News item | 06-07-2023 | 20:16
In a letter that Minister Carola Schouten (Poverty Policy, Participation and Pensions) is sending to the House of Representatives today, she says, among other things, that municipalities will receive more money for sheltered work.
It is not self-evident for people with a distance to the labor market to find a job with a regular employer. That is why there is sheltered work. Sheltered work is intended for people who can only work in a ‘sheltered’ environment under adapted circumstances.
Minister Schouten wants to ensure that more of these jobs are created. That is why she is taking concrete steps towards improvement. In a letter to the House of Representatives, the minister announces a structural investment of € 64.7 million for sheltered work. This means that municipalities will receive an additional amount of € 2,157 per sheltered workplace from 2024. In addition, the minister is presenting an extensive package of measures with which she intends to further stimulate sheltered work in the short term, and the minister has agreed with the Association of Dutch Municipalities that municipalities will make an extra effort to make up for the backlog of sheltered work.
In recent months, extra attention has been paid to social development companies. Minister Schouten announced today that she is working out proposals with which she wants to meet municipalities in 2024 with the (financial) challenges they experience regarding the infrastructure of social development companies. In 2024, a budget of a total of € 63.9 million will be made available for this in the budget of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment. She will further inform the House about this in the autumn.