ANTI-POVERTY POLICY: THE MULTI-DIMENSIONAL APPROACH
A CASE FROM THE NORTH: ALPHEN ANN DEN RIJN, THE NETHERLANDS
Poor households suffer from deprivation in a variety
of ways. Low income, limited access to the labour market, inability
to obtain loans and the tendency to cut short education are only some
of the social and economic restrictions affecting poor families. All
these issues are profoundly inter-related and help to perpetrate the
poverty cycle. Therefore, the city of Alphen aan den Rijn has adopted
a multi-dimensional approach that attempts to attack the problem on
a variety of fronts. The originality of some of the mechanisms used
and the extent to which many of the policies succeeded in improving
the conditions of the poor in the city of Alphen, made it into a model
for other Dutch cities and provides an instructive set of practices
that could be adapted to the reality of other cities around the world.
Located in the centre of the triangle of Holland’s main cities
- Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague - the City of Alphen aan den
Rijn has a population of 70,000 inhabitants. An estimated 11% of its
households have an income below the poverty line, of whom a total
of 900 receive social subsidies from the national government. Since
March 1997, with a process of decentralisation that transferred to
Dutch cities the authority and responsibility for the areas of social
policy, the city of Alphen has adopted a new set of policies aimed
at alleviating the conditions of its poorest citizens.
Alphen aan den Rijn began its social policy reform by commissioning
an assessment of poverty and of the current support measures in the
city. The assessment was carried out in broad consultation and interaction
with the civil society (including representatives from women’s
groups, employers, trade unions, disabled people, churches, political
parties etc.). The findings of the consultation process were finalised
in October 1997, and provided important conclusions for the subsequent
adoption of the “Poverty Policy of the City of Alphen aan den
Rijn” in March 1998. Cooperation with the central government
and the Association of Dutch Municipalities was also central, as Alphen
managed to achieve a good working partnership with the national authorities
adopting specific tailor-made policies while at the same time interacting
with the wider national dimension.
Alphen aan den Rijn’s anti-poverty policy in practice
Alphen aan den Rijn’s anti-poverty policy concentrates on
the following objectives:
- Promoting employment creation by attracting investors;
- Giving the poor the opportunity of receiving loans in emergency
situations;
- Offering debt assistance and debt problems management
- Helping long-term unemployed to find a job;
- Offering them financial support to help meet basic needs;
- Informing the population of the services offered.
1. PROMOTING EMPLOYMENT CREATION BY ATTRACTING
INVESTORS
In order to attract business to invest in the city, the municipality
of Alphen began an active campaign of promoting the city at fairs
and other business events. An officer was assigned a task to attract
new investors, establishing contacts with national and international
companies and encouraging them to set up their business in the city.
One of the major incentives provided by the city of Alphen is that
of offering a large discount on real estate for those companies who
agree that 50% of their employees are to be recruited among the unemployed.
The results have been encouraging- more than 30 people found jobs
at a meat factory, a large electronic company, a food distributor,
or a transport company which set up their operations in the City.
Many of the jobs are on a part-time basis and do not require high
qualifications, facilitating the appointments for the unemployed.
2. GIVING THE POOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO RECEIVE
LOANS IN EMERGENCY SITUATIONS
In order to make low-income or highly-indebted families eligible
for small loans the City of Alphen aan den Rijn, established a formal
cooperation with a local bank. The state
provides the guarantee on behalf of the poor and commits itself to
using the bank as the only credit institute handling the City government’s
transactions. The bank, in turn, offers special rates and good debt
service repayment scheduling for the low-income families. Thus, the
poor and highly indebted families could have access to credit on affordable
terms.
The City administration has also opened a fund directly available
for clients who may receive a loan of up to 5,000 US$ in case of individual
emergency situations. The city is therefore acting as
a lender of last resort helping out those sectors of
the population who do not have access to traditional credit money.
To date, clients have largely complied and repaid the loans as it
was agreed.
3. OFFERING DEBT ASSISTANCE AND DEBT PROBLEMS
MANAGEMENT
Helping indebted people to find a way out is the objective of the
City’s debt-management-training courses. Addressing the causes
of the debt problems and showing ways on how to get out of indebtedness
are the central aim of these three-week courses. Participants are
asked for a symbolic financial contribution to show their commitment
to attending the course. To ensure sustainability, a follow-up meeting
is scheduled after six months.
4. HELPING LONG-TERM UNEMPLOYED FIND A JOB
Observing that some citizens encounter strong barriers in entering
the regular labour market, Alphen aan den Rjin tried to design jobs
that meet the needs and capabilities of the most disadvantaged groups.
Rather than simply paying an unemployment benefit, the city offered
to provide citizens with low-skilled jobs giving them a salary slightly
above that of the unemployment benefit. The City thus created and
finances its own jobs as school assistants, library assistants, police
officers, gardeners or professional guards.
Employed under fairly loose contracts, most people work on a part-time
basis, though some work on a full-time contract for 32 hours a week,
rather than the usual 39 hours. The city itself arranged for training
whenever this was necessary. The idea is that by increasing expenditure
in the short-term, long-term dependency may be reduced as the formerly
unemployed increase their chances of finding competitive employment
opportunities. With the implementation of this scheme 40 formerly
long-term unemployed found a new job in Alphen.
Day-care centres for children were also
set up within the context of trying to facilitate access to the labour
market for the unemployed. Particularly in the case of single-parent
families, but not only, family obligations may constitute an important
barrier for access to the labour market. Making use of governmental
funds available for additional local initiatives in this field, the
City offered single parent households places in existing day-care
institutions and created a day-care centre within its own local administration.
In doing so, the City helped young mothers to become (re)integrated
into the labour market.
5. OFFERING THEM FINANCIAL SUPPORT TO HELP MEET
BASIC NEEDS
The City’s innovative policies to respond to a lack of financial
means of its inhabitants consists of:
- Health Insurance Benefits: by contracting
health insurance for the poor. In exchange for a modest contribution,
they can get adequate medical care going beyond the very basic health-care
provided to every citizen by the national government.
- Tax relief and exemption for the poor,
paid for by tax increase on higher revenues;
- The Consumer Goods Fund which grants
up to US$ 750 every three years to buy essential consumer goods.
Put in place in January 1999, low-income families have the possibility
of getting this sum for buying essential goods like furniture, household
appliances etc;
- The Special Benefits scheme which provides
funds to pay for dental operations, glasses or other unforeseeable
but necessary expenses;
- The Reimbursement Fund, which is composed
of US$ 150 000, subsidises access to cultural life. Low-income families
are granted free entrance to municipal swimming pools, museums and
theatres and can get a refund for a sport club membership and a
newspaper subscription.
6. INFORMING THE POPULATION OF THE SERVICES OFFERED
In order to enhance the use of the services provided by the city,
Alphen aan den Rijn developed a communication campaign on its social
policy. By means of widespread dissemination of information cards,
the city managed to inform the local population more effectively about
the possibilities of assistance offered by the city.
Impact
The city’s experience is an example of the successful elaboration
and implementation of an innovative social policy responding to local
needs. Its policy framework follows a long-term perspective, as the
core elements of the city’s social policy demand additional
disbursements only in the first place, but reduce the need for social
allowances in the future. The Alphen aan den Rijn experience may therefore
bring the inspiration for cities who are less well off.
In the case of Alphen, the funds came primarily from the national
government and the city itself. Partnerships with the private sector
can also be developed to reduce the costs of social policy and transfer
some of the responsibilities and financial burdens to the private
sector. Some of the activities carried out, however, such as offering
debt assistance or offering discounts to companies as incentive for
investment in the city, require very low funding and may be therefore
more easily accessible for cities with tighter budgets.
The City of Alphen aan den Rijn successfully explored new competence
in social affairs conveyed by the central government. One of the main
elements for this achievement was a good project planning and interaction
with civil society. The City succeeded in helping low-income families
to make ends meet by promoting employment and fostering the reintegration
of less wealthy inhabitants.
We would like to thank Mr. Frank Dales, Deputy Mayor of the City
of Alphen aan den Rijn, for the information about his city’s
anti-poverty policy.
For more information,
please contact:
Mr. Frank Dales
Deputy Mayor of the City of Alphen aan den Rijn
P.O. Box 13, Alphen aan de Rijn 2400 AA, The Netherlands
phone: (++31) 172 481 210, fax: (++31) 172 481 591
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