Tomorrow the matter will be discussed in the Council of Ministers. Municipalities have been responsible for youth care since 2015. Considerable cutbacks were also made with the transfer of tasks. It soon turned out to be too much: municipalities have been convinced for years that the cabinet gives them too little money to arrange good youth care.
Lengthy negotiations between the state and the municipalities came to nothing this year. Subsequently, it was decided to start an arbitration procedure. In that case, it is not a judge who decides, but experts judge a conflict.
1.9 billion next year
The arbitration committee led by former top civil servant Richard van Zwol believes that the budget should be increased by 1.9 billion euros next year. In 2023 and 2024, an extra 1.6 billion euros must be added. That amount will gradually decrease annually to 800 million in 2028. An involved mayor calls the ruling ‘high-explosive’.
This week, the ruling was presented to the responsible State Secretary of Health Paul Blokhuis and VNG chairman Jan van Zanen. Tomorrow the cabinet will discuss what to do with the ruling.
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According to sources, not all cabinet members believe that the huge amount demanded by the arbitration committee should already be pledged. A choice can be made to release the money for next year in order to decide on the budget for the long term during the formation of a new cabinet. The municipalities assume that the cabinet will stick to the agreement that has been made.
It reads: we will implement what the committee proposes, provided that the Senate and House of Representatives also agree. “That agreement is in black and white”, says an initiate. To completely ignore the statement would be ‘an insult’ by the municipalities.
Decentralization
The municipalities have been responsible for youth care since decentralization in 2015. The idea was that this would make youth care more efficient – and therefore cheaper.
But since then there have been waiting lists of several months or sometimes even years. Those in desperate need of care see other care providers all the time. And it often happens that after years of building trust with the care provider, the treatment has to be changed again because the budget is exhausted or the knowledge is insufficient.
Several reports have warned the cabinet in recent years that youth care must change course. Last week the Social Economic Council came up with a solid report with recommendations to improve the system.
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The arbitration committee also states that more is needed than just money. Youth care must be organized differently so that costs do not continue to increase every year. For example, the costs for administration must be reduced and the quality of the care provided must increase. “The system must be better organized”, a mayor sums it up. That saves money.
According to Van Zwol, that is a task for the municipalities. To make this possible, a change in the law is necessary. But such a system change takes time, so in the meantime the cabinet will have to come up with funding, the committee believes.
Principle judgment
At the same time, other insiders point out that the ruling is more far-reaching than youth care alone. The committee passes a fundamental judgment on the transfer of tasks from the central government to the municipalities. “If the state asks municipalities to perform tasks, the state must also ensure that there is a sufficient budget,” said one involved. “That sounds very logical, but in the past many tasks were assigned to municipalities and at the same time cutbacks were made. That is no longer possible.”
This means, for example, that the state must also transfer money to municipalities to implement climate plans. “That interpretation is really super important.”
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