More and more municipalities in Utrecht have created reception places for asylum seekers or will do so in the near future. They primarily focus on qualitatively good locations that remain available for a longer period, rather than emergency shelters for the short term. This is one of the reasons it takes longer to reach the number of places that the Utrecht municipalities must realize according to the Distribution Act.
This was communicated by the chairman of the Utrecht Provincial Migration and Integration Steering Table (PRT), Commissioner of the King Hans Oosters, to the Minister for Asylum and Migration Mona Keijzer in his progress report. The new reference date is July 1, 2025.
According to the distribution law, the Utrecht municipalities must realize a total of 8207 places, of which 696 for unaccompanied minor asylum seekers. As of July 1, a total of 4825 places have been realized. If the COA agrees to a number of extensions on existing locations and the upcoming projects progress, the number of places will grow further in the next six months. In the meantime, municipalities are continuously working on plans for new places. The focus is on qualitatively good and future-proof places.
Sustainable and Flexibly Usable Reception Places
One of the reasons it takes longer than municipalities would like is that creating sustainable places that remain available for a longer period takes more time. Commissioner of the King Hans Oosters Oosters: “Long-term reception takes time and care, but is ultimately a better solution than quickly organizing emergency shelters. Emergency shelters are expensive and residents do not experience peace. This hinders a good embedding in the environment. Moreover: when fewer asylum seekers come to the Netherlands and fewer places are needed, these can be used to house other people who urgently need shelter.”
In his letter to the minister, the commissioner gives as an additional reason the scarcity of development locations in the province of Utrecht. He also points out that existing decision-making and spatial procedures, which often have long lead times, have remained unchanged and the Distribution Act has not been accompanied by legal possibilities for acceleration. Additionally, the announcement of the intention to repeal the Distribution Act – shortly after the enactment of this law – causes uncertainty and delays.
Distribution Act
Hans Oosters: “I have again informed the minister that the Utrecht municipalities support the Distribution Act. By having a balanced distribution of reception locations, you bring peace and stability to asylum reception. In Utrecht, we see that the law works: in the coming two years, more municipalities than before will provide asylum reception locations.”
The commissioner expresses optimism in his letter to the minister: “Despite the mentioned obstacles, I am confident that we can realize a large part of the requested reception places for asylum seekers. A part has been realized in the first period of the Distribution Act. In the coming period, we will continue to work together to realize the ongoing initiatives.”
For press information:
karin.alberts@provincie-utrecht.nl
06 53 72 80 69