The Dutch government’s strategy for tackling discrimination in public services is disjointed and ineffective, a committee set up to examine the issue has warned.

The State Commission Against Discrimination and Racism called on members of parliament and cabinet ministers to take racism and discrimination seriously in their public statements and policymaking decisions.

“When politicians and government officials make implicit or explicit discriminatory statements about groups in Dutch society, it strengthens the impression that unequal treatment is justified.”

In an advisory letter to parliament, the commission said discriminatory behaviour by government agencies undermined the legal system and damaged the welfare of individuals and society.

It also said government institutions should review their policies and practices for potential discrimination. The student financing organisation DUO, the border control agency and Arnhem city council have already introduced voluntary systems.

The minister for home affairs should draw up a long-term plan to tackle discrimination in public services, the commission said. Civil servants who alerted the government to discriminatory policies should be better rewarded.

Childcare benefit scandal

The commission was set up in the wake of the childcare benefits scandal known in Dutch as the toeslagenaffaire, in which thousands of parents were wrongly accused by the tax office of defrauding the benefits system and ordered to pay back huge sums of money.

Many of the victims were dual nationals and cost of compensating those affected has already reached €9 million.

The government last year earmarked a further €61 million to repay people who suffered discrimination by DUO in its handling of applications for grants to live away from home.

DUO apologised last year for what it called “indirect discrimination” against students from high-migration areas, who were more likely to be investigated for allegedly claiming the benefit while living with their families.

The commission warned that future scandals and large-scale compensation schemes were likely unless the government tackled the problem robustly. “Discrimination is not an incident but a systemic problem in govermnent,” it said.