Inspectors from the departments of justice, education, and youth healthcare have again urged the caretaker asylum ministers to improve the situation of children living in emergency asylum centres.

Their living conditions have changed very little since 2023, when the inspectors first asked the ministry to intervene, the organisations said.

The children are lacking in education and coaching at the centres, the inspectors said, and too little attention is being paid to their health and safety. They also have little or no privacy.

The then-responsible junior minister, Eric van der Burg, stated that the problems were inherent in temporary accommodation, but that he was working diligently to find more permanent solutions.

However, the number of children in emergency accommodation has risen significantly, from 4,000 in August 2023 to 7,000 in the spring of this year. Most, but not all, are unaccompanied minors.

The inspectors have asked outgoing ministers Mona Keijzer and Eddy van Hijum to ensure the children have access to education.

They also said the ministers must provide a timeline for the scaling back of emergency accommodation in favour of permanent housing.

Stable, long-term financial support for refugee settlement agency COA is one of the conditions to achieve that goal, they said.