Municipalities that do too little asylum reception are ‘rewarded’ while the task for energetic municipalities is becoming even greater

There is little left of a fair distribution of asylum reception places on municipalities after intervention by Minister Marjolein Faber (asylum and migration, PVV). This is apparent from an analysis by NRC of the so -called ‘distribution decisions’ that Faber has taken in the context of the Spreading Act. Dozens of municipalities are in objection. At least six of them do not find the decisions in the spirit of the law. Together with the province of Gelderland, they have objected to the distribution of Faber in recent months.

Their frustration comes from this: the minister has decided to lower the number of reception places to be realized in half of the municipalities, also in provinces such as North and South Holland that do not do enough reception. That reduction is possible because a smaller group of municipalities in these provinces is more than it was necessary according to the Spreading Act.

And instead of protecting these municipalities, Faber wants to legally record their extra -created reception places from next summer. This means that municipalities could be forced to keep these places available. Municipalities such as Almelo, Voorschoten and Wassenaar now feel duped and want Faber to consider these places voluntarily, and not as an obligation.

Faber has always made it clear that it does not want to force municipalities and withdraw the Spreading Act

The state of affairs shows that Faber does not have much with the idea behind the Spreading Act. It was intended to encourage municipalities that offer too little asylum reception. For all 342 municipalities, it would become clear what their contribution to the fairer distribution of asylum reception looks like, with the ultimate goal to illuminate the pressure in heavily loaded places such as Ter Apel and Budel.

But Faber has always made it clear that she does not want to force municipalities and withdraw the Spreading Act. A bill for this will be expected soon. Faber has always said that as long as the Spreading Act is still in force, she as a minister must adhere to that law.

96,000 asylum beds

Upon the introduction of the Spreading Act, Fabers Pastor, State Secretary Eric van der Burg (VVD), announced that until February 2026 was in need of 96,000 asylum beds. They must at least be available from July 1 this year. From that moment on, in theory, Faber can tackle municipalities that do not comply with the agreements and the distribution decision.

The distribution for asylum reception places was created with the help of a method in which the number of population and the socio-economic score of a municipality are decisive. Municipalities are permitted that they exchange places for (minor) asylum seekers, status holders and Ukrainian displaced persons, as long as provinces at the bottom of the line meet the task.

At the end of October, after nine months of negotiation, it turned out Only four provinces Being able to meet the assignment. Although Friesland met the assignment for the number of regular asylum places, did not fall for 85 places for unaccompanied minor aliens (AMV members). In the remaining seven provinces there was a shortage of hundreds to thousands of places. Utrecht, North Holland and South Holland were struggling with a hole of four to six thousand relief places.

Faber bowed over the provincial plans between November and the end of December, and came with twelve distribution decisions. In it, she has divided the reception places that provinces were short (the ‘residual task’) over municipalities. In provinces with too few places, 174 municipalities, more than half of the total, received a lower task.

« Reward »

Municipalities that do not meet their obligations are ‘rewarded’ as a result, the municipality of Almelo states in a notice of objection. Almelo has had an AZC in the municipality with nearly four hundred reception places for at least thirty years, enough to be able to fulfill the statement of 323 places. In addition, the municipality will make seventy extra temporary reception places available in the coming year. Minister Faber has added these 145 extra places to the assignment and thus comes to 468 places for the municipality of Almelo in her distribution decision. But he does not want the extra, voluntary places to become a legal obligation. Otherwise, the municipality fears that other municipalities « will not take that extra step, and even lean back, » the notice of objection is to Faber.

Neighboring municipality Borne did not submit any plans for asylum reception and saw the assignment from 148 to zero reception places fall. The municipality would not be included in the distribution of the residual task due to the large number of reception places for Ukrainian displaced persons, but now no longer needs to be absorbed asylum seekers from Minister Faber.

Wassenaar (930 reception spots opposite a statement of 158) and Voorschoten (200 places in a statement of 167) have been objecting for the same reason as Almelo. According to the Wassenaarse municipal administration, the distribution decision ‘has been deviated from without any statement of reasons’ of the original task.

Stimulans disappears

« The Spreading Act was intended to redistribute reception places, so that every municipality makes a contribution, » says Rutger Groot Wassink (GroenLinks), who was closely involved in setting up the Spreading Act as the former chairman of the Association of the Netherlands Municipalities (VNG). « It is precisely municipalities that do the least must be addressed the hardest on that. » He points out that by Fabers distribution « every incentive to do more disappears ».

The plans that provinces have submitted are also mentioned locations that are only available after 1 July, or whose local decision -making is not yet in order. Nevertheless, Faber counts these places in the plans. This leads to an unbalanced distribution of the reception places within the province, writes Henri Lenferink, acting commissioner of the king in Gelderland, in his notice of objection.

Some Gelderland municipalities have now been given a legal task of realizing the three or four-doubles of their asylum task, while it went down elsewhere in the country at municipalities.

Not all provinces and municipalities are in the same way, according to Jetta Klijnsma, King’s Commissioner in Drenthe and chairman of the circle of commissioners. « There are also municipalities that receive much more than the task and do not mind. Other municipalities can do less, but do more in other areas, such as the care of Ukrainians. For example, we spread the reception places about the Netherlands. »

From 1 July it will arrive at enforcing the distribution of asylum shelter. But will Faber have it coming? « I wonder how she will maintain the law, » says Jetta Klijnsma. « I also asked the minister for that, but that remains a bit uncertain. »

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