Information on supervision of municipalities
In a letter to the House of Representatives of 28 October 2014, the Court of Audit makes a number of comments on the 2015 budget of the Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations (BZK). The letter is one in a series that the Court of Audit will issue until mid-November with comments on the ministerial budgets.
The letter considers the changes that will occur at municipalities when the have to provide youth care, social assistance and labour participation services as from 2015. The Municipalities Fund will be increased by €10.3 billion to cover these services as from 2015. The Court of Audit expresses its appreciation of the government’s establishment of the temporary transitional Social Domain Committee in response to concerns voiced by various organisations about the decentralisation of services.
The letter also looks at the importance of the financial supervision exercised by the provinces, particularly at a time when municipalities are having to make spending cuts and are receiving less funding but are having to carry out more tasks.
The Court of Audit thinks it is remarkable that the Municipality Fund includes a new decentralised benefit payment for social support. The government is seeking to reserve two-years’ funding for domestic help workers. Central government cannot force municipalities to use the funds specifically for that goal.
The letter is only in Dutch available.