Judge gives family domestic help at city's expense

The court in Arnhem ruled that the municipality Montferland had unjustly removed 3 hours domestic help per week from two residents NOS reports. According to the court, the municipality should have done more research to establish whether these residents could get by without the help. The residents used to have 2.5 hours of domestic help per week. The municipality of Montferland decided that these hours could of domestic help could be arranged by the residents themselves, for example by asking help from friends and family, and therefore cancelled the help from the municipality. The Social Support Act states that the municipality must ensure that a resident can continue living at home for as long as possible. The judge stated in the ruling that the removal of the domestic help puts the residents at risk of their homes becoming dirty, which can affect their health. A clean house is a prerequisite of staying at home and thus domestic help is the municipality's responsibility.