Minister aims to respond to children's shelter report soon
Asylum minister Van den Brink says she aims to send parliament a policy response to the Dutch Safety Board's report on children in emergency asylum shelter before the budget debate.
Asylum and Migration Minister Van den Brink aims to send the House a policy response to the report by the Dutch Safety Board (Onderzoeksraad voor Veiligheid, OVV) before the budget debate. She said so in written answers to parliamentary questions, received on 27 October 2026.
The MPs cited a headline saying 7,000 children in asylum emergency shelter are structurally neglected. The minister agreed it is unacceptable for children to suffer possible permanent harm from a shortage of reception places. “Children must be received safely, with their physical and social safety and their development guaranteed,” she said.
The OVV concluded that conditions in emergency shelter do not meet the safeguards of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The minister called this “worrying” and said she takes it very seriously.
She said the OVV's recommendations are being studied carefully. They cover better conditions and safety at reception sites, and deeper changes to the asylum accommodation system. The response will set out how she plans to follow them up with the organisations involved. It will also include the results of the latest inventory by COA, the asylum seekers' reception agency.
Asked how soon children can leave emergency shelter for regular reception, the minister said the policy response will answer that. She pointed to continuing work to create enough permanent places, including through the Spreidingswet, the dispersal law. COA has carried out two inventories of children's conditions at reception sites; the latest was published on 11 September 2026.
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COA (Centraal Orgaan opvang asielzoekers)
The independent government body that houses and looks after asylum seekers while their applications are processed. It runs reception centres across the country and falls under the minister responsible for asylum and migration.
Spreidingswet
The law that spreads the reception of asylum seekers across Dutch municipalities. Each province and municipality is asked to provide a share of the places; a municipality that does not can be placed under supervision and, in the end, instructed by the minister.
OVV (Onderzoeksraad voor Veiligheid)
The Dutch Safety Board is the independent Dutch body that investigates accidents, disasters and other serious incidents to find out what caused them and what lessons can be learned. It does not assign blame or prosecute; it publishes reports with recommendations for government, organisations and other parties. Ministers are expected to respond formally to its reports, which is why a government reply to an OVV report is often reported as a policy response.