Comments on the first budget of the Ministry for Housing and the Central Government Sector
The Court of Audit sent a letter to the House of Representatives on 13 November 2013 with comments on the 2014 budget of the Ministry for Housing and the Central Government Sector.
The letter is one in a series drawing parliament's attention to aspects of the ministries' budgets. The 2014 budget is the Minister for Housing and the Central Government Sector's first. In the past the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations had been responsible for these tasks. The letter concentrates on developments in the central government sector. It also refers to the findings of the audit of the accounts published in May 2013. The main finding related to the supervision of the ministries' operational management, in which the Minister for Housing and the Central Government Sector plays a coordinating role and has systemic responsibility. The government has stated that governance of operational management could be simplified. This complements the aim of a more compact civil service. The minister has outlined what his responsibilities will be in the medium term but his responsibilities in the transitional phase are still unclear. All ministries are having to make budget cuts. The letter also considers the importance of a strategic personnel policy in a changing central government sector and looks at the influence of the results of secondary social policy in recent years on current developments.
The letter is only available in Dutch.