THE HAGUE--Dutch Minister for Poverty Policy Carola Schouten will address the issue of implementing a double child allowance for special needs children during her visit to Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba in the week of May 8.
Dutch State Secretary of Kingdom Relations and Digitisation Alexandra van Huffelen confirmed this in a letter that she sent to the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament on Monday.
During a debate with Parliament’s Permanent Committee of Kingdom Relations on March 23 about the Caribbean Netherlands, the state secretary was asked about the status of an earlier proposal to introduce a double child allowance (“kinderbijslag”) for children who require intensive care, for example children who are mentally and physically challenged.
Earlier this year, Minister Schouten announced that per July 1, 2023, the regulation, which is already in effect for the Netherlands, would also be applied for the Caribbean Netherlands. The Second Chamber wanted to know why this had to wait until July 2023 and could not be implemented earlier since it concerned only a small group of children.
State Secretary Van Huffelen stated in her letter on Monday that she spoke with Minister Schouten about this matter on April 20. She confirmed that the minister will address the issue of the double allowance during her visit to the Caribbean Netherlands in the week of May 8.
The results of that visit will be included in the progress report to introduce a benchmark for the social minimum for Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba. Establishing this benchmark, which the Dutch Parliament and the islands have been asking for several years, will help to address the increasing poverty issue. The Dutch Parliament will receive the progress report before the summer recess.
