Annual report 2024: Put Citizens First

In 2024, 27.000 citizens, children and veterans contacted the National Ombudsman, Ombudsman for Children or Ombudsman for Veterans for help. This is an increase compared to the previous year. Many of the complaints could have been prevented if the government had listened to signals from society sooner.

Involve those who are affected

This is why the Ombudsmen called on public authorities to: listen to citizens and involve them in the process of making laws and regulations. This also applies to administering agencies. Their knowledge of what works in practice is underutilised. This results in policies that affect people but did not involve them in their development.

Examples are school transport that does not meet the needs of children with disabilities or municipalities that label emotional citizens as being ‘aggressive’ and break contact with them without investigating the reason for their behaviour. In addition, advice from institutions that should protect the state under the rule of law are not taken seriously. This is the case with new asylum legislation, for example, which resulted in improper governance.

Reinier van Zutphen, National Ombudsman: “If signals from society, administering agencies and supervisory institutions are not heard or are deliberately ignored, citizens will pay the price. The state under the rule of law does not protect itself. It requires a government that listens systematically and makes well-considered decisions.”

More to impress than for the good of citizens

According to the Ombudsmen, actually helping people does not appear to be a priority in political debate. “Bills, motions and amendments are designed more to impress than for the good of citizens. Unrealistic promises create wariness and undermine trust and confidence in the government, particularly among the people for whom the plans were intended.”

There are plans to improve the accessibility of services, for instance, but long-term investments in administering agencies and municipalities are lacking. And although generous compensation was promised to those affected by the benefits scandal, parents have now been waiting an average of 78 weeks for a response to their objection. There is still no solution for tens of thousands of parents.

Acknowledge mistakes and fix them

The Ombudsmen acknowledge that the government will never be flawless. But when things go wrong, citizens should have the confidence that the government will acknowledge and rectify the problem. Yet this often still goes wrong. In 2024, the National Ombudsman published his third report on Q fever patients. These patients are still waiting for apologies, recognition and help. 15 years on and despite repeated requests by the Ombudsman, apologies have still not been received.

But there are also good examples. The Dienst Uitvoering Onderwijs (Education Executive Agency of the Netherlands, DUO) acknowledged that an algorithm had discriminated against students with a migrant background when checking their eligibility for student grants. DUO apologised and is working on financial compensation for the affected students. So it is possible to treat people fairly. “Attaining your rights is not something that you first have to earn. Nor is it something that you only get once things have gone wrong”, write the Ombudsmen. “The government must always treat everyone in a proper manner. Even in cases where it is not a matter of moral or other guilt, or recovery.”

‘Deafening silence’

For the second consecutive year, the National Ombudsman is presenting its Annual Report to the House of Representatives during a caretaker period. While people are desperate for solutions, the Cabinet is standing on the sideline and politicians look on. Four years ago, Van Zutphen spoke of a caretaker silence after the fall of the Rutte III Cabinet. His opinion now is harsher: “It has been truly deafeningly quiet over the past two years.”

According to the Ombudsman, the government has been letting people muddle along. “The benefits scandal is never-ending, reinforcements in Groningen have been delayed by four years and fuel poverty is being combated with emergency funds. There are no long-term solutions even though people are entitled to fair and effective governance.” Van Zutphen calls on politicians to: “Listen to what people need, be honest about what the government can and cannot do, and above all: do what you promise. It is time to take responsibility and act for the citizens of today and for future generations.