DUTCH GOV’T QUITS OVER CHILD WELFARE FRAUD SCANDAL

The Dutch government has resigned amid a scandal that saw thousands of families wrongly accused of child welfare fraud, Rosanne Roobeek, James Frater and Niamh Kennedy reported for CNN.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte announced the Cabinet's resignation in an address Friday, saying that responsibility for the scandal "ultimately rests with the incumbent Cabinet and nowhere else."

The Dutch premier was clear that financial compensation for the affected parents is the "the first thing that needs to be properly arranged."

Under the scandal, around 10,000 families in the Netherlands were told to repay tens of thousands of euros of subsidies after being wrongly accused of child welfare fraud.

Rutte made his speech in the aftermath of the publication of a report by the Parliamentary Interrogation Committee on Childcare Allowance, which he called "very tough, but fair."

He added: "On all levels throughout the political-administrative-legal system, mistakes have been made that have resulted in great injustice to thousands of parents."

Elections for a new government will take place in mid-March he announced, saying that until then, the current administration will stay on and "can be expected to do what is necessary in the national interest."

WEEKLY FEATURE : JOSE MARI CHAN AND THE CHRISTMAS ANTHEM