Art. 45 questions: Possible problems with passports?

Translated questions:
Last month, NOS reported that structural problems in the issuing of passports
have come to light. Some criminal in nature others purely due to work pressure and
procedural errors.

A letter from State Secretary Van Huffelen outlines the problems. In the
light of this reporting and the fact that GroenLinks ris receiving signals that some of the
problems also apply to Zwolle we would like to ask the Mayor a number of questions;

1. Is the Mayor familiar with the letter from State Secretary Van Huffelen and,
   If so, have any actions already been taken as a result of the letter?
   
2. Are there any signs that within our municipality authentic, but non legitimate passports/identity cards or driving licenses were issued?
   
3. Are Quality samples taken from documents supplied by the municipality (as mentioned in Van Huffelen’s letter) Or is the Mayor prepared to do so to ensure the quality of
   identity documents and procedures? Can the results be shared with the council?
   
4. In Zwolle additional manpower has been temporarily deployed in order to
   strengthen and reduce the workload. In what ways have these
   employees been trained so that they are well aware of the correct procedures,
   software and requirements for identity documents?
   
5. GroenLinks is receiving signals that recently issued passports in Zwolle do not meet
   the correct standards and (quality) requirements. Travellers from Zwolle are being told by the Royal Military Police (our border guards) that applying for a new passport is the best solution, as otherwise they will suffer for the next 10 years when crossing a border (printing errors, non-compliant photos, etc.). Does the Mayor recognize these problems? And if so, what measures are being taken or have already been taken to solve these problems as soon as possible and/or prevent them in the future?
   
6. No doubt that some Zwolle residents have had to deal with identity documents that do not fully meet the standard requirements. Should they want to follow the advice of the Royal Military Police, in what way can municipality accommodate these individuals? For example, could they be able to
   request and receive a new document free of charge?
   
   On behalf of GroenLinks,
   Joey Boon
   
   On behalf of CDA,
   Maxim van der Veen

The following answers were received:

Translated answers:
We propose that you take note of the answers to the article 45 questions from GroenLinks
Zwolle and CDA Zwolle about ́Identity documents’.

Introduction:
GroenLinks and CDA have asked questions in response to reports about the structural problems that have come to light in the issuance of passports and the letter from State Secretary Van Huffelen outlining the problems. Also, the groups indicate that they have received signals that some of the problems are also occurring in Zwolle.

Key message
We answer the questions posed below.

Question 1
Is the Mayor familiar with the letter from State Secretary Van Huffelen and,
If so, have any actions already been taken as a result of the letter?

Answer:
The content of the letter is known to the Mayor and the department. Some of the actions mentioned
have already been implemented such as the VOG, the integrity statement and the annual self-assessment. The live enrollment (This is the recording of bio metric data of the citizen at the counter. With this we can ensure the integrity and quality of the facial image at the time of application) and the
certification of employees will be implemented in the future. In addition, we will pay extra attention in work meetings to the content of the letter and emphasized to employees the compliance with the procedures.

Question 2
Are there any signs that within our municipality authentic, but non legitimate passports/identity cards or driving licenses were issued?

Answer:
No these signals are not known.

Question 3
Are Quality samples taken from documents supplied by the municipality (as mentioned in Van Huffelen’s letter) Or is the Mayor prepared to do so to ensure the quality of identity documents and procedures? Can the results be shared with the council?

Answer:
In addition to the mandatory annual self-assessment, we do not conduct spot checks but it has been established for many years that the product specialist travel documents checks each application before it is digitally is sent to the Identity and Documents Department (part of the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations). Any errors this specialist discovers are corrected by the employee who made the application. After that the application is processed further.

Question 4
In Zwolle additional manpower has been temporarily deployed in order to strengthen and reduce the workload. In what ways have these employees been trained so that they are well aware of the correct procedures, software and requirements for identity documents?

Answer:
The temporary employees receive instructions from experienced colleagues. The procedures are
are of course well explained. In addition, there is a separation of functions, whereby the person who handles an application cannot be the same person who does the issuing. This is technically enforced in the application and issuing software. In addition, experienced employees monitor the
temporary employees. We are exploring where we can make this supervision a little more concrete and structural. In addition, temporary employees also receive basic training in which the requirements and procedures are covered. The Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations (BZK) and the Dutch Association for Civil Affairs, are working together to see where the process can be improved, or
what municipalities need to further ensure the security and integrity of the process.

Question 5
GroenLinks is receiving signals that recently issued passports in Zwolle do not meet
the correct standards and (quality) requirements. Travellers from Zwolle are being told by the Royal Military Police (our border guards) that applying for a new passport is the best solution, as otherwise they will suffer for the next 10 years when crossing a border (printing errors, non-compliant photos, etc.). Does the Mayor recognize these problems? And if so, what measures are being taken or have already been taken to solve these problems as soon as possible and/or prevent them in the future?

Answer:
For many years the travel document has not been produced by the municipality but at a
central location and under the auspices of the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations. It occasionally happens that there is technically something is not right with a document. For example, a misprint in a particular authenticity feature in a series of passports. Or like a chip malfunction in a series of ID cards in 2021. With passport photos, a matrix indicates whether a photo meets the requirements. In the cases that go wrong here usually involve borderline cases. For example, a mouth that is not completely closed, glasses that are still slightly reflecting, a headscarf that covers the face a little too much or a small child that cannot be photographed properly. But these are incidents. In all cases, we offer a new application at no charge. We obviously always strive to prevent these kinds of mistakes as much as possible.

Question 6
No doubt that some Zwolle residents have had to deal with identity documents that do not fully meet the standard requirements. Should they want to follow the advice of the Royal Military Police, in what way can municipality accommodate these individuals? For example, could they be able to
request and receive a new document free of charge?

Answer:
Yes and see answer question 5.

Publicity
This proposal is public.

Mayor and Aldermen of Zwolle,
chairman, Peter Snijders
Secretary, Dick Emmer