More effective procurement supervision
Translated from Swedish by AI; the translation may contain errors. The Swedish text is the original.
Summary AI, written in advance
The debate concerns legislative changes to give Konkurrensverket more opportunities for a more effective procurement supervision 1. M believes that the changes are important so that money is managed effectively and that all companies should have the same opportunities, which increases competition 1. M wants Konkurrensverket to be able to make decisions on procurement fees, extend deadlines, and receive expanded powers 1. S supports most of the proposals but wants the government to proceed with re-advertising for increased transparency 2. S also wants suppliers to submit information during investigations 2, that subcontracting clauses be limited 2, and that Bolagsverket receives a function for coordinated register checks 2.
Written by AI in advance and may contain errors. The numbers lead to the speech a statement builds on; check against the text below.
Adam Reuterskiöld (M)
Mr. Speaker! This matter concerns a very important area that affects our entire society. Every year, a procurement of over 900 billion takes place. Therefore, it is actually surprising that more are not here at this late hour. But this debate is not just about procurement but also about more efficient supervision.
The matter concerns legislative changes that give the Competition Authority, as the supervisory authority, more opportunities for effective supervision. When it comes to the provisions, a review was already announced when the law was introduced, and that is what the bill is about.
The area is important not only to ensure that the money of Sweden's inhabitants is managed as effectively and well as possible, but also to ensure that all companies have the same opportunities to participate in the procurement. It increases competition and efficiency in society.
It is important that there is a balance between legislation and an effective practical management of the same. The bill contains, among other things, that the Competition Authority be given the opportunity to make decisions on a procurement fee as a first instance, that the deadline for decisions on the procurement fee is extended to two years, and that the fee is increased from 10 to 20 million. Furthermore, it concerns that the documentation regarding whether agreements have been entered into or whether a procurement has been terminated shall be completed within 30 days. Furthermore, it is a matter of increased powers for the Competition Authority to require authorities and entities to decide on guidelines for the use of direct procurement. The Competition Authority shall also be given extended powers to exercise supervision. The law shall enter into force on 1 January.
The proposed legislative changes may indeed entail a certain increased burden for those who carry out a procurement. But the government has weighed this in a way that makes it so that a certain part of the legislation should be tightened while other parts are not judged to need to be changed or tightened. For example, a possibility has been proposed for the supervisory authority to make decisions if the rules are not followed. On the other hand, it has not been judged necessary that the circle for ordering investigations should be expanded.
I therefore move for approval of the proposal in the report and rejection of the Social Democrats' reservation.
Gunilla Carlsson (S)
Mr. Speaker! In recent years, it has become increasingly clear that society has lost democratic control over welfare. Unserious actors and profit-driven corporations have been able to advance their positions with profit-seeking and increased inequalities in welfare as a result. We see that unserious and sometimes purely criminal companies are establishing themselves within the framework of our choice systems and in markets for public procurement.
Every year, the state, the municipalities, and the regions procure approximately 900 billion kronor. It is a significant part of the society's total economy. It is common tax money that is to be used in a responsible manner.
The procurement legislation aims to counter corruption, arbitrariness, and waste of tax money. But the legislation also provides room to set requirements. Politicians have a special responsibility to ensure that activities financed by tax money actively contribute to achieving social policy goals such as respect for workers' rights, climate and environmental considerations, innovation, and social inclusion.
Previous Social Democratic governments took several steps to improve the procurement legislation during the recent parliamentary terms. They implemented simplifications of the regulatory framework and ensured that, in public procurements, labor law conditions regarding wages, holidays, and working hours shall be at a level consistent with collective agreements.
The report that we are debating today is a continuation of this work with a more efficient procurement supervision. The basis for the bill is a department memorandum from 2022.
We Social Democrats support the proposals found in the bill and agree that the legislative changes will enable the procurement supervision to become more effective. However, some proposals that were included in the memorandum, the current government has chosen not to proceed with. We think that is a pity, and we therefore highlight it in our reservation.
We agree with the National Agency for Public Procurement and several other referral bodies, which emphasize the need for post-announcement to create insight and transparency as well as to rectify irregularities. Furthermore, such a regulation provides better statistics in the procurement area, and it facilitates follow-up. Therefore, we think it is reasonable that the Competition Authority should be allowed to decide on a procurement damage fee so that those who win procurements better follow the rules on post-announcement and publication of advertisements regarding public procurements in a registered advertisement database.
We also think it is reasonable that the provisions on submitting information when an investigation has been initiated should also apply to suppliers and not only the contracting authority. It would make it easier to follow up and audit whether the requirements in a procurement have been met.
Mr. Speaker! Unserious suppliers who have committed crimes or who do not pay their taxes or other fees should not be able to obtain public contracts through procurement. Fraud and crime in the labor market, so-called labor market crime, feeds organized crime and must be combated with the full force of society.
Long supply chains involve an increased risk that agreed contractual terms are not respected and hinder the monitoring of compliance among subcontractors. We Social Democrats believe that the number of subcontractor levels should be limited. We want an investigation to be commissioned to review how such a limitation could be designed.
In June 2022, the Social Democratic government commissioned the investigation "Efficient and reliable control of suppliers in the awarding of public contracts". In August this year, the investigation presented a proposal to let Bolagsverket be responsible for a function that enables coordinated register checks. In this way, the contracting organization can gain access to information that is currently confidential from registers at Bolagsverket, Polismyndigheten, Skatteverket, Kronofogdemyndigheten, and the county administrative boards.
This proposal would mean an important step toward getting rid of unserious actors in the market for public procurement and within the choice systems. We Social Democrats believe that the government should rather come back with proposals for such a function as suggested by the commission.
A more effective procurement supervision
Mr. Speaker! Public procurement should never contribute to unhealthy competition or to dumping conditions on the Swedish labor market, as it unfortunately does today. More tools are needed in the fight against welfare crime and labor crime.
With that, Mr. Speaker, I move for approval of the Social Democrats' reservation.
The deliberation was hereby concluded.
Source: The Swedish Parliament. The speeches come from the open data of the Riksdag, translated into English by AI, which may contain errors.