State Secretary Pouw-Verweij (VWS): “It is unacceptable that people with disabilities still experience problems with, for example, traveling by public transport, finding work or an accessible home, or with social activities. It is a human right to be able to participate in society on an equal footing, so there is still a lot of work to be done. With this work agenda, we are taking the first steps. People with disabilities are involved as much as possible, and I want to continue to work closely with them in the future.”

In primary and secondary education, the possibilities for tailored support are being expanded, and it is ensured that every student who needs extra support can have a say in this, by introducing a legal right to be heard from August 1, 2025.

In addition, the government is committed to making culture and media more accessible for people with physical or cognitive disabilities. A Knowledge Point for Accessible Culture will be established, and a financial scheme will be launched to enhance accessibility and inclusion within the culture and media sector.

A known bottleneck for people with lifelong disabilities is that they have to repeatedly prove that they need a certain form of care and support, while their care needs are clear and do not change. To avoid unnecessary re-assessments, the Ministry of VWS, VNG, and ZN are coming up with a joint action plan to encourage municipalities to issue indications with a longer duration.

Another improvement is the integral approach to a care request, according to the always the right door principle. Involved parties make cooperation agreements so that they can help people wherever they turn with their help request. The Ministry of VWS will start a study this year in several municipalities on how this can work best in practice, together with implementation organizations, municipalities, and care parties.

The work agenda includes several measures aimed at reducing the differences between municipalities. The Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment (SZW) is looking at how the procedures and conditions for applications for work provisions can be aligned more nationally. In this same context, the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management (I&W) is investigating together with municipalities whether clear agreements can be made regarding exemption stickers for adapted bicycles, so that expenses and applications in municipalities can be aligned.

The Ministry of Justice and Security (J&V) is focusing on improving the physical and digital accessibility of organizations where people can go for first-line legal aid, such as the Legal Aid Office. This also applies to the accessibility of the judiciary.

Additionally, care and safety organizations are collaborating with the ministries of J&V and VWS to improve accessibility to information about places where people with disabilities can go who are victims of violence, abuse, or neglect. Furthermore, there is a focus on better inclusive risk and crisis communication, such as the NL-Alert app for people with hearing and visual impairments.

To assess whether we are doing the right things and continue to do so, the target group will be involved as much as possible. For the creation of the work agenda, 50 organizations representing various groups of people with disabilities were invited. All ministries have also invited experts with specific expertise in their policy areas. In the follow-up, people with disabilities will continue to participate in discussions about the implementation of the measures. This should noticeably improve the position of people with disabilities in the coming years.