News item | 28-09-2023 | 10:27
This is a press release from the Social Minimum Committee.
Social security must be addressed nationally, with a central role for the central government. Structural policy is necessary to ensure that people can make ends meet and participate in society. The government must do two things: ensure an adequate income, and ensure a predictable and accessible system that is feasible and sustainable. This is stated in the 2nd and final report ‘A secure existence II’ of the Social Minimum Committee.
In June, the Social Minimum Committee already recommended increasing the social minimum. This morning, the Commission’s second report was presented to outgoing Minister Carola Schouten for Poverty Policy. This happened during a well-attended symposium in Juliana Plaza in The Hague.
Commission chairman Godfried Engbersen discussed in detail the current debate on social security in the Netherlands and the advice in the Commission’s 2nd report to improve financial social security. “Financial security is not just about sufficient income, but the system must also be more predictable and accessible, so that households really get what they are entitled to.”
The Commission recommends that it be laid down in law that the social minimum will be reassessed every 4 years. The Commission also believes that the legal position of children should be strengthened, for example by providing for a legal right to basic services such as hot water and energy.
The Commission’s report shows that the relationship between the government and the municipalities is not in balance due to the increase in tasks assigned to municipalities. Differences between municipalities have therefore become too great. It can make a difference of hundreds of euros per month where someone lives. As a first step in the recovery, national schemes should be sufficient for the majority of people with an income at the social minimum. The central government should also arrange a number of things centrally, such as protective guardianship, additional health insurance or school laptop facilities.
It is necessary to make clear agreements about the target group and the level of local facilities, so that everyone is treated equally, regardless of where they live. Moreover, municipalities should only be given additional tasks in exceptional cases, because they are already overloaded. Municipalities can then focus on individual customization.
The government must have a realistic view of humanity when helping people find work. Those who can work receive help in finding a job. To ease the transition from welfare to work, the Commission wants to make the rules for additional income more flexible. For people who cannot work, there must be opportunities for sheltered work or other meaningful activities.
The government must also start with a thorough revision of the benefits system, with a focus on security. The Commission formulates a number of principles for this.
Finally, the Commission states that providing social security also requires policy in areas that fall outside the Commission’s remit, such as debt assistance, housing market policy and health care.
For a complete overview of the Commission’s advice, see the attachment below.
The Social Minimum Committee consists of eleven members, all experts in the field of social security, socio-economic, tax and legal issues, and was established in July 2022 following an adopted motion by Member of Parliament Omtzigt. Minister Schouten’s assignment was to investigate what different types of households need to make ends meet and participate in society, and to conduct research into the system. To this end, the Commission has gratefully made use of discussions with citizens, civil society organizations and implementing organizations.
In support of the report, the Commission has commissioned SEO Economic Research to conduct an international country study into social minimum systems. This study is here to find.