Danish parties urge investigation of heating cash sent to ineligible homes
Three Danish political parties say they want to scrutinise recent one-off cash payments intended to help billpayers cope with high energy costs, after reports that some payments were sent to ineligible households.
The three parties – the Social Liberals (Radikale Venstre), Red Green Alliance (Enhedslisten) and Socialist People’s Party (Socialistisk Folkeparti, SF) want an investigation to uncover the number of ineligible households that received the money, broadcaster TV2 reported.
All three parties are usual parliamentary allies to the minority Social Democratic government.
“If this is not investigated, you will have automatically thrown away the possibility of using this method again, so I expect [an investigation to take place],” Social Liberal energy spokesperson Rasmus Helveg Petersen told TV2.
SF’s finance spokesperson, Lisbeth Bech Nielsen, called for an investigation of the extent of the issue “if this can be done in a relatively simple way”.
The one-off payouts, agreed by parliament in March, were sent earlier this month to over 400,000 households which meet the criteria set to receive the relief.
Households with a collective pre-tax income of under 706,000 kroner were eligible for the one-off cash boosts, which are costing the government 2.4 billion kroner. Additionally, the household should be primarily heated by individual gas heaters, electronic radiators or be located in a district heating area in which the heating is produced by at least 65 percent gas.
READ ALSO: Denmark gives cash to 400,000 households hit by energy costs
However, concerns were last week raised that some ineligible households had received the payment. The government used an online database that relies on self-reported information from homeowners (which must also be confirmed by municipalities) to determine who was eligible.
Inaccuracies in the database meant some households that have since switched from gas to another heat source, or have even moved to a different residence altogether, received the cheques in error.
Investigation should focus on how well the database – known as the BBR register – worked during the process to determine who was eligible, Helveg Petersen said according to TV2.
The legislation that was passed earlier this year to provide for the payouts states that amounts not exceeding 6,000 kroner sent in error do not have to not be repaid.
The system’s goal was to get the money in the accounts of people who need it as quickly as possible without the delay and added expense of an application process, which could also exclude the most vulnerable, broadcaster DR wrote last week.
Climate, Energy and Critical Supplies Minister Dan Jørgensen said on Saturday that the government had set down plans for an investigation.
Jørgensen also said that the parties which voted the cash payouts through parliament in partnership with the government – including the Social Liberals, Red Green Alliance and SF – knew that the scheme carried a risk of erroneous payouts.
The minister has been summoned to parliamentary consultation over the issue.
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The three parties – the Social Liberals (Radikale Venstre), Red Green Alliance (Enhedslisten) and Socialist People’s Party (Socialistisk Folkeparti, SF) want an investigation to uncover the number of ineligible households that received the money, broadcaster TV2 reported.
All three parties are usual parliamentary allies to the minority Social Democratic government.
“If this is not investigated, you will have automatically thrown away the possibility of using this method again, so I expect [an investigation to take place],” Social Liberal energy spokesperson Rasmus Helveg Petersen told TV2.
SF’s finance spokesperson, Lisbeth Bech Nielsen, called for an investigation of the extent of the issue “if this can be done in a relatively simple way”.
The one-off payouts, agreed by parliament in March, were sent earlier this month to over 400,000 households which meet the criteria set to receive the relief.
Households with a collective pre-tax income of under 706,000 kroner were eligible for the one-off cash boosts, which are costing the government 2.4 billion kroner. Additionally, the household should be primarily heated by individual gas heaters, electronic radiators or be located in a district heating area in which the heating is produced by at least 65 percent gas.
READ ALSO: Denmark gives cash to 400,000 households hit by energy costs
However, concerns were last week raised that some ineligible households had received the payment. The government used an online database that relies on self-reported information from homeowners (which must also be confirmed by municipalities) to determine who was eligible.
Inaccuracies in the database meant some households that have since switched from gas to another heat source, or have even moved to a different residence altogether, received the cheques in error.
Investigation should focus on how well the database – known as the BBR register – worked during the process to determine who was eligible, Helveg Petersen said according to TV2.
The legislation that was passed earlier this year to provide for the payouts states that amounts not exceeding 6,000 kroner sent in error do not have to not be repaid.
The system’s goal was to get the money in the accounts of people who need it as quickly as possible without the delay and added expense of an application process, which could also exclude the most vulnerable, broadcaster DR wrote last week.
Climate, Energy and Critical Supplies Minister Dan Jørgensen said on Saturday that the government had set down plans for an investigation.
Jørgensen also said that the parties which voted the cash payouts through parliament in partnership with the government – including the Social Liberals, Red Green Alliance and SF – knew that the scheme carried a risk of erroneous payouts.
The minister has been summoned to parliamentary consultation over the issue.
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