Emergency committee will advise on recovery surgery surcharges

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Emergency committee will advise on recovery surgery surcharges

State Secretary Nora Achahbar (Allowances) is setting up a committee to urgently provide advice on recovery surgery surcharges, she reports in a letter to Parliament. Former CDA MP and former chairman of the parliamentary interrogation committee about the benefits scandal Chris van Dam will lead it. The emergency advisory committee must find out how victims can be helped more quickly.

ANP

6 November 2024 12:50 Modified on 6 November 2024 16:39

The minister instructs the committee to issue advice “before the Christmas recess, but no later than January 2025”. In the meantime, the cabinet will continue with the operation to help affected parents and their children out of trouble.

The implementation of the recovery operation risks stalling due to “acute bottlenecks”, says Achahbar after discussions with victims, stakeholders such as aldermen and experts. “For example, waiting times for objections and damage routes remain a matter of concern, the delivery of files is still not up to par, legal deadlines are systematically not met, and both parents and municipalities indicate that they experience bottlenecks in broad support.” That is why, according to the Secretary of State, it is “necessary” that measures are taken in the short term to accelerate and improve the recovery operation. They may be “unorthodox if necessary”. Opinions are divided about exactly what a good recovery means, writes the Secretary of State. She therefore sets up the emergency advisory committee to make sure that “the measures I am taking are widely supported, well-founded and really lead to improvement”. In addition to Chairman Van Dam, the three-member committee also includes Helmond's former alderman Cathalijne Dortmans (GroenLinks) and Simon Sibma, chairman of the Social Insurance Bank. Van Dam deregistered from the CDA when he became chairman of the Research Council for Safety, because of his independent position in that role. The Secretary of State also says that he is starting a trial to help the relatives of deceased victims with various measures at once, for example in the areas of debts and compensation for additional damage. According to the minister, if the approach works, it can become an example that can also be applied to other groups of victims.