The living environment that over 7,000 children are currently experiencing in emergency shelter locations for asylum seekers has to be improved “in the short term.” Three inspectorates have called for improvements in a letter addressed to the ministries of Asylum and Migration, Public Health, and Education.

This is not the first time that this has happened: in 2023, the inspectorates stated that the emergency shelter is often below par, and this leads to threats to children’s safety and development.

More than two years later, the Justice and Security Inspectorate, the Education Inspectorate, and the Healthcare and Youth Inspectorate see “insufficient improvements” in the situation. Children typically stay too long in emergency shelters, an average of eight months, while the maximum allowed is six. This period “is therefore continuously exceeded.”

The inspectorates pointed out the consequences of this: “A lengthy stay in emergency shelter has a negative effect on children’s wellbeing and also poses an obstacle to integration.

According to the inspectorates, the heavy reliance on emergency shelters needs to be reduced, but the opposite is happening: since their previous call, the number of children in emergency shelters has nearly doubled.

As long as there is no space for the children in regular asylum seeker centers, then they are often living on ships, or in converted event centers and empty offices.
“The intention to repeal the Distribution Act and measures that restrict access to housing for status holders appear to have a contradictory effect.”

Emergency shelter locations are often temporary, which leads to people who are staying there having to move a lot. This is also damaging for the children, as it causes more issues regarding their access to education and healthcare.

The Ministry of Asylum and Migration stated that it is “studying” the letter. In general, the ministry aims to ensure that children do not stay in emergency shelters, but this is currently “not feasible” due to full capacity. According to a spokesperson, reducing the influx “is the only real way to give children the special attention they need.”

The inspectorates pointed out, however, that plans to do so are “not yet in effect” and that the influx is “only predictable to a limited extent” anyway. Acting on an expected decrease carries “a high risk of additional costs and long recovery periods for the asylum system.” According to the inspectorates, the lower-quality emergency shelters are also two to three times more expensive than regular housing.

Caretaker Minister David van Weel has “partially reversed” the decision by former asylum minister Marjolein Faber to cut the subsidy for VluchtelingenWerk this year, the aid organization announced Tuesday. “Most refugees in the Netherlands can count on independent support from VluchtelingenWerk Nederland (VWN) during their asylum and family reunification procedures in 2025.”

Earlier this year, Faber decided that VluchtelingenWerk would receive 13 million euros in 2025 instead of the 34 million the organization said was necessary. VWN then took the matter to court, which ruled that Faber must temporarily reverse the cut.

Van Weel has now decided that VWN will receive 23 million euros this year, a spokesperson for VWN said. The organization expects to carry out “the majority of our work” with this funding because the influx of new asylum seekers is lower than expected.

At the same time, the minister has indicated that the subsidy for next year will be “significantly lower.” VWN is asking the minister to postpone “such drastic decisions” until there is more clarity about the exact implementation of the European migration pact in June next year. “The asylum procedure as we know it will be fundamentally changed at that time. This will affect the services of VluchtelingenWerk and the work of other organizations in the asylum chain, such as COA and IND.”

“We are relieved that the previously announced subsidy cut for 2025 has largely been reversed,” said Frank Candel, chairman of VluchtelingenWerk. “At the same time, concerns for next year overshadow us. With a major cut, we will have to make difficult choices that directly affect refugees.”