Ever since the announcement of the energy surcharge in March, there has been a lot of noise around the allowance. The Cabinet advised municipalities not to give the allowance to students. Too expensive, said the responsible minister Carola Schouten in early October. Discrimination, it sounded in the country and several parties in the Second Chamber also raised their voices.
Since then, several municipalities - including Tilburg, Zwolle, Delft and Sittard-Geleen - tackled the issue. Partly because a judge in Nijmegen ruled that the municipality may not distinguish between students and non-students.
The municipality of Maastricht was not yet paying out anything. Alderman Meij has now received 1.6 million from the national government to also help students with energy costs. Meij estimates he can help about 1,500 students with this, he said last Tuesday night during the city council meeting. These are students who are at least 21 years old. In addition, they must live independently and cannot earn more than 120 percent of the social minimum (for singles over 21, this will be €291.10 per week in 2022). Students in student houses can also qualify for the subsidy, but then the energy contract must be in the name of one resident. They can then split the amount between them.
Maren Slangen, council member on behalf of the PvdA, is "positively surprised" about the plan, she says over the phone. This is mainly due to the fact that the municipality will also pay out to foreign students who meet the requirements. "The university has a very international student population. I'm glad the college is taking that into account."
Martin van Rooij, group chairman of M:OED, is less enthusiastic about the alderman's plan. His party thinks the requirements to qualify for the allowance are far too strict. "Many Maastricht students are younger than 21," he says. In addition, he thinks the 120 percent rule is very strict. "The student loan is taken into account when determining income. Whether you make use of this or not." Through a motion, M:OED asked the college last Tuesday night to ease the conditions from January 1 to April 1, 2023, but the motion received support only from the Socialist Party and the Party for the Animals.