Budget Memorandum 2027: what the national budget means for your municipality, and the questions for your council in November

On Budget Day, 15 September 2026, the Dutch government presented the 2027 Budget Memorandum (Miljoenennota) and the draft budgets. Since that afternoon the figures have also been available as open data on rijksfinancien.nl. On 16 September we asked BEVER, our AI colleague for municipal decision-making, to put the 2027 draft budget next to the 2026 one and to read the explanatory memorandum on the Municipalities Fund (Gemeentefonds). This article is the result: what the national budget means for municipalities, and which questions a municipal council should put to its executive board in November when it debates its own budget.

Two reading rules first. The open data of the national budget states amounts in thousands of euros; we always give the figure from the source and the conversion. And every figure carries the budget line or parliamentary paper it comes from, as consulted on 16 September 2026. Where something is not in the source, we say so instead of estimating.

In five points

1. The Municipalities Fund grows to € 49.96 billion in 2027, but the decline starts in 2028. The sum of all lines of chapter B rises from 47,525,903 (× € 1,000) in the 2026 draft budget to 49,955,681 in the 2027 draft budget: +5.11%. The multi-year series in the explanatory memorandum then shows a decline to 47,199,774 in 2028 and 45,845,031 in 2031. (Open data chapter B, draft budgets 2026 and 2027; parliamentary paper 37020-B no. 2, table 1.)
2. Youth care and social support (Wmo) appear nowhere as separate lines. That money sits unspecified in the general grant of 43,991,633 (× € 1,000), € 43.99 billion. Anyone looking for a "youth care budget" in the national budget will not find one. (Open data line B.1.1.14.692223.U.)
3. For the Wmo, € 265.7 million is added once in 2027, and from 2029 € 1.01 billion a year is taken away structurally. The explanatory memorandum books "Postponement of the income-dependent personal contribution Wmo" (+265,700) in 2027 and "CA 44 Domestic help under the Wmo with safety net" (−1,010,000) in 2029, 2030 and 2031. (Parliamentary paper 37020-B no. 2, table 1.)
4. Climate money for municipal implementation capacity runs out after 2027. "Capacity of decentralised governments for climate and energy policy (CDOKE)" stands at 666,340 in 2026 and 670,515 (× € 1,000), € 670.5 million, in 2027, and at 0 from 2028 to 2031. (Parliamentary paper 37020-B no. 2, table 1.)
5. Central government expects decentralised governments to stay in deficit. The Budget Memorandum projects the EMU balance of decentralised governments at −€ 1.1 billion in 2026 and 2027, rising to −€ 1.3 billion in 2030 and 2031. (Parliamentary paper 37020 no. 2, annexes to the Budget Memorandum, table 1.1.)

The Municipalities Fund: 2027 next to 2026

Chapter B of the national budget, article 1, draft budget phase (OWB). Amounts from the source × € 1,000.

The sum is our own addition of the lines in the open data; the source has no total line. The lines "Sheltered housing Z" and "Participation S" are 0 in 2026 and no longer appear in 2027. The growth sits almost entirely in the general grant: the explanatory memorandum lists the 2027 accres tranche of 2,166,382 (× € 1,000), € 2.17 billion, plus 94,911 accres for Sheltered housing.

Note the difference between two "2026 positions": the 2026 draft budget (open data) comes to 47,525,903, whereas the 2027 explanatory memorandum gives a 2026 position of 48,316,012. The second figure starts from the 2026 budget position in the memorandum (47,531,353) plus the first supplementary budget 2026 (430,024) and the changes for 2026 booked in this budget (354,635). Both are correct; they measure at different moments.

The indexation system (normeringssystematiek) determines the annual growth. The explanatory memorandum describes it as follows (our translation): "The indexation system means that since 2024 the development of the fund has been linked to the development of nominal gross domestic product. The indexation is split into a volume part and a price part. The volume development of the fund is based on an 8-year (t-9 to t-2) historical average of GDP development, which makes the fund fluctuate less." Central government, the Association of Netherlands Municipalities (VNG) and the provinces (IPO) will evaluate the system in early 2027 over the years 2024 to 2026, and again in 2029.

Provinces Fund and VAT Compensation Fund

The Provinces Fund (chapter C) grows from 3,696,842 to 4,069,723 (× € 1,000), € 3.70 to € 4.07 billion (+10.09%). Striking is the doubling of the decentralisation grants: from 259,230 to 539,488 (+108%). The general grant rises from 3,437,512 to 3,530,135 (+2.69%).

The VAT Compensation Fund is on the Finance budget (chapter IX, article 6). The contribution to municipalities rises from 4,042,000 to 4,556,236 (× € 1,000), € 4.04 to € 4.56 billion (+12.72%); the contribution to provinces from 439,648 to 474,043 (+7.82%).

Social domain: youth care and Wmo

In the figures of the Municipalities Fund there is no line "youth care" and no line "Wmo". Those resources sit in the general grant. The only separate item in the social domain is the integration grant Sheltered housing (see the table above). On the budget of the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport (chapter XVI) there is one contribution to decentralised governments for youth under "Other": 80,607 in 2026 and 85,151 in 2027 (× € 1,000), € 85.2 million, so no operating budget.

The explanatory memorandum on the Municipalities Fund does contain changes that affect the social domain:

• "Compensation scheme for unintended youth care costs": −60,000 in 2026.
• "Indexation Wmo demographics 2026": +75,000 per year, structural.
• "Postponement of the income-dependent personal contribution Wmo": +265,700, in 2027 only.
• "CA 44 Domestic help under the Wmo with safety net": −1,010,000 per year in 2029, 2030 and 2031.

The memorandum also announces follow-up research into the distribution of the clusters Individual provisions Youth, Individual provisions Wmo and Basic social provisions, following the revision of the distribution model as of 1 January 2027 (letter to parliament of 28 May 2026, parliamentary paper 36800-B no. 25).

Climate and energy

The budget fund for climate (chapter M) is called "Climate and Energy Fund" in the 2027 draft budget; in 2026 it was called "Climate Fund". The sum of the chapter rises from 480,063 to 772,177 (× € 1,000), € 480 to € 772 million (+60.85%). That chapter contains no lines for municipalities: it feeds the budgets of line ministries. The item "Sustainability of the built environment" stands at 0 in 2027 (76,016 in 2026). The chapter is also not the same as government-wide climate spending, which sits on the departmental budgets.

What counts for municipalities is above all the addition to the Municipalities Fund: "Capacity of decentralised governments for climate and energy policy (CDOKE)", 670,515 (× € 1,000) in 2027, after 666,340 in 2026 (table 11, decentralisation grants), and 0 in the years thereafter. So the money is not new, but not extended either. On the budget of Housing and Spatial Planning (chapter XXII) the National Programme for Local Heat Transition stays at 9,000 in both years; the line "NIP (Local approach to home insulation)" is 0 in both years; "Sustainability Groningen and North Drenthe insulation and ventilation" rises from 126,718 to 141,140.

Housing

On chapter XXII the emphasis shifts to large-scale areas. Amounts × € 1,000, draft 2026 → draft 2027:

That last decline is not a cut: the explanatory memorandum on the Municipalities Fund books "Housing Governance Act" as an addition to the fund, 65,922 in 2026 and 59,172 per year from 2027 (€ 56 million structural from the housing ministry, plus € 10 million in 2026 and € 3 million structural from 2027 from the health ministry). A general "Start-construction impulse" does not appear as a line in the 2027 draft budget.

Work and income, reception, safety

• Social assistance. The macro budget for Participation Act benefits (BUIG) on the Social Affairs budget rises from 7,945,994 to 8,297,777 (× € 1,000), € 7.95 to € 8.30 billion (+4.43%).
• Civic integration. "Municipalities civic integration provisions" rises from 289,645 to 303,679 (+4.85%).
• Single earners. The temporary single-earner scheme rises from 28,918 to 34,055.
• Debts. On the Interior budget, "Remission of public debts" (contribution to decentralised governments) halves from 40,000 to 20,000.
• Libraries. The Municipalities Fund receives 62,045 in 2027 for public libraries (2026: 59,282), according to the memorandum an incidental transfer from the education ministry following the amended Public Library Provisions Act.
• Reception. On the Asylum and Migration budget, "Asylum chain partnerships" rises from 25,103 to 66,069; "Other contribution to decentralised governments" is new at 45,000 (no line in 2026).
• Organised crime. On Justice and Security, "Tackling undermining crime" (contribution to decentralised governments) rises from 146,835 to 262,051 (+78.47%).
• New at the Interior ministry. A "Community Fund" (subsidy scheme) of 30,000 in 2027; that line did not exist in 2026.

The multi-year picture

The open data only contains the budget year itself. For the years after, the explanatory memorandum is the source. "Position draft budget 2027" for the Municipalities Fund, × € 1,000:

From 2027 to 2028 that is a decline of 2,755,907, € 2.76 billion; from 2027 to 2031 of € 4.11 billion. The Budget Memorandum itself shows, in its horizontal development, "Municipalities Fund and Provinces Fund (including accres)" as 53, 54, 54, 54, 57 and 59 billion euros for 2026 to 2031, in current prices. That series rises where the fund series falls: in our reading, the difference lies in accres and price adjustments not yet allocated. A council does well to know both series.

The memorandum further mentions: two municipalities with article 12 status (paid out 26,102 in 2024 and 19,480 in 2025); the bill to revise the grant system of financial relations, submitted on 6 July 2026 (parliamentary paper 36988), which introduces a new type of grant, the special fund grant, as an alternative to the specific grant; and a Cooperation Agenda that the government is drawing up with the umbrella organisations in response to the Council for Public Administration's advisory reports "Afrekenen met Disbalans" and "Meters maken met medebewind". An upscaling discount (opschalingskorting) does not appear in the table of changes in the 2027 explanatory memorandum.

Ten questions for the council in November

1. Accres. Has the executive processed the September 2026 circular one-to-one, and how does the GDP indexation (volume part on an eight-year average) compare with our own wage and price increases in 2027? A good answer specifies the municipality's share of the € 2.17 billion accres tranche and compares it with collective-agreement and procurement indexation.
2. Youth care. What volume and cost development is the executive steering on, now that youth care has no line of its own in the national budget and a correction of −€ 60 million was booked in 2026? A good answer sets own spending against the calculated share in the cluster Individual provisions Youth and states the size of the social domain reserve.
3. Wmo. Has the one-off addition of € 265.7 million in 2027 been booked as incidental, and what is the local share of the cut of € 1.01 billion per year from 2029 on domestic help? A good answer contains a multi-year estimate and the policy options being prepared.
4. Climate. Which staff and programmes are currently paid from CDOKE (666,340 in 2026, 670,515 in 2027), and what happens to them on 1 January 2028, when that national contribution stands at 0? A good answer names FTEs, projects and the funding after 2027.
5. Housing. Is the municipality applying for the schemes for large-scale housing areas (€ 624.75 million), the realisation incentive (€ 378.5 million) or the Housing Construction Impulse (€ 100 million), and how has the addition for the Housing Governance Act (€ 59.2 million nationally) been deployed locally? A good answer links applications to concrete projects and staffing.
6. Social assistance and debts. Does the estimated BUIG budget match the national macro budget of € 8.30 billion, and what does the halving of the national contribution for debt remission (€ 40 to € 20 million) mean for our debt assistance? A good answer shows the safety-net or surplus position and the consequences for minimum-income policy.
7. Reception and civic integration. Are the costs of reception and civic integration covered by the specific grants (civic integration € 303.7 million nationally; asylum chain partnerships € 66.1 million), or is the municipality topping up from general funds? A good answer is a closed cost-benefit statement per task.
8. Financial resilience. How do our reserves and resilience ratio relate to the national projection of an EMU deficit of € 1.1 billion for all decentralised governments together? A good answer contains the current resilience capacity under the BBV accounting rules and the risks in the social domain, land development and interest.
9. Multi-year perspective. Is the € 2.76 billion decline of the Municipalities Fund in 2028 processed in our multi-year budget, and which savings is the executive preparing? A good answer books the declining national series, without placeholders for compensation that has not yet been laid down.
10. The council's information position. What does the bill to revise the grant system (parliamentary paper 36988) with the special fund grant mean for steering and control by the council? A good answer describes how the council keeps a grip on this new type of grant through the programme budget and the lawfulness statement.

What is not in these figures

• No amount per municipality. The open data contains macro amounts. What your municipality receives is in the Municipalities Fund circulars.
• No lines for youth care and Wmo. These sit unspecified in the general grant.
• No multi-year projection in the open data. Only the budget year itself; the years 2028–2031 come from the explanatory memorandum.
• No municipal climate money in chapter M. The Climate and Energy Fund feeds ministries; CDOKE is in the Municipalities Fund.
• No Start-construction impulse as a line in the 2027 draft budget.
• No upscaling discount in the table of changes of the 2027 explanatory memorandum.
• No outturn. Draft budgets are projections; underspending and cash shifts are not visible here.
• A data pitfall. The open data portal returns an HTTP 404 with an empty list for a non-existent budget year or a misspelled chapter name. In 2027, moreover, the commas have disappeared from chapter names ("Volksgezondheid Welzijn en Sport") and chapter M has a new name. Anyone using the old names sees an empty chapter and concludes that nothing has been budgeted.

Sources

All figures: open data of the national budget, budget tables, phase OWB (draft budget), expenditure (vuo=U), consulted on 16 September 2026, amounts × € 1,000. Each line is identified by its index (chapter.article.component.instrument.sequence number).

• Municipalities Fund: draft 2026 · draft 2027 — general grant B.1.1.14.666464.U / B.1.1.14.692223.U; decentralisation grants 666465 / 692224; Sheltered housing R 666470 / 692227; Participation R 666471 / 692228.
• Provinces Fund: draft 2026 · draft 2027 — C.1.1.14.666474/666475.U and C.1.1.14.692232/692233.U.
• VAT Compensation Fund (chapter IX, article 6): draft 2026 · draft 2027 — IX.6.0.1.667510/667511.U and IX.6.0.1.693102/693103.U.
• Climate Fund / Climate and Energy Fund: draft 2026 · draft 2027 — Sustainability of the built environment M.6.0.97.667158.U / 692750.U.
• Interior and Kingdom Relations: draft 2026 · draft 2027 — debt remission VII.12.0.14.666840.U / 692564.U; Community Fund VII.1.4.1.692551.U.
• Housing and Spatial Planning: draft 2026 · draft 2027 — large-scale housing areas XXII.1.2.14.666056.U / 691732.U; realisation incentive 666063 / 691739; Housing Construction Impulse 666062 / 691738; land facility 666064 / 691740; student housing start-construction impulse 666058 / 691734; NPLV XXII.1.1.14.666044.U / 691717.U; implementation costs governance XXII.1.1.14.666043.U / 691716.U; NPLW XXII.2.1.14.666103.U / 691784.U; NIP 691785; Groningen insulation 666109 / 691793.
• Social Affairs and Employment: draft 2026 · draft 2027 — BUIG XV.2.0.11.665557.U / 691219.U; civic integration XV.13.0.19.665554.U / 691217.U; single earners XV.2.0.19.665579.U / 691240.U.
• Health, Welfare and Sport (without commas in 2027): draft 2026 · draft 2027 — youth XVI.5.30.9.665800.U / 691470.U.
• Asylum and Migration: draft 2026 · draft 2027 — XX.37.4.3.666010.U / 691679.U; 691680.U.
• Justice and Security: draft 2026 · draft 2027 — undermining crime VI.33.3.3.666600.U / 692359.U.
• Explanatory memorandum, Municipalities Fund budget 2027, Kamerstukken II 2026/27, 37020-B, no. 2: zoek.officielebekendmakingen.nl/kst-37020-B-2 — table 1 (changes and multi-year position), indexation system, article 12, bill 36988.
• Budget Memorandum 2027, Kamerstukken II 2026/27, 37020, no. 1: kst-37020-1 — horizontal development per budget chapter.
• Annexes to the Budget Memorandum 2027, Kamerstukken II 2026/27, 37020, no. 2: kst-37020-2 — table 1.1, EMU balance of decentralised governments.
• Bill to revise the grant system of financial relations, Kamerstukken II 2025/26, 36988, no. 2: kst-36988-2.

Why this was done with BEVER and not with a general-purpose chatbot

An honest note first: BEVER is not smarter than a general-purpose chatbot. The difference lies in the sources it reads and in the checks around it. Five points.

1. BEVER reads the budget statements itself. Not a summary or a loose PDF page, but the open data of rijksfinancien.nl, per chapter and per line, with the line number attached. That is why every amount in this piece has an address: B.1.1.14.692223.U is the 2027 general grant, 43,991,633 (× € 1,000). A chatbot without access to that source can name an amount, but cannot make it verifiable.
2. Traceability is the product. Every figure carries the source line or the parliamentary paper number and the date consulted. In this conversation, a citation check also ran on the cited parliamentary papers to test whether the source exists and whether the quotation is in it. If you do not believe it, open the query in the source list and count for yourself.
3. A missing figure is called "not budgeted in this source". No estimate, no figure from another year and no figure from another tier of government. That is why this piece has no youth-care amount per municipality: the Municipalities Fund has no "youth care" line; those resources sit in the general grant. This working rule has been active since today.
4. BEVER links a proposal, the earlier decisions of the same body, the statutory text and the budget annex. For this article it used only the budget annex of those (the national budget), supplemented with the Budget Day parliamentary papers; in your municipality your own council documents are added. The question "what does the end of CDOKE mean for our climate programme" can then be answered with your own documents next to the national line, instead of with a generic text.
5. All customer data is stored on our own servers in EU data centres (Hetzner), no hyperscaler. Zero data retention has been agreed contractually with the model providers. Council documents that are not yet public are therefore stored on infrastructure that PrudAI manages itself; what a model sees to produce an answer falls under that zero-data-retention agreement.

It is precisely because of those sources and those checks that the editors could find the six errors (five in the comparison with 2026, one statement about 2027; see the closing section) within a quarter of an hour: every line had an address, so every line could be looked up. Without an address there would have been nothing to check against.

About this analysis

This analysis was produced on 16 September 2026 with BEVER, PrudAI's AI colleague for municipal decision-making, in three consecutive assignments: the figures of the Municipalities Fund and the other funds, the departmental budgets and explanatory texts, and the translation into council questions. BEVER links a proposal, the earlier decisions of the same body, the statutory text and the budget annex; for this article it used the open data of the national budget and the Budget Day parliamentary papers. The editors then checked every figure line against the source again. Six statements were corrected or omitted: five comparisons with 2026 in which BEVER had recorded a line as "0" or "not specified" where the source said otherwise, and one statement about the 2027 Climate and Green Growth budget ("no contributions to decentralised governments") that was incorrect; the 2026 line numbers in its source list were replaced by the correct ones; all 2027 amounts that appear in this piece proved correct; four interpretations of the parliamentary papers (among them the flat-rate personal contribution and "the upscaling discount has definitively been scrapped") were not in the source and were left out. What you read here is therefore what BEVER found, checked by the editors and supplemented on a few points from the same sources. All PrudAI customer data is stored on our own servers in EU data centres. More about BEVER: prudai.com/bever.