Last year, municipalities received 380,000 payment arrears from energy suppliers, drinking water companies, health insurers and homeowners. This is reported by social services association Divosa this Monday in the report Early Signaling Debt Monitoring, which was attended by more than 200 municipalities.
According to the monitor, three quarters of the signals were recorded in a follow-up file and residents were approached in 17% (39,000) of the cases. At that time aid was accepted for almost eight thousand files. This is 3% of the total number of files on the monitor.
Municipalities had an average of three payment arrears per thousand inhabitants per month. About a quarter of the files contain multiple signals. These are mostly signals from health insurers (51%).
Divosa states that the monitor does not contain data for all municipalities in 2021. The number of residents who accept help through early detection will therefore be greater in absolute numbers.
Since 2021, municipalities are obliged to approach residents who are legally in arrears early with a debt counseling proposal. The Divosa monitor maps these efforts per municipality.
The aim is to support municipalities in their search for an effective method to help people in financial difficulties.
Source: NU
John Cameron is a journalist at The Nation View specializing in world news and current events, particularly in international politics and diplomacy. With expertise in international relations, he covers a range of topics including conflicts, politics and economic trends.
