The Dutch government does not have to pay penalty payments for now to victims of the childcare benefit scandal who face long waits for compensation decisions. The Council of State suspended these penalty payments until 3 June next year in a ruling issued on Wednesday.
A gridlocked system
The Benefits Service must determine the exact financial damage victims suffered to calculate their compensation. When parents wait too long for an answer, they can legally ask a judge to force the agency to make a decision. The agency then normally receives a strict two-week deadline to comply.
However, the highest administrative court ruled that the system has completely gridlocked. The court stated that making accurate decisions within two weeks is currently impossible. Furthermore, it is not possible to establish a better alternative deadline that is neither unnecessarily long nor unrealistically short. Previous penalty payments failed to speed up the process.
Soaring wait times
In fact, the Council of State noted that victims will likely face even longer wait times because of the sheer volume of lawsuits from frustrated parents. The average wait time for a compensation decision has now risen to more than two years. The court estimates it will take another 18 years to resolve the final remaining case.
The Council of State acknowledged that the Benefits Service systematically takes too long due to a dysfunctional and stalled system, which causes feelings of powerlessness and frustration among affected families. However, the court emphasized that a penalty payment is meant to encourage fast action, not serve as a form of damages.
The Council of State will review the situation again in one year. At that time, the court will reassess whether restoring penalty payments would act as an effective incentive to prompt the Tax and Customs Administration’s benefits agency into taking action.
@ anp | NEWS BRAINPORT
