MPs investigate how to improve citizens' contact with gov't services

A parliamentary committee is launching a public investigation on Monday to find the bottlenecks in citizens' contacts with government services like the Tax Authority and benefits agency UWV. In between 5 to 10 percent of such contacts, something goes wrong. The committee wants to identify where citizens get stuck in bureaucracy and how to prevent that, BNR reports.

The Temporary Committee on Implementing Organizations will speak to a range of experts to identify problems and come up with solutions. The idea is to make it as easy as possible for citizens to deal with the government. The public hearings will focus on citizens' dealings with the Tax Authority, the UWV, and the CBR, Nevin Ozutok, GroenLinks parliamentarian and vice-chairman of the committee, said to the broadcaster.

Ozutok stressed that this investigation is not about actual failures or incidents at these government organizations, such as the childcare allowance affair. "We take a broader look at the processes that ensure that these kinds of things happen," he said.

The committee hopes that by speaking to a broad range of experts in public hearings, how government processes work will become clearer for everyone. "We also hope to put our finger on the sore spots and make suggestions and recommendations for improving the process."