Access to Belgium’s federal public service problematic – report

Long delays and difficult access plague the federal public services system in Belgium, the Federal Ombudsman’s annual report published on Monday reads.

The Federal Ombudsman is an independent body affiliated with the House of Representatives, whose mission includes investigating citizens’ complaints about federal public services and seeking solutions through dialogue.

In 2022, it recorded 8,321 complaints. While this represents a slight increase compared to 2021, it is a significant increase of about 30% more cases over the past five years. In 83% of complaints, the Ombudsman found a solution to the problem.

Citizens mainly complained that public services did not apply regulations correctly, that they had to wait too long for a decision or even a response, and that they could not get in touch with public services.

The Federal organism warned that the lack of access to public services was causing a decline in rights access and reinforcing certain inequalities.

Indeed, many citizens were faced with inaccessible public services in 2022, not being able to contact a public service on the phone or via email, not being able to make an appointment due to a lack of available time slots, and not being able to contact a public service other than through an online platform, to which not everyone has the knowledge or the infrastructure necessary to access.

“Despite the many advantages of digitisation and the measures taken to reduce the digital divide, the Federal Ombudsman continues to advocate that alternatives to digital contact should always be provided and that physical and telephone contact between citizens and the administration should be maintained,” the report reads.

Unemployment benefits were a significant issue, with 900 complaints directed at unemployment benefits payment organisms and unions. The Ombudsman also pointed out that some people who do not receive benefits quickly are already in a precarious financial situation.

The report also highlighted violations of the rights of foreigners, which increased sharply in 2022, along with the asylum crisis. Complaints about the rights of foreigners accounted for almost 40% of admissible complaints and are related to the structural problems of the Foreigners Office, the Ombudsman states. The delays had repercussions on these people’s rights and can make them fall into or maintain them in a precarious situation (work contract not extended, staying on the streets…).

“To date, there is no solution in sight,” the Ombudsman added.

The budgetary constraints that federal public services face can, in turn, compromise the objective of the service and cause a decline in access to rights and reinforce inequalities, two federal mediators underlined in a press release.

For better accessibility of public services, federal public services should use different communication means, react on time and limit waiting periods. Everyone, including the most vulnerable, should be able to access such services by phone, it adds.

(Anne-Sophie Gayet | EURACTIV.com)