible to get people let off crimes etc. “Some people do think of us like a Monopoly board, with things like a get out of jail free card, but that´s not the case. We are in Spain and we cannot influence the Spanish government to do anything unusual, in the same way that the Spanish government would be able to influence us”.

One of the biggest problems that face “Brits abroad” is the lack of acceptance that sometimes the worst does happen. There are a number of things that Paul says are crucial in helping yourself to be prepared and hope that you don´t become one of those vulnerable Brits. “It costs 15,000 euro to repatriate a body to the UK for example,” Paul explained.

The job of the Consulate becomes so much easier and therefore ensures a smoother transition if the worst should happen, if you do some very simple things. As a tourist, it is crucial that you have travel insurance. We have all done it, travelled without insurance, but it is the only way of making sure that the Consulate can assist you easily in the times of crisis.

As a resident, it is crucial to be registered on the padrón. Although there is no comparative in the UK, it is similar to a census. Amongst other things, it allows a person access to the Spanish welfare system and gets a person registered with the authorities, so again it makes the role of the Consulate so much easier, should the worst happen.

“It´s quite easy to do, even though a lot of people are afraid of registering, simply contact your local town hall and see what documents are needed, pop along and register and it is as simple as that”.

This is the overall message that ought to be conveyed to everyone in Spain, that a relatively small amount of investment in time can make all the difference.

Prior to coming to Spain, Paul was the Consul on the Algarve in Portugal and prior to that, he worked in the hospitality business. As a result, his personal goal is to encourage a better customer experience for people using consular services. Coming from the private sector, this has allowed Paul to expand his own skill set to adapt into a traditional role of authority.

Paul was also emphatic about the amazing work that the charitable organisations around the area do in assisting people. There is a huge network of volunteers who devote their lives to assisting others and that role is not only important for the individual, but also for the work that the Consulate do. If anybody can devote any amount of time to these charities, they should do.

Paul himself hopes to devote as much time as he can in supporting these organisations, but covering such a huge area from Castellon, through Valencia and down through Murcia as well as in-land, time is not a luxury, as well as, along with Malaga depending on seasonal variations, the Consulate in Alicante is the busiest in Europe and quite probably the world.