Early warning

Municipality of Woensdrecht

Woensdrecht municipality is fighting against poverty. Creditors such as health insurers, housing associations and energy companies notify the municipality via an application if a resident is in arrears with payments from the relevant party. The municipality then offers help.

Last change on 15th of May 2025, at 8:19 (CET) | Publication Standard 1.0

• Publication category: Impactful algorithms
• Impact assessment: Field not filled in.
• Status: In use

General information

Theme

Social Security

Begin date

07-2021

Contact information

[e-mail]

Responsible use

Goal and impact

Woensdrecht municipality is fighting against poverty. With the algorithm, the municipality receives signals about payment arrears from housing corporations, health insurers, energy and/or water companies. Efforts are made to help residents who have payment arrears and/or are at risk of falling into debt situations as early as possible, thus preventing further poverty problems. If the financial problems are still small, advice can sometimes already be a good solution.

Considerations

Under the Municipal Debt Assistance Act (Wgs), early signalling is a legal duty for municipalities to actively approach residents with impending debt/poverty problems and offer help. Housing landlords, drinking water companies, energy suppliers and/or health insurers alert the municipality if they see that their customers are not paying their bills. They do not need their customer's permission to do so first. The companies and agencies signal if their own efforts do not resolve arrears, for example by making personal contact and offering a payment arrangement. These alert notifications are automatically forwarded to the municipality. Alternatively, creditors could manually submit the warning notification to the municipality, but this ultimately has the same outcome.

Data sharing is done in a secure manner: only necessary data is shared and the data is not visible to anyone other than designated staff. A resident can ultimately choose whether or not to use the municipal assistance offer.

Human intervention

Based on a notably the level of arrears, the system makes an independent (automated) choice, for instance to classify the signal as 'to follow up with an email or letter' or 'to follow up by inviting someone for an interview'. After that process of data matching (the 'matching'), there is a moment of human oversight and a check that that matching is correct. From the moment the report is forwarded to a social worker, the process is no longer automated. After a signal from, say, a landlord, the municipality itself can invite someone with debt problems for a meeting. Indeed, any signal must be followed by some 'offer of help'. However, a person may refuse the municipality's help.

Risk management

The registration and information system 'RIS Matching' and the direction system 'RIS Vroeg Eropaf' - both web applications - are provided by XXLLNC. They regularly carry out security tests to check that the system cannot be hacked. Data protection (AVG) and information security (legal and other) requirements are met.

Legal basis

Municipal Debt Relief Act (Wgs): since 1 January 2021, early signalling is a statutory duty for municipalities.

Operations

Data

Name, address, e-mail address, possible presence of resident minor children, signalling of a payment arrears of more than 30 days with a housing association, utility company or health insurers, as well as amount and duration of such payment arrears.

Technical design

The creditor makes a notification in the registration and information system RIS Matching. Once a month, all new notifications are checked by an employee of the municipality. It then checks whether there are multiple debt arrears within one household. After this, the automated process with the algorithm stops. Then, using the RIS Vroeg Eropaf control system, the municipality contacts the resident in a manner appropriate to the level of arrears to offer help.

External provider

XXLLNC