The PBL process availability location in Ter Apel will be expanded to fifty locations at the end of this month. There should be a hundred by the end of January next year.
The procedure for underprivileged asylum seekers is accelerated in this PBL reception location. This means they roam less around Ter Apel and the surrounding area, such as Nieuw-Weerdinge. And it is expected that they will cause less inconvenience.
There is a lot of unrest in and around Ter Apel about people who cause nuisance. The number of incidents has been increasing recently. For example, asylum seekers caught theft were chased by members of the civil guard. And in Nieuw-Weerdinge an asylum seeker was allegedly abused after he was accused of stealing money from a van.
The PBL was opened as a trial at the end of July with 25 places. The expansion announced subsequently is still pending. This leads to great irritation among the municipal council of Westerwolde.
Van der Maat admits that the pace of expansion leaves much to be desired. “Further scaling up of the pilot is not going without a hitch and the intended speed has not been achieved,” writes the State Secretary, who temporarily replaces Eric van der Burg, who has fallen due to illness.
He also had a letter delivered to the municipality of Westerwolde yesterday. He comes up with more measures to combat the nuisance. Van der Burg previously did the same. This was not to the liking of the municipal council, which stated that it was ‘disappointed’ with its content.
The parties involved are still keeping to themselves what is stated in the new letter. According to a spokesperson for the municipality of Westerwolde, a response will follow on Monday.