Denmark to pay out withheld millions to integration projects
The government is to pay out millions of kroner in state support to integration projects and organisations after earlier withholding funding.
The money, which was placed on hold at the beginning of this year, will now be released and planned funding cuts of 27 million kroner will meanwhile be scrapped, immigration minister Kaare Dybvad Bek told newswire Ritzau on Friday.
Bek said organisations which are expecting the funding would be contacted.
“These are important efforts which span organisations from people who work against negative social control to crisis services to classic organisations like the Red Cross,” Bek said.
The grants were placed on hold because of an agreement to increase prison capacity in 2021. That agreement made for savings of 27 million kroner on integration, which were to be spent on the prison service.
The planned cuts meant that money for integration projects was withheld but an agreement has since been reached to cancel the cuts and release the money to the project for which it was originally intended, Bek confirmed.
A total of some 64 million kroner for 21 projects within 19 different organisations had been frozen according to an earlier report by newspaper Politiken.
Bek said that the plan had never been to cut as much as 64 million kroner from integration spending but that the entire amount had now been released.
Politiken has previously reported that the withheld funds have already had consequences in terms of job losses at at least one organisation.
“I will not hide the fact that I would have liked this to have been settled earlier. We’ll have to learn from that,” Bek said.
“The most important thing is that a decision has been made that gives these organisations their money for 2024 and they can continue their work,” he added.
Comments
See Also
The money, which was placed on hold at the beginning of this year, will now be released and planned funding cuts of 27 million kroner will meanwhile be scrapped, immigration minister Kaare Dybvad Bek told newswire Ritzau on Friday.
Bek said organisations which are expecting the funding would be contacted.
“These are important efforts which span organisations from people who work against negative social control to crisis services to classic organisations like the Red Cross,” Bek said.
The grants were placed on hold because of an agreement to increase prison capacity in 2021. That agreement made for savings of 27 million kroner on integration, which were to be spent on the prison service.
The planned cuts meant that money for integration projects was withheld but an agreement has since been reached to cancel the cuts and release the money to the project for which it was originally intended, Bek confirmed.
A total of some 64 million kroner for 21 projects within 19 different organisations had been frozen according to an earlier report by newspaper Politiken.
Bek said that the plan had never been to cut as much as 64 million kroner from integration spending but that the entire amount had now been released.
Politiken has previously reported that the withheld funds have already had consequences in terms of job losses at at least one organisation.
“I will not hide the fact that I would have liked this to have been settled earlier. We’ll have to learn from that,” Bek said.
“The most important thing is that a decision has been made that gives these organisations their money for 2024 and they can continue their work,” he added.
Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.
Please log in here to leave a comment.