National Ombudsman Reinier van Zutphen presented the joint annual report of the National Ombudsman, the Childrens Ombudsman, and the Veterans Ombudsman for 2024 to Vice Chairman Tom van der Lee on Thursday, June 19.

The 2024 annual report is titled Put the Citizen at the Center. Citizens want laws, regulations, and policies to solve their problems, and preferably to prevent their problems, according to the National Ombudsman prior to the handover. According to him, there is a clear role for politics here. Van Zutphen: If you promise too much, and you cannot deliver what you promise, then trust is even further away than it already was.

National Ombudsman

Citizens who have a complaint about the government can turn to the National Ombudsman. The ombudsmen - sometimes they are women, such as Childrens Ombudsman Margrite Kalverboer - strive to be as visible as possible in society. They visit schools, agencies, and provide workshops and training on topics such as complaint handling, conflict management, or the citizens perspective in the relationship between citizens and government.

The annual report for 2023 was titled Citizen Perspective: a Way of Doing. This was presented to the House of Representatives in May 2024. 

Read More and Watch Again

• Read the annual report of the National Ombudsman.
• Watch the presentation of the annual report again via External link:Debate Direct.