Dutch municipalities are forced to make drastic budget cuts in order to cope with additional care tasks that now fall under their responsibility, the Volkskrant reports based on its own research. The shortages are so great that some municipalities are even considering closing libraries or reducing road maintenance, according to the newspaper.
VNG
May 3 '19 09:09
Apr 15 '19 09:17
The Dutch government is preparing more housing and counseling for victims of human trafficking, Minister Hugo de Jonge of Public Health, Welfare and Sports announced. A total of 36 new reception centers will be opened in five municipalities this year.
Nov 23 '18 08:39
Many Dutch municipalities are dissatisfied with the current preliminary design of the government's experiment with regulated cannabis cultivation. Where municipalities queued to participate in the experiment when it was announced, the government will now have difficulty in finding 10 municipalities to participate, the association of Dutch municipalities VNG said to Trouw.
Nov 6 '18 08:38
31 mayors of larger Dutch cities are calling on the Senate not to remove the appointment of mayors from the Dutch constitution, and to keep the procedure as is. Removing the appointment procedure from the constitution is the first step in enabling an elected mayor. The mayors are worried that this will result in them losing their connecting role as "father or mother for all residents, businesses and institutions", they wrote in an open letter to the Senate, the Volkskrant reports.
Sep 14 '18 09:18
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."
Jul 3 '18 12:10
State Secretary Paul Blokhuis of Public Health will critically look into the cause of the increased number of suicides in the Netherlands, he said on Tuesday. He wants to know what caused the increase, and whether it is a one-time peak or if something else is going on, NU.nl reports.
Apr 18 '18 16:30
The Netherlands' current election process - with manual voting, polling stations that stay open for long hours, and manual vote counting - is no longer feasible and can give rise to doubts about results' reliability. The association of Dutch municipalities VNG and the Dutch association of civil affairs NVVB therefore composed an 'Election Agenda 2021' with several proposals for making this process more efficient, NOS reports.
Apr 3 '18 07:30
Between six and 10 Dutch municipalities will experiment with regulated cannabis cultivation and sale, according to a bill sent to the police, the Public Prosecutor and the Association of Dutch municipalities, among others, the Volkskrant reports.
The experiment will last for five years and two months, one year of which will be used on preparation. Cannabis cultivators will be recruited through a tender. For the period of the experiment, they will only be allowed to grow weed for the experiment, and not for other sales.
Sep 14 '17 07:52
In half of the municipalities in the Netherlands, nothing is being done to prevent radicalization and jihadism, according to a study by the Security and Justice Inspectorate. Small and medium-sized municipalities in particular ignore this task, RTL Nieuws reports.
Aug 1 '17 09:55
Young people who are ordered by the juvenile court to undergo therapy face waiting times of up to one year before their therapy can start, the Volkskrant reports based on its own research.
Nov 8 '16 08:50
More children and young people were admitted to secure youth institutions in the Netherlands this year, according to Children's Ombudsman Margrite Kalverboer based on her own research. She also found an increase in the number of emergency admissions, which mostly involve advanced problems, NOS reports.
Aug 22 '16 15:40
There was a significant increase in the number of complaints regarding youth care in the Netherlands during the first half of this year, according to the advice and complaint office for youth care AKJ. In the first half of 2016 there were 6,465 complaints, compared to a total of 7,404 throughout all of 2015
Jun 21 '16 15:20
Despite the burden of landlords tax, housing corporations have sufficient opportunities to build new housing and renovate existing homes, Minister Stef Blok of Housing said in parliament on Tuesday. He cited figures from Bureau Ortec Finance which show that it is possible to build 250 thousand new homes
Jun 9 '16 11:40
Housing corporations association Aedes, the Housing Association and the association of Dutch municipalities VNG are calling for the landlords tax to be abolished. A study by the University of Groningen showes that the tax has a negative impact on the availability of social housing and on households with low incomes,
Jun 9 '16 07:58
Almost 90 percent of Dutch municipalities support a call on the government to allow experiments with regulated cannabis cultivation, was revealed in a vote at the association of Dutch municipalities VNG's annual conference on Wednesday.
May 24 '16 09:46
The Netherlands plans to give people who are deeply in debt a six month break in which they don't have to make payments, won't get reminders for payments and won't get a visit from a bailiff, State Secretary Jetta Klijnsma of Social Affairs and Minister Ard van der Steur of Security and Justice announced on Tuesday
Apr 5 '16 14:30
Government institutions need work more closely together when it comes to recovering outstanding debts from citizens. This should prevent an accumulation of debt claims increasing citizens' financial problems, State Secretary Jetta Klijnsma of Social Affairs and Employment wrote to Parliament on Tuesday.
Apr 29 '15 19:43
Dutch Mayors expressed their discontent towards the government's asylum seeker plan in the lower house of Dutch parliament on Wednesday and made it clear that they see the commitments required from the municipalities unwise and unclear, NOS reports. The Mayors had nothing good to say about the cost the government will impose on municipalities for failing to adhere to the plan.
Sep 24 '14 10:22
The Cabinet is working together with the United Netherlands Municipalities (VNG) and healthcare providers to find solutions to make sure that vulnerable children aren't left without specialized childcare next year, the NOS report.
Jun 19 '14 10:23
After a three day strike, garbage collectors of the municipal services are back to work today in Amsterdam, Utrecht and Groningen. The workers have not been collecting trash in these three big cities since Monday, in protest of stalled collective labour agreement talks.
Jun 17 '14 14:01
Garbage collectors are still on strike in Amsterdam, Utrecht and Groningen. Garbage is lying on the streets in these cities. The cool, overcast weather is preventing serious odor problems, but residents and business owners are starting to complain.
Jun 16 '14 07:39
Garbage collectors of the municipal services in Amsterdam, Utrecht and Groningen are going to be on strike until Wednesday this week, in relation to disagreements about a new collective labour agreement for municipal officials.
Mar 24 '14 20:31
Doctors fear they will no longer be able to refer youth to necessary specialists, once the cities take over the budget for youth care next year. At the same time the cities take control of youth care, the available budget is cut with 15 percent.
Mar 17 '14 11:04
The UN refugee camp Al Zaatari in the north of Jordan is going to receive aid from the municipality of Amsterdam, the Association of Dutch Municipalities and the cabinet, to help solve problems such as waste management and water access.
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