Victims of the childcare benefits scandal are unlikely to be helped until 2025 or 2026 unless they go to court, reports the Volkskrant.

More than 280 people have not had their requests handled within the legal maximum of a year and, the paper reports, if they go to court, they are likely to win because this rule has been breached.

Because of the lack of resources in the UHT help team, the paper predicts, parents taking legal action will be prioritised.

More than 55,000 people have reported themselves as potential victims or asked for their childcare benefits to be reassessed, after it was revealed that the Dutch tax and benefits office had incorrectly stamped tens of thousands of parents as fraudsters and forced them to pay back all benefits.

People with non-Dutch nationality were subject to extra scrutiny, and finance minister Marnix van Rij admitted in May that there was institutional racism in parts of the Dutch tax office.

How many parents have been compensated?

More than 25,000 parents are due compensation of €30,000 as a minimum, and 22,000 have received this payment.

In a trial in Utrecht, victims are being asked to determine themselves how much compensation they are owed for families broken, houses lost and years of debt.