News item | 24-06-2022 | 18:05
In recent weeks, the flow and reception of asylum seekers has come under serious pressure. A major task, in which central government, security regions and municipalities desperately need each other. The cabinet then activated the national crisis structure on Friday 17 June in order to achieve rapid results through intensive cooperation. Earlier this week, the approach was discussed with fellow authorities and implementing partners such as COA and IND, in the Ministerial Crisis Management Committee (MCCb) with the VNG and in the Security Council. This morning there was another meeting with the Security Council. In these consultations, the plan of approach and measures for the short and medium term were discussed. Central government, the security regions, local authorities, COA and other parties involved are making a joint effort for this approach.
Mayors make an extraordinary effort and are indispensable in the way in which the Netherlands can accomplish this task. Especially in a period in which a lot is already being asked of them, for example in the reception of refugees from Ukraine and for other, previous crises.
Plans and measures
The main aim of the short-term measures in the coming weeks is to guarantee that there are sufficient reception places for asylum seekers who come to the Netherlands for protection. In order to transfer the current influx of asylum seekers to other reception locations more quickly after they have registered at the application center in Ter Apel, the deployment of crisis emergency shelters by security regions will be temporarily increased to 225 places per region. Within 6 weeks, security regions will also place 7,500 status holders in intermediate facilities, involving converted offices, buildings or, for example, converted nursing homes in municipalities. Status holders are people who have been granted a residence permit and thus the right to housing because it has been established that they have fled war and violence. The national government deploys financial resources, logistical support and as much manpower as possible to support security regions and municipalities in this.
The plans for the next 3 months, in the medium term, aim to realize sufficient asylum reception capacity and sustainable housing for beneficiaries. For example, a number of large temporary emergency facilities for approximately 1000 asylum seekers for a period of 6 months are being worked on. Education, medical care and daytime activities are part of a temporary emergency facility. There will also be 2,500 extra flex and transformation homes as soon as possible on top of the existing target of 5000 flex and transformation homes, a total of 7,500. In this way, as few people as possible will be displaced by the accelerated outflow of status holders on the housing market.
As soon as the accelerated outflow of status holders to temporary or permanent housing produces results, the crisis emergency shelter can also be phased out.
For the long term, the focus is on structurally sufficient reception and housing capacity.
It is the government’s commitment to responsibly reduce the crisis structure as quickly as possible and to allow decision-making about the further flow of the migration chain to run through existing decision-making again.