State Secretary Bas van ‘t Wout of Social Affairs will investigate how the concept of fraud can be anchored in law. “Making a mistake doesn’t make you a fraud,” he replies fuss that arose because of a woman on welfare benefits more than 7000 euros to pay back because she had groceries paid for by her mother.
The problem, he says, is that the distinction between unknowingly making a mistake and knowingly committing fraud has not yet been included in the law. According to Van ‘t Wout, people get into problems too often as a result, or they are wrongly regarded as fraudsters.
Van ‘t Wout: “Because it is of course okay if you occasionally receive a gift or help from someone. But it is different if someone receives structural support every month.”
‘Human size’
Whether someone is entitled to social assistance is assessed by municipalities on the basis of his or her income. Assistance recipients are obliged to report changes in their situation. Municipalities are investigating their income. The “human dimension must be central”, according to the State Secretary.
Van ‘t Wout says he will be talking to municipalities in the coming month about the research that municipalities are conducting into social assistance recipients. There will also be a so-called Prevention Booster Team. This should prevent, among other things, making mistakes unconsciously, for example when filling in a form.
Privacyaspecten
The State Secretary does not want to specifically address the case surrounding the woman in Wijdemeren, “because of privacy aspects and because this case is currently still in court due to an appeal”. She has to pay back more than 7,000 euros because her mother has been shopping for her for three years.
That news followed many indignant reactions, online and from The Hague politics.
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