News item | 07-07-2022 | 08:19
Our extensive social security system is aimed at livelihood security. The people concerned are central to this against the background of the general interest of keeping the system available, feasible and affordable. But it is now clear that laws and regulations can also cause problems that put people in a bind. An external study was conducted to gain insight into the harsh effects of (the implementation of) the Participation Act, the employee schemes and the payment of the personal budget.
Ministers Van Gennip and Schouten will send this final report to the House of Representatives today.
The investigation shows that there is work to be done. The researchers establish that bottlenecks in legislation and regulations or implementation can lead to harsh effects for citizens under certain circumstances. In doing so, they make a number of recommendations to prevent the development of harsh effects due to bottlenecks in legislation and regulations and their implementation in the future.
Both ministers endorse the study. The bottlenecks are recognizable and the proposed solutions are in many cases in line with ongoing processes to improve services to people and the conclusions that the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment drew earlier from its own research into the Participation Act. The aim is to arrive at a more people-oriented legislation and its implementation.
Both ministers will carefully study the results and solutions from this external study by Panteia. Furthermore, the findings and recommendations are discussed with a representation of the people themselves and the professionals who work with them: the client organisations, the implementers, social partners and other stakeholders. It is always checked whether the regulations, but also the solutions contribute to the improvements. They will provide a substantive response to the study after the summer.
The House of Representatives will be kept regularly informed about the progress of actions in the ‘State of implementation’ and the Bottleneck Letters.