Gov't refused to explain to benefits scandal parents why they were labeled fraudsters
For years, the government has deliberately refused to explain to parents in the benefits scandal why they were suspected of fraud. The Benefits Agency did this knowing that withholding the information was legally questionable and would not hold up in court, Trouw reports based on an internal memo obtained through the Open Government Act.
The memo dates from September 2025, four years after the Rutte III Cabinet collapsed over the childcare benefits scandal. It states outright that the Benefits Agency will not provide any documents substantiating why parents received the label “Intent/Gross Negligence.” The reason for this is “an internal working agreement.”
The Benefits Agency is legally obligated to provide all relevant documents because parents have the right to know why they have been deemed to commit fraud. The memo shows that the Agency is also aware of this, stating that “the failure to provide documents (...) conflicts with the information obligations under the General Administrative Law Act.” The memo also states that the procedure is “not tenable on appeal” - a court would rule against it.
The Tax Authority - responsible for awarding benefits until the establishment of the Benefits Agency in 2021 - unjustly gave thousands of parents the “Intent/Gross Negligence” label, meaning that it assumes they deliberately made mistakes when applying for childcare benefits, aiming to get more money than they were entitled to. All of these parents had to repay their benefits without a payment arrangement. Many ended up in financial difficulties as a result. And because of the fraud label, they had no access to debt counseling.
The “Intent/Gross Negligence” label is at the heart of the benefits scandal. The fact that the government deliberately withheld this information from victims is “a terrible omission for restoring victims’ confidence in the rule of law,” lawyer Khadija Bozia told Trouw. She chairs a working group of lawyers representing benefit scandal parents. According to her, without this information, lawyers cannot properly represent affected parents, and judges cannot properly assess the extent to which the government treated these parents unlawfully.
The Ministry of Finance told Trouw that the memo describes a working method “established at the beginning” of the recovery process and that the Ministry’s “commitment has always been to comply with legal obligations.”
According to lawyer Bozia, the Benefits Agency still hasn’t provided the requested information to victims.
