14 ANNUAL REPORT 2014 From an anonymous whistleblower at the municipality we received an internal cost-cutting plan which prepared the ground for marked reductions of municipal costs. The cost savings would be effected, among other things, by taking back 30-40 per cent of the children placed in foster care families. It did not appear from the plan how this was going to be carried out within the framework of the law (the Children’s Reform Act, to mention one). It is perfectly understandable that economically hard-pressed municipalities are searching for ways of cutting costs. But this was a case which had to cause real concern that the price of cutting costs would be a disregard for the basic rights of disadvantaged children. We had to give a serious warning, and the municipality said that the cost-cutting plan had not been and would not be carried out. The case is clearly an expression of a general problem in the municipalities which find it difficult to match economy and duties together, but this is not a problem which the Ombudsman can solve. As long as the municipalities stay within the law, they are quite free to adjust for example service levels upwards or downwards. But no cost-cutting needs can authorise a breaching of the law ‒ least of all when the conditions of disadvantaged children are at stake. In future, this will be one of our focus areas as well. Overall, the children’s sector is a high priority at the Ombudsman office, also by virtue of our Children’s Division. In a separate article in this Report, Legal Case Officer Mette Kildegaard Hansen recounts some children’s cases from Esbjerg Municipality which drew much public attention. IMPORTANT CASES WHICH DID NOT DRAW HEADLINES It can be difficult to foresee which cases will elicit great coverage and which cases do not capture the public’s attention. Cases which we feel should attract a wide interest may sometimes disappear quickly from the stage. And vice versa with regard to cases which in our opinion do not contain much in the way of important principles. I am going to mention a couple of cases in the first category from the reporting year; meaning cases which attracted little attention but which actually touched on important issues. A sensitive issue within the domain of immigration and refugee policy is how to deal with foreign national children who want to return to Denmark after having