BackOn Wednesday, 24 May 2023, the Dutch National Ombudsman, the Ombudsman for Children and the Ombudsman for Veterans presented their 2022 Annual Report to the House of Representatives: Time for the citizen. In it, they call on the government to listen to citizens more often, sooner and to better effect. Despite having seen some positive examples from the government, the ombudsmen continue to take a critical view, particularly with regard to the influence and control that citizens currently have over the work of the government.
National Ombudsman, Reinier van Zutphen: "Participation can only be successful if people actually have influence and control. We continue to be critical in cases where participation appears to be being used as a sticking plaster for an inadequate service provided by the government. Besides, citizens are only truly able to participate if certain conditions are met first. This includes having sufficient money to survive. People with financial concerns have less freedom to participate."
In the annual report, the ombudsmen review a year of uncertainty, with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, increasing energy prices and sky-high inflation levels. Some 90,000 Ukrainians fled to the Netherlands, placing additional pressure on existing asylum and reception facilities. This was yet another problem on top of other major issues, including housing shortages, the climate transition, the nitrogen problem, issues in juvenile care and the complex processes of redress in the allowances scandal, gas exploration in Groningen and flooding in Limburg. They note that the government needs to improve the way it listens to citizens in its approach to these problems.
"We receive regular reports from citizens who feel they are not being heard or taken seriously. Before even starting with solutions, the government would be well advised to engage in dialogue more frequently with citizens to discuss the necessary action. What we need is a government that listens and is realistic about the efforts it is willing and able to make, without making promises it cannot meet."
To read the full article, kindly click here.
To read the summary of the annual report 2022, kindly refer to the download section further below.
Source: The Office of the National Ombudsman of the Netherlands
