Justice Sec. worried about asylum center space shortage

State Secretary Klaas Dijkhoff of Security and Justice is worried about an impending shortage of space in asylum centers. While the inflow of asylum seekers is slowing down, much space is still needed, he wrote in a letter to Parliament, according to newspaper AD.

According to Dijkhoff, agreements between government and municipalities to arrange shelter for asylum seekers are not being implemented quickly enough. Municipalities' offers for emergency accommodation are insufficient, resulting in a impending shortage of "several thousand" beds. "If the flow does not get going more energetically, it means that dozens of additional asylum centers will be necessary", he wrote.

The State Secretary also called on municipalities to work harder on finding homes for refugees - asylum seekers who were granted residency permits. Currently about 16 thousand refugees are still living in asylum centers, waiting for homes. That is 16 thousand beds that can't be used for new asylum seekers or asylum seekers whose process is still ongoing.

A large part of the impending space shortage can be attributed to a number of large asylum seekers closing down for the summer, as agreed. These involve, for example, center set up in holiday parks that need to open up for tourist season.