This is evident from a reconstruction of NRC, on the basis of documents that have been made public in reliance on the Government Information (Public Access) Act (WOB). Siriz, care provider for unwanted pregnant women, is an offshoot of the Association for the Protection of the Unborn Child (VBOK), an anti-abortion organization. Revealed in 2018 The Green Amsterdammer that employees acted in a directive way, and especially emphasize the possible regrets after an abortion.
Siriz has received 1.5 million euros per year since 2014, thanks to the SGP. The Reformed were prepared to support the government budget of the Rutte II cabinet, but demanded a subsidy from Siriz in return. A large parliamentary majority voted in favor of the amendment: only SP, PVV, 50Plus and member Bontes were against.
The released documents now show that officials from the Ministry of Health had their doubts about the subsidy from the start. Especially because it is unusual for the House of Representatives to arrange money for one private organization. According to an official, the subsidy led to ‘annoyance’ among comparable care providers for unwanted pregnant women, who saw their subsidy cut in the same period.
Forbidden
If the deal with the SGP is off the table in 2017, when the Rutte III cabinet takes office, the new State Secretary for Health, Paul Blokhuis, decides to continue the subsidy. Officials tell him that as far as they are concerned there is talk of ‘prohibited state aid’. In 2018 Siriz will nevertheless receive another one and a half million euros in subsidy.
Blokhuis’ political assistant, Rinze Broekema, is actively involved in the discussions about the subsidy to Siriz, concludes NRC. This is striking because two years before his appointment he was a board member of the VBOK, from which Siriz originates.
In a written response to de Volkskrant Blokhuis announced that it had again paid out so much money in 2018 to phase out the subsidy ‘in a responsible manner’. According to the State Secretary, it has been stated ‘clearly’ that 2018 is the last year that Siri could count on this subsidy.
Despite this, Siriz will again receive a subsidy in 2019, half a million euros this time, despite the resistance of officials. According to them, Siriz has had enough time to prepare for the end of the subsidy. In a memorandum they write that the subsidy is contrary to ‘the general principles of good administration’.
bridging
A new financing arrangement was introduced in 2019, Blokhuis explains. As a result, Siriz would no longer receive a separate subsidy, but had to request money, just like other care providers, according to the standard conditions. But because the introduction of the scheme was postponed for two months, he decided ‘to provide one more bridging financing’.
‘I wanted to exclude the risk that an organization, for example, after a long-standing subsidy relationship, would lay off employees due to uncertain finances as a result of starting our new scheme later than planned,’ says Blokhuis.
The separate granting of subsidies to the foundation has ended in 2020, Blokhuis confirms. Siriz, which partly merged with the VBOK in 2018, now receives a fixed rate for help conversations with women, just like other care providers.
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