SPD on democracy and the state

The SPD wants city services to be delivered faster, more simply and from a single source. To that end, waiting times are to be managed centrally, residents surveyed regularly and agencies focused on core tasks.

The SPD wants city offices to work faster. People should not wait long for appointments. The city will keep checking waiting times. Every five years it will ask residents for their views. A service center downtown should stay for good.

The central customer center downtown is to become permanent and offer more services. At least once every five years there is to be a comprehensive, digitally supported resident survey, including a randomly selected representative group. An advisory board for citizen-friendly administration is to be added. Agencies are to shed non-essential tasks, and the district offices are to remain well resourced.

The SPD wants to keep passing collective pay agreements on to civil servants in full and at the same time. A new bonus for citizen-facing services in the districts is to come in 2025, and the tax administration is to train as many recruits as possible.

The SPD wants good pay in the public service. Civil servants should get the same raises as employees. Staff who serve residents directly in the districts should get extra pay. The city also wants to train many tax auditors.

The platform points to bonuses already raised for police, firefighters and prison staff. The new bonus is meant to make Hamburg more attractive as an employer. Training places in the tax administration are to be fully used so the number of tax auditors stays high or grows. Recruiting is seen as especially important for the police, fire department and courts.

The SPD wants an acceleration drive to systematically reduce deadlines, procedures and requirements in Hamburg. Rules are to be reviewed and permits made simpler and digital, especially in construction.

The SPD wants permits to be faster. The city will check its rules and laws. Rules that are not needed should go. People should be able to apply online. Residents can bring in their own ideas.

The basis is the acceleration pact agreed with the federal government in 2023, which the SPD wants to go beyond. A screening of regulations is to review laws and rules, and a practice check is to test effects on businesses and residents. A citizens' panel called "Einfach.Leben" is to collect suggestions. For construction, the platform points to the revised building code exempting smaller housing projects from permits, digital procedures and filling vacancies in permitting agencies.

The SPD wants to permanently establish the participation of children and young people through a youth participation law. Youth associations, open youth work and international exchange are also to be supported.

Children and young people should have a say in politics. The SPD wants a law for this. Youth clubs and youth groups should stay secure. There should be free places like skate parks. Exchange with other countries is supported too.

Conditions for youth associations are to improve, and open child and youth work is secured. Participation projects such as youth panels receive support. International exchange projects are funded, especially for young people from lower-income families. Neighborhoods are to get free spaces such as skate parks or climbing areas, and youth services buildings will continue to be renovated for energy efficiency.

The SPD wants to strengthen staffing at courts and prosecutors' offices, shorten proceedings and digitize the justice system. It also plans a reform of legal training and a joint prosecution strategy for criminal police and prosecutors.

Many people wait a long time for a court ruling. The SPD wants to strengthen the courts. Cases should move faster. The justice system should work more digitally. Training for lawyers should also become more modern.

Workflows are to be streamlined, and adjusted admission requirements are to bring in more applicants. Court and prosecution offices are to be strengthened; an improved department is to pursue tax fraud and especially serious crime more effectively. Criminal police and prosecutors are to set priorities and goals together and continuously review how effective prosecution is. Projects such as "Schule mit Recht" and the open court day are to grow. The SPD also wants to review whether Hamburg's election law is transparent and understandable enough, and change it if needed.

At the federal level, the SPD pushes for a democracy promotion law that permanently funds initiatives for democracy and against right-wing extremism. In Hamburg it wants to reduce discrimination, especially in public administration and health care, and host a democracy congress.

Many groups work for democracy. The SPD wants the federal government to fund them for the long term. A law should make this happen. In Hamburg, the SPD wants to reduce unfair treatment. This applies especially to public offices and health care.

According to the program, the democracy promotion law (Demokratiefördergesetz) failed in the Bundestag due to opposition from the FDP and should be debated again and passed after the federal election. The SPD plans a Hamburg democracy congress midway through the term. In removing intercultural barriers, the focus over the next five years is on city administration and health care. Culturally sensitive care services are to be expanded so that older people with an immigration background can participate more fully.