A broad coalition in the House of Representatives wants people on benefits to no longer always be punished if they have received too much money. In a private member’s bill that the ChristenUnie, together with D66, CDA, SP, GroenLinks and PvdA, are submitting today, municipalities and implementing bodies such as UWV and SVB are given more room for customization.
The proposal is likely to receive majority support. According to the petitioners, it is “an important step in reducing the human dimension of benefits”.
The law currently states that money must always be reclaimed if something has gone wrong when determining the amount of the benefit. For example, if someone has not stated or has incorrectly stated how much he has earned, but also if the fault lies with the benefits agency. Often a fine is also imposed.
Bag of groceries
This too often leads to distressing situations, according to the initiators. In 2020, for example, there was a lot of commotion when a woman on social assistance initially had to repay 7,000 euros because she regularly received a bag of groceries from her mother. According to the law, that is a gift that must be given up, but the woman had not done that. Later, the amount she had to repay was reduced.
“Give space to mercy and don’t put the system, but people at the center,” says Member of Parliament Don Ceder of the ChristenUnie. “In this way we prevent people from getting into big problems because of a small mistake”, says Anne-Marijke Podt of D66.
Too hard
An exception to the recovery can now only be made if there are special circumstances, for example if mandatory refunds would have “unacceptable consequences” for children. That is too harsh, say the initiators.
They still think that after an error a review of the benefit should take place, because fraud should not pay. “The principle remains ‘yes, unless’. But unless it is being expanded,” says an explanation. This means that there will be more leeway not to reclaim money in certain cases.
The bill is an extension of the initiative which the parties came up with last year. At that time it only concerned social assistance benefits, but now they want the same to apply to, for example, unemployment benefits, the WIA (incapacity for work) and allowances.
Earn extra in welfare
It has been agreed in the coalition agreement that there will be broader possibilities for earning additional income from social assistance, but that plan still needs to be worked out in more detail. The possibilities are being researched. The results are expected in the second quarter of this year.
The parties submitting the private member’s bill believe that it is still necessary to increase the options for customization, even if people entitled to social assistance are allowed to earn more.
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