Municipal costs incurred through the reform of the Lower Saxony Equal Opportunities for Disabled Persons Act
Niedersächsisches Ministerium für Soziales, Arbeit, Gesundheit und Gleichstellung
ongoing
Prof Dr Thorsten Ingo Schmidt
In December 2021, Lower Saxony Equal Opportunities for Disabled Persons Act (NBGG) was reformed. As a result, the municipalities of Lower Saxony faced new tasks to ensure the achievement of equal participation of people with disabilities. Since then, a disagreement has ensued between the State of Lower Saxony and local community associations. The question is whether and to what extent these newly assigned tasks result in an increased financial burden for local municipalities, for which the state should compensate them.
Lower Saxony’s Social, Employment, Health and Equal Opportunities Ministry charged Prognos with the task of compiling an expert report that would provide a fact-based decision-making basis for both parties.
The expert report should identify the central cost effects for municipalities of the last changes to the NBGG. On this basis, the actual costs involved in the implementation of the new elements of the law are estimated in a qualified way.
Firstly, Prognos analysed all relevant documents. We then conducted expert interviews with various stakeholders to create a list with the potential cost-effective impacts the change in law has in the municipalities. An online survey of a sample of Lower Saxon municipalities follows, from which the results are extrapolated that then form the basis for a qualified estimate of costs.
In the context of the legal scientific evaluation, the Prognos project team is supported by Prof Dr Thorsten Ingo Schmidt from the University of Potsdam.
In addition, there are regular steering committee meetings, with representatives from the State of Lower Saxony, local community organisations, reference communes as well as people with disabilities.
Project team: Jan-Felix Czichon, Patrick Frankenbach, Rahel Reemtsma, Jan Tiessen
Latest update: 31.10.2023
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