Financial incentives for municipalities in new asylum reception law.
The dispersal law in the Netherlands has a considerable impact on the mobility of Dutch people, mainly in the context of the reception of asylum seekers and housing problems. The Municipal Tasks (Making Asylum Reception Facilities) Act, better known as the Dispersal Act, has been published in the Netherlands Government Gazette and in force since February 1, 2024. This law places the responsibility on provinces and municipalities to jointly arrange 96.000 reception places for asylum seekers, which must be realized before mid-2025.
The Netherlands is taking an important step forward in tackling the asylum reception crisis with the entry into force of the Distribution Act on February 1. The Act on Making Municipal Tasks Possible for Asylum Reception Facilities, published in the Government Gazette, aims at a fairer distribution of asylum seekers across the provinces and municipalities. This law is crucial in providing sufficient shelter places, a challenge that has been facing Dutch society for some time.
A specific example is the situation in The Hague, where the city has to accommodate 2513 asylum seekers, including 213 unaccompanied minor refugees. This requires significant efforts, as The Hague currently accommodates approximately 920 asylum seekers, six hundred of whom are in emergency accommodation in an empty office building. To meet this new target, the city still needs to find 1600 places, which poses a significant challenge given the existing housing shortage and the shortage of available locations
The new regulation outlines a detailed plan for the distribution of asylum reception places. The number of places required for the next two years has already been determined. This distribution is based on the population and socio-economic score of each municipality. This innovative system ensures that each municipality contributes according to its ability, whereby the total provincial reception task is calculated by adding the numbers per municipality.
Sharon Dijksma, chairman of the Association of Dutch Municipalities (VNG) and mayor of Utrecht, has welcomed the majority support for this law in the Senate, pointing out the necessity and importance of this measure. The Dispersal Act was introduced to distribute the pressure on asylum reception evenly across the country, in response to the challenges in finding asylum reception locations.
Municipalities will discuss the implementation of this task in provincial control tables (PRTs). These discussions are crucial; This determines which municipalities will provide asylum reception and how many places they will make available. It is interesting that existing shelter places, if they comprise more than 100 places and have been available for more than five years, can count towards the provincial target. The King's Commissioners (CdKs) play a coordinating role in these discussions, a responsibility that underlines their position as a government body.
If municipalities are unable to jointly meet the provincial task, the State Secretary for Justice and Security has the authority to designate municipalities to receive asylum seekers. This is a significant measure that underlines the seriousness of the current asylum reception crisis.
A striking feature of the Distribution Act is the incentive mechanism in the form of financial benefits for municipalities that offer shelters. These benefits are variable and depend on the number and type of reception places. Interestingly, municipalities are free to spend these benefits as they see fit, which gives them extra room for local initiatives. The amount of the benefit varies: 2.000 euros per shelter for more than 100 places, and 1.000 euros for fewer than 100 places. Reception places of a special nature, such as for unaccompanied minors, have a compensation of 2.000 euros per place.
A crucial element in the law is the 75% ruling. If 75% of the provincial target has been achieved, an additional payment of 1.500 euros per shelter will be made available. This is divided between the province and the contributing municipalities. This incentive is intended to encourage municipalities to realize their share of the reception task.
