Former minister Winnie Sorgdrager must further help repair the benefits scandal
By our economics editors
Apr 9, 2025 at 6:24 PM Update: 4 days ago
Former minister Winnie Sorgdrager will advise the cabinet on cooperation with the Equal Recovery Foundation (SGH), which was set up to compensate benefit parents. As government commissioner, Sorgdrager must smooth the cooperation between the foundation and the government.
This is what Secretary of State Sandra Palmen (Allowances) wrote in a letter to the House of Representatives. A previously published study by the Van Dam committee recommended appointing an independent director to lead the entire recovery operation, but Palmen did not choose that.
SGH should have a greater role in compensating benefit parents, but the foundation and the Ministry of Finance have been at odds for some time. The role of co-founder Princess Laurentien, among other things, leads to tension in the cooperation with Finance. She has now resigned.
There is a debate about what influence she can still exert. According to law firm NautaDutilh, there are problems with the organization of the foundation's board and are missing.”checks and balances“. The law firm Lindenbaum, which assists SGH, calls that criticism “false”.
The tension between SGH and Finance has been around for much longer. The cabinet did not immediately want to agree to the 'Laurentian method'. Under this approach, victims receive compensation more quickly, but the cabinet initially found the method too expensive and difficult to explain. Because victims feel they belong to SGH, the aim is to scale up the SGH route.
Foundation complains about an unsafe working environment
Laurentien was accused of transgressive behavior, after which she resigned as chairman of SGH. A few weeks ago, the foundation, on the other hand, sounded the alarm about an unsafe working atmosphere in cooperation with Finance. The House of Representatives then expressed its dissatisfaction with the ongoing quarrels between Finance and SGH.
Sorgdrager is a former politician and was Minister of Justice in the nineties. Today, she is Minister of State, which means that she can be asked for an advisory role.
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Image: ANP
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