The results of the Schoof cabinet are falling short, says the Court of Audit on Accountability Day. Ministries report little about their results. It is therefore difficult for parliament to follow whether the cabinet policy contributes to the goals of the government program.
It is a “puzzle” for members of parliament who want to control the cabinet, says the Court of Audit. It is also difficult for parliamentarians to perform their controlling task because the goals of the Schoof cabinet are often not clearly defined.
Citizens must also be able to count on the government. The Court of Audit emphasizes that the “efficient, effective and lawful” spending of scarce public money, people and other resources is “essential”.
“Residents and companies in the Netherlands want public money to be spent with results,” says Pieter Duisenberg, president of the Court of Audit. “The major challenges in these turbulent times require clear choices and goals in the long and short term. A government that does what it promises. A government that maintains a stable course and is both agile and resilient.”
The Court of Audit therefore calls on politicians to do what they have promised.
Three Serious Problems At Mindistries
On Accountability Day, the cabinet accounts for the previous year. In doing so, politics does not look ahead, as on Budget Day, but rather backward. Minister Eelco Heinen (Finance) presents the annual reports, and the Court of Audit checks whether all ministries had their affairs in order.
Every year, the Court of Audit finds several errors, so-called “imperfections”. This year there are forty. That is not alarmingly much compared to previous years.
But the Court of Audit did see three serious problems at ministries in 2024. There were none a year earlier. The institute has also objected twice. That is the most serious tool that the Court of Audit can use, and it is not often used, says Duisenberg. Objecting happened for the last time in 2021 and that had to do with the corona crisis.
The Court of Audit is now objecting to security at Defense. This concerns the security of military objects, which has been going badly for years. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also receives such an objection from the Court of Audit. That happens because the ministry does not have its financial administration in order.
Heinen admits in an initial response that “not everything is going well”. According to him, the cabinet must “continue to learn”.
‘Red Card’ for Implementing Organizations
The Court of Audit also examined so-called implementation tests. If the cabinet makes new laws and regulations, it is customary for the organizations that have to implement them to test what the effect of this is. For example, think of the UWV or the Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers.
But those implementation tests are often not there or give a poor picture, the Court of Audit sees. A “large part” of the tests that were carried out show that the cabinet’s plans can only be implemented under conditions or not at all. Moreover, the implementing organizations need more and more people to implement these new plans.
According to the Court of Audit, it is often unclear whether the cabinet takes these conclusions into account in the further elaboration of the plans. The Court of Audit therefore suggests that implementing organizations should be able to draw a “red card”.
The State Commission on the Rule of Law also advised such a red card in 2024. This gives implementing organizations “the ultimate opportunity” to draw it if policy is unfeasible or violates the rule of law.