The education ministry is to cut the amount it spends on grants and subsidies by €75 million next year, rising to €360 million from 2029 and affecting the cultural sector, school sports and public broadcasters.

The measures were outlined by minister Eppo Bruins and his deputy Mariëlle Paul on Thursday, and follow a similar package published by the health ministry earlier in the week.

The new government is committed to reducing its budget for grants and subsidies by €1 billion and all ministries are faced with making cuts.

Some of the measures will be painful because they will lead to less support for school pupils but will result in less bureaucracy, the ministers said in their briefing to MPs. “We are well aware of the impact,” the ministers said.

The Dutch research organisation NOW faces a budget cut of €21 million, on top of reductions announced earlier and this will have a “possible negative impact” on reaching educational targets, Bruins said.

“The cuts may also damage the Netherlands’ competitive position,” he said.

The public broadcasters face an additional cut of €6.6 million. The coalition agreement includes a commitment to slash €100 million from the NPO budget. Local and regional broadcasters will also have €3 million less to spend.

Some €10 million is being cut from cultural sector subsidies, including money to stimulate entrepreneurship and boost culture education in schools. Some €8 million will be cut from the school sports budget, there will be less cash to support highly gifted children and no more money to support religious education at state schools.

A regional investment fund that helps prepare students at trade school for a career in the private sector will lose its entire budget of €27 million from 2028.