The Netherlands’ Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate (ILT) has warned that it can no longer maintain the same level of supervision across all of its responsibilities, with financial constraints forcing it to make sharper choices over where inspectors and resources are deployed.
In its newly published 2027 annual plan, the authority confirms that supervision of dangerous-goods transport has already been reduced since 2026 and that the lower level of oversight will continue into next year.
The reduction comes as the ILT faces rising costs, investment requirements for new IT systems and an expanding range of statutory duties. Temporary funding for some activities is also ending, while the authority says it has not been fully compensated for cost increases.
A further government-wide spending reduction will add to that pressure. According to the annual plan, the ILT’s budget is expected to fall progressively as a result, with the additional reduction reaching €14.6 million by 2031.
Inspector-general Mattheus Wassenaar said the consequences would be noticeable.
“We can no longer provide the same level of supervision everywhere.”
The ILT says that where existing tasks are inadequately funded, it may have to stop carrying them out, reduce the intensity of enforcement or switch to what it calls “waakvlam” supervision — effectively maintaining only a minimal monitoring presence.
Less emphasis on transport, but road freight checks remain
The change does not mean that ordinary road-freight enforcement is being abandoned. For goods transport by road, the 2027 plan says ILT will continue concentrating on companies it considers to present the greatest risks. It intends to make greater use of digital tools, including number-plate recognition and remote tachograph data, so inspectors can identify potential offenders before deciding where to intervene.
The inspectorate also points to the second-generation smart tachograph. International HGVs weighing more than 2.5 tonnes are required to use the new equipment, which automatically records border crossings and can provide more information remotely. ILT says this should make its enforcement more efficient.
It will also continue working with the Dutch vehicle authority RDW and police through the Manipulation Expert Group to tackle tachograph tampering.
However, the broader direction of travel is clear. ILT states that over the coming four years it intends to put relatively more resources into environmental supervision and relatively less into transport, arguing that safety risks within the transport sector are generally already well managed.
Dangerous-goods transport singled out for reduced supervision
Dangerous-goods transport is one of the areas where the effect is already visible. ILT is responsible for supervising the movement of dangerous substances by road, rail, inland waterways, sea, air and pipeline. Its stated objective is to ensure risks are controlled throughout the chain, from production to waste processing.
For 2027, the authority says it will increasingly use data- and risk-led inspections, concentrating particularly on sectors where it expects intervention to have the greatest effect. Major companies handling large quantities of dangerous substances will receive particular attention.
At the same time, overall supervision of dangerous-goods transport remains one of the areas receiving less capacity because of the spending constraints.
The shift accompanies a broader change in ILT priorities. In 2027, additional emphasis will be placed on PFAS pollution, cyber and physical resilience of public infrastructure, environmental crime and enforcement against products imported through non-EU webshops that do not comply with European standards.
ILT’s total budget for 2027 is €251.6 million. The inspectorate and the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management will now review whether the authority has sufficient capacity to maintain a basic standard of supervision across its responsibilities, with the findings expected during 2027.
