The cabinet gives municipalities the guarantee that they will receive enough money to give citizens with lower incomes 800 euros because of the rising energy bill. The cabinet wants people who have to live on a maximum of 120 percent of the social minimum to receive this amount.
Minister Schouten for Poverty Policy made a promise in the parliamentary debate about rising energy prices. “If it turns out that municipalities need more, we guarantee that municipalities will also be compensated.”
The Association of Dutch Municipalities (VNG) said that without this guarantee, some municipalities are hesitant to pay out 800 euros, because they fear that they will have to pay it out of their own pocket. From a tour of news hour it turned out that some municipalities give a smaller amount, for example 200 euros. Or they give the amount to a much smaller group than intended.
Other municipalities sometimes give more, such as the municipality of The Hague, which pays 900 euros. Municipalities are free to pursue their own policy, but the cabinet says it is striving for a clear guideline with sufficient compensation for lower incomes.
Kilometer allowance
The earlier wish from the House to also compensate people up to 130 percent of the social minimum appears to be politically unfeasible. The cabinet does not think it is a good idea because it deviates too much from the minimum policy of most municipalities. Government parties D66 and ChristenUnie accept this.
The cabinet has also promised to look into whether it is feasible to increase the tax-free kilometer allowance next year to approximately 23 cents per kilometer. That is a wish of the VVD, which seems to be able to count on a parliamentary majority.
–
