ANP
NOS News•
Two years after one report of the House of Representatives regarding implementation problems in the government, the laws and regulations that public service providers such as the Tax and Customs Administration, the Social Insurance Bank and the UWV have to implement are still too complex. As a result, people who depend on the government are increasingly stranded and do not receive the help they need.
That’s in it the first report of a steering committee set up by the cabinet. It includes representatives of implementing bodies such as the UWV, the IND and the Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority NVWA. The report was presented to Chamber President Bergkamp this evening.
Can’t see the wood for the trees
“Much is going well,” the report begins, but looking to the future, the drafters are deeply concerned. The laws and rules that politicians in The Hague pour out on executive bodies, entrepreneurs and other citizens are complex. This is partly due to the laws and regulations themselves, the accumulation of policies and the IT systems that have to be worked with. “That does not benefit our maneuverability and therefore the service to citizens and entrepreneurs.”
The steering group notes that citizens and entrepreneurs “can no longer see the wood for the trees”. At the same time, work is becoming increasingly intensive and scarcity on the labor market is increasing, while people are needed to help citizens and entrepreneurs and to find answers to the major issues facing society.
All this means that the parties involved have to talk to each other about how to reduce complexity. This is also important to restore confidence in the government.
Political reporter Arjan Noorlander:
“The government looks down on implementation. The report provides nice figures. The number of civil servants helping citizens with implementation has risen by 16 percent in recent years. But the number of civil servants who make the rules and laws – which so too often not working – has risen by up to 25 percent This advice has to change, otherwise ordinary people will continue to get lost in all the incomprehensible measures.
This is the first time that the implementing organizations themselves have come up with this report. After the drama of the childcare allowance, it must become a tradition. And actually it is a cry for help. The problems with the implementation of policy have not yet been resolved.”
