THE HAGUE - State Secretary Van Huffelen, who was relegated to the relatively light portfolio of Kingdom Relations and Digitalization in The Hague's terms after her unsuccessful attempt to resolve the child allowance scandal in the Rutte IV cabinet, is taking on additional responsibilities as her term in office comes to an end. 

Due to the succession of Minister Bruins Slot, who has moved to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the tasks of the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations (BZK) are being redistributed, as stated in a letter sent to the Second

Chamber by De Jonge today: 

“Following Royal Decree no. 2023002066 dated September 4, 2023, a redistribution of portfolios has taken place within the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations. The State Secretary's portfolio has changed on a number of subjects. 

For the duration of this caretaker cabinet, political responsibility for the Policy Agenda for Housing and Spatial Planning in the Caribbean Netherlands will transfer from the Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations to the State Secretary for the Interior and Kingdom Relations. This means that the State Secretary will now take charge of further implementation of the Policy Agenda for Housing and Spatial Planning in the Caribbean Netherlands. This policy agenda, which was sent to your Chamber on January 26th of this year, contains proposed measures to build affordable and sustainable rental and owner-occupied homes, set the spatial direction, and bring the legal and informational foundation into order. At the end of this year, your Chamber will receive the first progress report. 

Additionally, the State Secretary will assume the role of coordinating authority for the follow-up to the apologies for the history of slavery. The Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations will maintain his involvement from his own portfolio, including addressing discrimination and racism, and will also participate in the ministerial steering group for this purpose. 

Furthermore, to ensure clarity in organizational management and the manageable scope of portfolios, matters related to the Civil Service will transition to the portfolio of the State Secretary for the Interior and Kingdom Relations. However, this does not include Procurement, Facilities, and State Real Estate Policy, due to their substantive connections with the State Real Estate Agency, which falls under the responsibilities of the Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations. 

The State Secretary for the Interior and Kingdom Relations will also be tasked with overseeing transparency of government operations due to the previously assigned responsibility for government information management. However, it should be noted that constitutional aspects of this, including the duty to provide information to parliament (Article 68 of the Constitution), remain within the purview of the Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations. 

Finally, the State Secretary for the Interior and Kingdom Relations will coordinate the progress report on the government-wide strategy for an effective approach to disinformation. 

The Decree Defining the Duties of the State Secretary for the Interior and Kingdom Relations will be announced in the Government Gazette in accordance with Article 3 of the Law and will retroactively come into effect on September 5, 2023.”