Exchange with Karsten Koch

There has long been a regular dialogue with the local members of the German Bundestag and the North Rhine-Westphalian state parliament. In the future, the Mayor of Beckum will also be involved with the Münster-based Landschaftsverband Westfalen-Lippe (LWL). The LWL has its own political representation in the form of the Regional Assembly, which is also known as the Westphalia Parliament. Karsten Koch has represented the district of Warendorf there since 2009 and has also been the SPD parliamentary group leader since the last local elections. He has now visited the mayor in the company of Beckum's SPD parliamentary group chairman Felix Markmeier-Agnesens.

In conversation with Michael Gerdhenrich, Koch emphasised that the Landschaftsverband receives little attention in the public eye, even though it primarily performs social tasks for around 8.3 million people. For example, the LWL supports over 110,000 people with a significant disability in Westphalia-Lippe. They receive integration assistance so that they can lead a self-determined life and participate in society on an equal footing with people without disabilities. The LWL will spend around 3.3 billion euros on this task in 2024, which will ultimately have to be paid by the local authorities via levies. This year, the town of Beckum will pay around 22.6 million euros to the district of Warendorf. This includes almost 12.3 million euros for services provided by the LWL.

The money flows (...) more than back.

Karsten Koch: "But this money is more than returned. After all, a total of 482 Beckum residents received LWL benefits for social participation and participation in working life in 2022. Around 14.4 million euros were paid out for this." If the amount of the LWL levy is criticised every year, then in his opinion this criticism is not directed against integration assistance, but against its financing. Mayor Gerdhenrich agreed with this: "Unlike in other federal states, the cities and municipalities in NRW are paying for this constantly growing task almost single-handedly. The ever-increasing costs associated with this are overburdening the municipal family. This also applies to the town of Beckum."

In addition to its social tasks, the LWL provides over 200 facilities such as psychiatric clinics, 35 specialised special schools and 18 diverse museums to ensure equal living conditions in Westphalia. It provides the state youth welfare office and is also responsible for the operation of psychiatric hospitals. In total, the Regional Association currently manages around 8 billion euros per year. "The LWL fulfils tasks that the districts and cities cannot take on themselves. This may be one explanation for the fact that although the LWL is an economic and political giant, it is less in the spotlight than cities and municipalities, for example, due to its special remit," says Koch.

Michael Gerdhenrich expressed his thanks for the exchange and took up the suggestion that the mayors' conference in the Warendorf district should also focus more on the services provided by the LWL in future. After all, the services also benefit the people in the district and therefore in Beckum.