How a cut of 1 billion in civil service threatens to be a jughe

At least five ministries deduct up to half of the cutbacks on officials on implementing organizations. Among other things, the Custodial Institutions Department (11 million euros) and the police (13 million euros) must believe it. That appears after asking from NRC And from pieces that are published around the Spring Memorandum. In the outline agreement, the coalition promised to « spare » the implementation in the cut in civil servants.

The austerity round was first intended to reduce the number of civil servants in the Towers in The Hague by working more efficiently, but now it threatens to be a jam. Ministries no longer only want to cut back on civil servants, but also on IT equipment, sustainability subsidies and therefore the implementing organizations. A detailed plan to make the government work more efficiently, has been waiting for a year.

Cheese

The growing number of civil servants and the increased hiring of consultants in recent years had to be reduced by the Cabinet Schoof by 22 percent. In euros this translated into the books in a cut of 1 billion euros from 2029.

Former NSC party leader Pieter Omtzigt has been criticizing the amount of communication staff and the grown external hiring for years. The implementation, on the other hand, should not be the victim, the coalition parties found. The conclusion was drawn from earlier austerity rounds: to cut back on implementation is at the expense of contact and good help.

The total amount of 1 billion euros is distributed per ministry, based on the level of the equipment costs, says a spokesperson for the Ministry of the Interior, which is ultimately responsible. The equipment costs are, for example, the costs for the number of working officials and the required equipment per ministry.

They may know how ministries collect their allocated amount. In the Spring Memorandum, it had to be clearer how the cutback would take shape, at least for the first 250 million to be collected this year.

From the documents and after asking from NRC It now appears that in 2029 two ministries aim to raise almost half of the amount in the implementation. The Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment books 45 million of the 99 million euros in cuts at the UWV and SVB implementing agencies. The Ministry of Justice and Security, which also includes the implementing organizations of asylum and migration on paper, raises 51 million of the 110 million euros that it must save on ‘organizations’: among other things the police, the Judicial Institutions and the COA service, but also the Supreme Court (an organization that does not fall under implementation).

The Ministries of Economic Affairs, Finance and Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and Nature are about a quarter of the objectives.

Spare

It is still unclear how those implementing organizations will find the money. A spokesperson for Finance writes that although the implementing organizations have to cut, the services to citizens and companies are ‘spared’. They do have to save money « by working smarter and more efficiently. »

A judiciary spokesperson emphasizes: « Relatively-venture, the implementation is saved as much as possible and the majority is at the administrative department. »

Implementation organization UWV believes that the ministry or politics should see how laws and regulations can be easier, so that money can be saved there. If that does not work out, UWV will have to « make other choices that can be at the expense of services to clients, » said a spokesperson for the implementing service.

The UWV may have to make ‘choices that may be at the expense of services to clients ”

Paper staff magazine

Because responsible Minister Judith Uitermark (Home Affairs, NSC) leaves the decisions where to save her fellow ministers, there is a lot permissible-as long as the ministries collect the money.

In addition to implementation, a ministry announces, among other things, the abolition of a paper staff magazine. Another ministry wants to reduce the number of physical workplaces. For example, the Ministry of the Interior wants at least 57 million euros – of the 121 million euros in the task – to cut back on the joint services that work for all ministries, for example in the field of IT and transport.

Congresses or investigations are deleted at another ministry. There is also a cut on policy, such as making social real estate more sustainable or on subsidies for the energy transition of the built environment.

Controlfetishism

According to Zeger van der Wal, special appointment professor of Public Administration at Leiden University, a cut in civil service is desperately needed: the government suffers from « controlfetishism, » he says. « There is an excess of control, overhead and bureaucracy within the government, which can best be cut, » says Van der Wal.

He does place an important comment on this: a strategy must be behind it. And that is precisely what Van der Wal lacks in the plans of Minister Uitermark. « With a strategy you make clear what you choose: » We do this, and we don’t do this, or not anymore.  »

Van der Wal and also Roel Bekker, former top official and special professor at Leiden University of Leiden, of a ‘System Change’, as Minister Uitermark previously mentioned the task in a letter to the room, is difficult to speak and also Roel Bekker.

Bekker sees that the cheese slicing method is now being used: all ministries are in something, without drastic decisions being made. « Too bad, » says Bekker, « because productivity does not go up and that way you avoid choosing. »

Perhaps the strategy will come, Van der Wal thinks, but: « The cabinet has been working for almost a year now, then you expect that there should have been a strategy in the meantime. »

The cabinet has been working for almost a year now, then you expect that there should have been a strategy in the meantime

In a response, Minister Uitermark says that she is looking at measures to reduce the regulatory pressure of organizations. « The starting point is that the quality of the implementation may not be disadvantaged by the task, » said Minister Uitermark.

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