Recovery operations report: recognition on paper, misunderstanding in practice

News item | 10-09-2024 | 19:30

Recovery operations should always start with understanding and focusing on the needs of victims in order to actually provide effective and equitable recovery. This is evident from discussions with more than 100 victims and 100 employees involved in the recovery operations for the childcare allowance affair, Fraud Signaling Facility (FSV) and box 3, which were central to the investigation by the Tax, Surcharges and Customs Inspectorate.

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Excerpted text:

BART SNELS, Inspector General, Tax, Fees and Customs Inspectorate: “Today, we are presenting our report on the three recovery operations, under the responsibility of the Ministry of Finance. We spoke to approximately 100 citizens involved in these recovery operations and 100 employees. In particular, we also looked at: what were people's expectations and what could the government offer them? The most important thing we've seen is that people in the recovery operations at the Ministry of Finance, which is about the childcare benefits affair, box 3 and FSV, which has popularly come to be called “the black lists”, that those people are asking for real recognition of what was done to them by the government. The government has responded to this with laws, rules and procedures and that is not what people need. The most important lesson for this, for the government and for politics, is to first listen carefully to what has happened to people before you start a recovery operation. What was done to them? What damage did they receive? And what help do they need to get their lives back on track? This means that some patience is needed and real conversations are needed with people who have fallen victim to the government. It is also important to consider: what can we still do in those ongoing recovery operations? And actually, the most important thing we see is that the people who have been most seriously affected, and we see this, especially with the childcare allowance and with FSV, that the people who have experienced the greatest damage are actually still waiting for recovery. For them, the damage is increasing. And that is really a moral and political task: make sure that the most seriously affected are helped first.

The study shows that citizens experience that the three recovery operations studied do not provide what they really need. Nor do they have the confidence that this will happen again. Recognition and justice are important to their recovery. The fact that the government is unable to provide the recovery that these citizens need has to do with the approach to recovery operations. The recovery operations are designed by the government from the outset without a good idea of exactly who it concerns, what their damage is and what (different) needs exist. A clear picture of what people really need is missing at the start. Instead, the frameworks for enforceability by officials are leading. This includes, for example, financial accountability, available ICT facilities and capacity. A fundamentally different approach is systematically rejected by the government because it would not be feasible. The result is a recovery approach that focuses not on the needs of victims, but on the conditions of the government.

Recommendations

We have the following recommendations for future recovery operations:

• Start with insight into the needs of victims

When designing a recovery operation, start by understanding the wishes, needs and experiences of victims by talking to them.

• Also put the needs of victims at the center of the development of the approach

Prevent the feasibility and/or costs of the recovery operation from becoming a priority for the government. Provide comprehensive, demand-oriented help that goes beyond just financial compensation and, as a government, realize that this requires knowledge and skills that the government may not have in-house. As a government, dare to also ask how realistic it is that the government (causative agent) designs a recovery operation itself. Explore the possibilities of developing this through one or more external parties in consultation with victims. In doing so, it is important to pay attention to relief and emotional recovery for victims. This sometimes requires customization.

• Prioritizing serious victims

It is important to distinguish between people who are seriously and less seriously affected. People with the most damage need to be helped first and they want to be seen. It is extra painful for them to be placed in the same queue as others.

Interim signal

A year ago, during our research, we gave a interim signal relinquished politics and Secretary of State, because we found that a number of choices in the context of the childcare allowance recovery operation were negative for serious victims. We asked the Secretary of State for Fees and Customs and the members of the House of Representatives to discuss letting go of the FIFO principle (First in, First out), so that the group of seriously affected people gets priority. We also asked the Ministry of Finance to identify the group of serious victims with the Implementation Organization for the Recovery of Allowances and to investigate with them how a customized route could be set up for this group. This was followed by a conversation with parents, young people and employees of the Recovery Implementation Organization, among others. During this conversation, ideas were brought in by parents and young people to get a better picture of (serious) victims and to help them better. The Ministry of Finance further discussed and developed these ideas with them.

Documents

• Talking about recovery: what citizens really need
• For our research into citizens' and employees' experiences with childcare allowance (KOT) recovery operations, Fraud...
• Publication | 10-09-2024