Municipalities fear compensation for benefits scandal will take until 2030

The association of Dutch municipalities fears that it will take years yet before all the victims of the childcare allowance scandal are fully compensated. “If you look very soberly at it, then you really go toward 2030 for victims to have clarity,” VNG director Peter Heijkoop said to Nieuwsuur.

As long as parents wait for compensation, they will receive support from their municipality. So the delay also means extra work for already overtasked municipalities, Heijkoop said. He called on the Ministry of Finance to deploy additional staff to speed up the process.

In the childcare allowance scandal, also referred to as the benefits scandal, the Tax Authority wrongfully accused thousands of parents of fraud and ordered them to repay their childcare allowance. That left many families in financial trouble.

Two years ago this week, the Cabinet promised a “generous compensation” for victims. But according to lawyer Narda Teke-Bozkurt, parents instead became entangled in a web of red tape and regulations. None of the 80 victims she represents has been fully compensated. Nieuwsuur spoke to lawyers representing thousands of victims. They indicated that about 96 percent of their cases are still ongoing.

Getting compensation is a whole process. Victims go through a short assessment, after which those who pass get compensation of 30,000 euros. Anyone who believes they are entitled to more can apply for an extensive integral assessment. If victims are still unsatisfied after that, they can go to the Actual Damage Committee.

According to the VNG, the integral assessment process will last until 2026. And the Actual Damage Committee assessments, which look at additional damage suffered through losing a house or a job, for example, will take until at least 2030.

In its latest status update, the Ministry of Finance spoke about “bottlenecks” slowing down the process. There is “insufficient capacity” to assess all applications “within the legal period.” The Ministry complained about people applying for compensation when they are not entitled to it at all. Of the nearly 57,000 cases registered so far, less than half passed the first assessment.

VNG director Heijkoop also sees that happening with municipal support. “That is very sour for the victims. They now end up in a long queue with thousands of people who don’t belong there,” he said to Nieuwsuur. “All in all, it is a recipe for a stalled operation.”