Too many people still fall through the cracks when it comes to municipal debt counseling, according to National Ombudsman Reinier van Zutphen in a new report. The municipalities are improving, but the ombudsman still has concerns, ANP reports.
"It must be faster and better", Van Zutphen said in his report. "Several studies show that debts are harmful, especially for families with children. Municipalities should work on that."
People in the Netherlands often do not get the care they need and are entitled to, National Ombudsman Reinier van Zutphen said in a report about the new healthcare system introduced in the Netherlands in 2015, NOS reports.
The new system gave municipalities more responsibilities when it came to healthcare. The idea behind that was that municipalities know their residents better than the national government, and therefore would also know better what care their residents need.The intent was to make healthcare more accessible and more customizable.
Being able to demonstrate for or against something you believe in is a fundamental right in the Netherlands. But that right is under pressure, National Ombudsman Reinier van Zutphen said in a new report, ANP reports.
The Veterans Motorcycle Club, established by a group of former soldiers, is unjustly listed as a criminal club, the National Ombudsman said in a new report. With this the group of veterans are one step closer to being allowed to ride during the veteran's day parade again, AD reports.
National Ombudsman Reinier van Zutphen is critical about the Dutch government's stance on how to handle Sint Maarten residents who came to seek shelter in the Netherlands after Hurricane Irma caused devastation on the island in September. According to the Dutch government, aid money is going to the island, so emergency relief is happening there.
In 2014 the Tax Authority wrongly stopped the childcare allowance for 232 families, National Ombudsman Reinier van Zutphen said in a report published on Wednesday .The Tax office took this measure because of suspicions that the allowance may have been misused, but did not take into account the serious financial consequences the measure would have for the affected parents, the Ombudsman said, ANP reports.
"The Tax Authority left the parents in an impossible position, major financial problems and long term uncertainty", Van Zutphen said.
Women forced to seek help from women's shelters in the Netherlands often leave with more money problems than they started with, according to a report by National Ombudsman Reinier van Zutphen. From the start these vulnerable women are faced with incomprehensible procedures, administrative red tape and a lack of adequate financial and debt counseling, the Ombudsman concludes, NOS and ANP report.
The fundamental rights of Volkert van der Graaf, convicted murderer of politician Pim Fortuyn, were violated when personal information about him leaked to the public just before his release in 2014, the National Ombudsman Reinier van Zutphen concluded in a complaint filed by Van der Graaf, the Volkskrant reports.
According to the newspaper, an anonymized version of the report can be found on the Ombudsman's website. "The applicant was imprisoned for a criminal offense which received a lot of media attention" the Ombudsman's report states.
National Ombudsman Reinier van Zutphen calls on Dutch municipalities to immediately act on welfare requests from residents over the age of 27. A number of municipalities first require applicants to apply for jobs. According to the Ombudsman, this is "absolutely improper" and against the welfare rules, NU.nl reports.
National Ombudsman Reinier van Zutphen is studying the case of Tilburg coffeeshop owner Johan van Laarhoven, who is currently serving a 103 year prison sentence in Thailand. The Ombudsman wants to find out how the Dutch judiciary handled his case and make sure that everything was done carefully and properly
Many Dutch are irritated by the government. The biggest annoyance is that civil servants often don't seem capable of solving citizens' problems, according to a study among 500 Dutch commissioned by National Ombudsman Reinier van Zutphen.
Items seized by the police are often too difficult to trace and recover, according to a study done by National Ombudsman Reinier van Zutphen. According to him, seized items often end up in "a sort of black hole", never to be seen again
The Dutch government's approach to helping citizens with their debts is definitely lacking, National Ombudsman Reinier van Zutphen writes in a critical report. Those who ask the government for help with their debt, are faced by obstacle after obstacle
Margrite Kalverboer was voted the new Children's Ombudsman by the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of Dutch parliament, on Tuesday. She got 78 of the 143 votes
The Tax Authorities must ensure that no citizen miss any messages, including those who can not or do not want to communicate digitally, according to the National Ombudsman Reinier van Zutphen in a report presented to the Ministry of Finance on Tuesday
The Dutch government rushed the transition from the Tax office's blue envelope to email and thereby overwhelmed the public, according to National Ombudsman Reineir van Zutphen in a report on the matter
A woman with expertise in children’s issues, special education and refugee rights is at the top of a list of candidates to replace outgoing child advocate Marc Dullaert in the Netherlands. Margrite Kalverboer, a professor at the Groningen University is expected to replace Dullaert, whose appointment was not renewed.
National Ombudsman Reinier van Zutphen asked Children's Ombudsman Marc Dullaert to secretly sign a resignation letter last year. He also withheld information regarding his reorganization plans from the Tweede Kamer, lower house of parliament, the Volkskrant reports based on information from Dullaert himself as well as other sources.
Football lawyer Frank van Ardenne is advising the 326 Feyenoord supporters arrested before the match against Roda JC in Rotterdam on Sunday, not to pay the fines imposed on them. "He who pays the fine pleads guilty and gets a criminal record", the lawyer said
A total of 40,557 people signed a petition to keep Marc Dullaert in his post as Children's Ombudsman over the past few weeks. The signatures were handed over to the Tweede Kamer, lower house of parliament, on Wednesday
