BackAccording to his annual report, Alex Brenninkmeijer, the National Ombudsman of the Netherlands, received almost 14,000 complaints and 31,000 telephone calls last year.
The report puts special emphasis to reflection and feedback as key factors in the work of the National Ombudsman - and that also means reflecting on his own performance.
This is why the director of the National Ombudsman's Office recently commissioned the Verwey-Jonker Institute to conduct an independent study reflecting on the National Ombudsman and his office. (Cf. A.G. Mein, J.C.J. Boutellier et al., Reflectie op de Nationale ombudsman, Verwey-Jonker Instituut, Utrecht 2010.) The study, published in 2010, looks back at the present Ombudsman's first five years in office but also forward to the future. It shows that government bodies that have dealings with the National Ombudsman regard him as a necessary watchdog and counterweight, giving the individual citizen a voice and forcing government to engage in constant quality improvement. The National Ombudsman is now better known as an institution and has lent complaint handling a new dimension by translating the principle of fair treatment into day-to-day practice and by operating in a solutions oriented way.
Following the study, the House of Representatives voted by a large majority to re-appoint the present National Ombudsman for another six-year term, commencing on 1 October 2011.
2010 also saw two new developments affecting the work of the National Ombudsman:
Firstly, Parliament voted to create a special Ombudsman for Children, to operate from within the National Ombudsman's Office. This is an important development in the protection of children's rights in the Netherlands. The Ombudsman for Children will provide a vital complement to the work of major players in the children's rights field, such as UNICEF and Defence for Children.
Secondly, on 10 October 2010, the islands of Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba became public bodies of the Netherlands, with a new status comparable to that of municipalities in the Netherlands in Europe. Since that date, therefore, Chapter 9 of the General Administrative Law Act has applied to the islands and their central government department, police and Public Prosecution Service have had internal complaints procedures. The external complaints authority is the National Ombudsman of the Netherlands. For the island authorities there are different arrangements. They had until 10 October 2012 to decide whether they want to appoint their own joint ombudsman or come within the jurisdiction of the National Ombudsman of the Netherlands.
