News item | 6/30/2023 | 16:21
For the first time, research has been conducted into the minimum amount needed to live on and to participate, the so-called social minimum. Today, the chairman of the committee – Professor Godfried Engbersen – handed over the first report to Minister Carola Schouten (Poverty Policy, Participation and Pensions).
Minister Schouten: “This is an important report,” said Schouten. “We want everyone in the Netherlands to be able to make ends meet. The subsistence minimum must not only be correct on paper, but also in people’s daily practice. In the wallet, at the cash register and at the end of the month.”
In the coalition agreement, the cabinet has agreed to review every four years from this cabinet period whether it is possible to live on the social minimum and to participate in society. As a first step, partly in response to a motion by Member of Parliament Omtzigt, the government has asked an independent committee to investigate this.
The interim report contains recommendations to the government about the level of the social minimum for different types of households. In the final report, which is expected in September, the committee will discuss the system of the social minimum in more detail. The government will provide a substantive response to the reports this autumn.
The committee recommends significantly increasing the social minimum. She also argues that the current social security system is too complex, as a result of which people do not always make use of schemes that are available to them. The Committee also points to the fact that an insufficient and uncertain income can lead to serious problems, such as stress and poorer health, and thus also to higher costs for society.
Minister Carola Schouten: “As a cabinet, we have the ambition to significantly reduce poverty in the Netherlands. That task has become a lot more difficult due to the sharp rise in prices, while at the same time combating poverty has also become even more necessary. We will include the recommendations of this report in the decision-making process for next year. In addition, we also need to take a more structural look at how we can ensure greater social security. This requires a simpler system that offers more certainties, so that people know how to find their way to the existing schemes. I therefore look forward to the final report of the committee, in which it will make recommendations for improving the system.”