The Hague coalition criticised on housing, welfare cuts and paid‑parking plan

The new municipal coalition in The Hague (Hart voor Den Haag, VVD, DENK and CDA) faced sharp criticism during the debate on its recently presented programme. Opposition parties questioned the coalition’s housing agenda, its approach to asylum‑seeker accommodation, and proposed cuts to social welfare measures such as the Ooievaarspas and home‑care services. They also challenged the plan to end temporary asylum‑seeker housing at the former Hagaziekenhuis and asked how the coalition would meet the national dispersal law.

Separately, residents of the Houtwijk neighbourhood launched an online petition objecting to the coalition’s decision to retain paid parking in their district, aligning its hours with the nearby ZKD business park despite a city‑wide halt to parking‑fee expansions elsewhere. The petition, signed by about 150 people in one day, urges the new city board to abandon the measure, citing lack of local support.