Benefits scandal compensation could take 20 years if gov't doesn't intervene

The compensation of victims in the allowance scandal is so stuck that full recovery of all affected parents threatens to take 15 to 20 years. The recovery operation is substandard and an “unclear and unworkable tangle,” the committee led by former MP Chris van Dam judged in an urgent report. He advised reducing the recovery process to two routes, “with the most important route being that of SGH,” the foundation where Princess Laurentien used to be at the helm.

The Stichting (Gelijk)waardig Herstel will have to scale up considerably and become responsible for “emotional recovery and assistance in identifying the damage.” Parents who do not opt for this may identify the damage themselves via the second route, he wrote in his report.

Former State Secretary Nora Achahbar had asked Van Dam for urgent advice to get the completely stalled recovery operation going again. Her successor Sandra Palmen received the report on Tuesday.

The committee is harsh on the recovery operation. The government made too many promises, and the legal quality of the process is insufficient. “This recovery operation does not meet what you may expect in a constitutional state.” According to Van Dam, the government should stop promising to restore the lives of victims “because the government is completely incapable of doing so.”

In his improvement proposals, Van Dam left the first step in the recovery process intact. The vast majority of victims who have come forward have now undergone an “integral assessment” and know whether they qualify for compensation. However, parents must receive their files more quickly, and the implementing organization must deal more flexibly with objections.

The main issue is the route to additional compensation for damages. The jungle of regulations must be reduced to the two proposed routes. This will result in a settlement proposal from an independent expert. As long as this falls within the bandwidths, Finance must agree to it. After all, the Ministry is a party to the scandal and must “pull back” and not examine all proposals under a magnifying glass. Generosity is “not in the DNA” of the government organizations involved, the committee noted.

According to Van Dam, there are 2,000 to 3,000 families whose “control has been taken out of their hands.” They must be removed from the process and receive broader help from a care provider.

The committee further recommended appointing an administrative leader who stands above the parties.