The Ministry of Justice and Security commissioned the CBS investigation. This is limited to the years 2015 to 2020, while the benefits affair already played out well before that. It is not clear from the figures from Statistics Netherlands whether the custodial placements are also a direct result of the allowance affair.
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In the allowance affair, parents were wrongly accused of childcare allowance fraud. Those parents were dealt with exceptionally harshly by the tax authorities. They had to pay back large amounts, which put many of them in financial trouble.
‘Numbers probably much higher’
The affair came to light through persistent action by MPs Pieter Omtzigt and Renske Leijten (SP). The journalists Pieter Klein (RTL Nieuws) and Jan Kleinnijenhuis (Trouw) also played an important role in revealing the scandal. The affair eventually caused the Rutte III cabinet to fall in January.
SP MP Peter Kwint is shocked by the numbers. “And they are probably much higher, because this is only the period 2015-2020. So I want to know from the cabinet how large the total size of custodial placements is. But the most important thing at the moment is that they call those parents and ensure that those children can return home as soon as possible, and also help them where possible.”
ChristenUnie MP Don Ceder wants clarification from the minister. “What an enormous suffering. How many evictions could have been prevented? Where can we still do justice to families? I bring this to the attention of the minister again.”
MP Pieter Omtzigt reacts indignantly via Twitter. “This makes it clear that the government has completely lost track of the consequences of its own policy.”
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