A change to the status of the district has been called for by the Vilvoorde and Halle authorities in recent years. The Regional Development Pact prepared by the Halle-Vilvoorde Regional Social Consultation Committee (RESOC) stresses the need for the Flemish Rand, and, by extension, the entire Halle-Vilvoorde district, to be granted a special status on a par with a regional capital. This status  would attract the additional public funding the RESOC claims is required to address the problems facing the region, such as traffic congestion, housing market pressures, the migration of non-Dutch speaking inhabitants, rising youth unemployment and the need for more educational and welfare facilities. The office of Geert Bourgeois (N-VA), the Flemish Minister for the Rand, says regional capital status for the area is not in keeping with Flemish legislation. (RK, maa 2014)