Decentralisation refers to the transfer of duties and authorities to the provincial or municipal government that were previously vested in other and/or higher levels of government (e.g. national). Understanding how and where these authorities have now been assigned requires knowledge of both the Provinces Act (Provinciewet) and the Municipalities Act (Gemeentewet).
These two acts describe which responsibilities are managed by the provincial and municipal authorities. The national government is delegating an increasing share of its duties and responsibilities to the municipalities, a process attended in many cases by cuts in national funding. Recent manifestations of this trend are the Participation Act (Participatiewet), Social Support Act (Wet maatschappelijke ondersteuning) and provisions for youth care. In the new situation:
– supervision, support and the provision of care have been transferred from the Exceptional Medical Expenses Act (Algemene wet bijzondere ziektekosten) to the Social Support Act;
– implementation of the Participation Act (including the Work and Social Assistance Act (Wet werk en bijstand) and the Sheltered Employment Act) (Wet sociale werkvoorziening) has been delegated to the municipalities;
– the municipalities are in charge of youth care.

Municipalities have to invest considerable effort and knowledge to adapt to this changed allocation of government responsibilities, with municipal and professional social services, in particular, compelled to respond to these changes. As a trusted advisor to public authorities, our firm has acquired valuable knowledge and demonstrable experience in this specific area of law.