News item | 28-04-2023 | 2:48 pm
Ex-partners of duped benefit applicants are eligible for compensation through the Allowances recovery operation. This is stated in an additional bill that State Secretary of Finance Aukje de Vries (Executions and Customs) has sent to the House of Representatives. This proposal implements the earlier commitment to a settlement for ex-partners.
Last year, the House of Representatives approved the Reparation Operation Allowances Act. This law provides, among other things, that affected parents receive an initial amount of € 30,000 and receive help in tackling their debts. The compensation is intended for the entire household. However, this can lead to unpleasant situations in certain cases, for example if partners are no longer together. That is why it was promised last year that the government would come up with a supplementary scheme.
State Secretary Aukje de Vries: “The problems with the childcare allowance have left deep scars on a large group of parents. Ex-partners and their children have also experienced problems as a result. From conversations I had it emerged that ex-partners often also contributed to the repayments and incurred debts themselves. The consequences of this often continue even after the relationship has ended. It is important that we now ensure that they too can receive help and are eligible for financial compensation.”
Additional bill
With the supplementary bill, ex-partners will soon also be eligible for compensation. They receive an amount of € 10,000. In addition, their debts are also addressed, additional damage is compensated and they can use the support of the municipality where they live. If the House of Representatives and the Senate agree to the supplementary bill, the scheme is expected to enter into force in the third quarter of 2023.
Relatives
In addition, the bill includes measures for the situation in which a victim or a child of a victim dies before they have received the compensation to which they were entitled. Until now, recovery arrangements or allowances could not be offered to a surviving partner, parent or child. This is possible in the new scheme.
Recovery operation progress
So far, more than 60,000 people (VGR Q4 2022) have registered as possibly affected by the Implementation Organization for Recovery Allowances (UHT). A total of 28,000 parents have been recognized as victims. From the moment of registration, parents are entitled to support from the municipality where they live. Parents who have been found to have been duped receive €30,000. They can also use the debt settlement.
The integral assessment has now been completed for more than 22,000 parents. In the latest progress report, the Cabinet announced a number of measures to ensure that parents are helped better and faster. The use of these measures means that 90% of the integral assessments can be completed in the first quarter of 2025. In the meantime, the government will continue its efforts to arrive at new improvements to the approach to the childcare allowance affair.