News item | 14-04-2022 | 15:15
At the moment, more than 53,000 people have reported to the Implementing Organization for Recovery of Allowances as possible victims of the childcare allowance affair. It has been established that about half (about 25,000) have been duped. They will in any case receive € 30,000 (Cathuis scheme) and their debts will be dealt with. That’s in the 10e progress report on childcare allowance that State Secretary of Finance De Vries (Supplies and Customs) has sent to the House of Representatives.
In addition to the € 30,000, recognized victims are offered help with debt management and broad support.
State Secretary De Vries: “Since I took office, I have had many conversations with parents. I want to do the right things for them. This has to be done quickly, but also carefully. That doesn’t happen overnight. I want to be realistic about that, even if that is sometimes a difficult message.”
Legislation
The cabinet is working on legislation for supplementary schemes, including the child scheme. These additional regulations will be included in a new Recovery Act. The aim is to send this bill to the House of Representatives before the summer recess. After that, both the House of Representatives and the Senate must consider the bill. Implementation tests for the new law are currently underway.
Financial compensation for children is expected to start from early 2023. In the meantime, children can already receive support through the help of municipalities to families.
State Secretary De Vries: “Talks with affected parents and children often express the wish to start quickly with the financial arrangement for children. I understand that wish well and I also understand that it is a disappointment for them that the arrangements start later than expected. The reality is that it takes time to properly arrange these things and make them feasible. Of course we try to do this as quickly as possible.”
Improvements
There is still a lot to do in the recovery operation. State Secretary De Vries: “I have also used the past period to identify bottlenecks and possible improvements based on the discussions. There are not simple solutions in all cases.”
There are bottlenecks in the objection process and in the handling of files by the Actual Damage Committee in particular. Improvements in these processes are underway. Improvement proposals are made in the tenth progress report.