Right of compensation as well as insolvency and execution rights
Translated from Swedish by AI; the translation may contain errors. The Swedish text is the original.
Summary AI, written in advance
Vänsterpartiet wants to change the law so that the standard amount in debt collection can be adjusted several times a year due to high inflation 1. The party considers over-indebtedness to be a social crisis that hits children and pensioners hard, and demands a child impact assessment of the regulatory framework 1 2. Sverigedemokraterna argues that the proposal is unfair to those who manage their payments and that it could increase inflation 3. The party emphasizes that over-indebtedness is the individual's responsibility and instead wants stricter rules for lenders and a mandatory debt register 4 5. They also want to focus on combating fraud in wage garnishment 3.
Written by AI in advance and may contain errors. The numbers lead to the speech a statement builds on; check against the text below.
Andreas Lennkvist Manriquez (V)
Mr. Speaker! The recent years have been taxing for Swedish households. The pandemic has been followed by rising inflation and by sharp interest rate and rent increases. Russia's unjust war of aggression against Ukraine has also left its mark. This applies in particular to the energy market, where Swedish electricity prices have increased via gas prices on the continent.
To make ends meet, many have been forced to take on debt. The Enforcement Authority states today that Swedes' total debt is higher than ever. Those who have been hit hardest by the increased cost of living and run the greatest risk of having problems with debt are pensioners and those with lower incomes and not infrequently underpaid jobs.
But even if the risk is greater within these groups, it is not exclusively the childcare worker, the nursing assistant, the waiter, or the cleaner who ends up with the enforcement authority. Illness, a grueling divorce, or suddenly losing one's job can be enough to ruin one's personal finances regardless of where in society one is situated.
Mr. Speaker! The over-indebtedness of Swedish households is a tragedy, not only for those affected but for society as a whole. Last week, the Swedish Enforcement Authority reported that the number of people dying in debt is increasing, and today, every twelfth child lives in a family with debts with the Enforcement Authority. According to the National Board of Health and Welfare, these children, with the living conditions they have, belong to the worst-off in society. Last year, as many as 674 children were involved in an eviction - this despite the fact that the Convention on the Rights of the Child is Swedish law and despite that we have a zero vision for evictions of families with children.
To counter this social crisis and protect the children, Vänsterpartiet wants a legislative change that makes it possible to adjust the standard amounts in enforcement several times during the same year in times of high inflation. We also want a proper child impact assessment of today's regulatory framework to be carried out.
Angelica Lundberg (SD)
Mr. Speaker! When the Left Party presents proposals in this chamber regarding insolvency and over-indebtedness, it is almost always about how it should become easier for people to get rid of their debts.
It is a proposal concerning, among other things, shorter periods for debt restructuring, payment-free months, and final prescription periods. In addition, the Left Party wants over-indebted individuals, unlike low-income earners or ordinary wage earners, to receive more in their wallets during times of high inflation.
This is a bad proposal, not only because it fuels inflation instead of countering it, but also because it is highly unfair to those who have behaved themselves and paid their bills on time.
The standard amount is already adjusted annually based on the prevailing cost situation. This means that the reserved amount, i.e., the amount that someone who is over-indebted is allowed to keep, already takes into account, for example, inflation. The extra amount one is allowed to keep if one has children is well-adjusted - up to 5,200 kronor per child and month.
Furthermore, Mr. Speaker, it is very easy to cheat. Someone who has a salary assessment can, for example, claim that he or she has a medical condition that requires one to pay for expensive medicines. Deductions are then allowed for that without any checks being performed. In the same way, one can claim to have costs for childcare or travel to and from work without having to submit supporting documentation. This type of cheating is common, and it means that the person waiting for their money has to wait even longer.
I would therefore like to ask the member: What is the cost of the proposal that the member is putting forward? Would it not be better if the Swedish Enforcement Authority (Kronofogden) invested its resources in tackling the fraud?
Andreas Lennkvist Manriquez (V)
Mr. Speaker! The great cost is the one that exists in society as a result of increased over-indebtedness and when children are evicted from their homes. That is the real cost.
The Convention on the Rights of the Child is Swedish law. Therefore, we have an obligation to ensure that we secure the situation of these families. I can therefore not understand why the Sverigedemokraterna are so opposed to a child impact assessment of today's regulatory framework. Such an assessment would give us better information and a better basis to be able to make decisions even in the future.
Angelica Lundberg (SD)
Mr. Speaker! Here, a clear dividing line appears between our two parties. The Sweden Democrats believe it is important to do right by people. We want to prevent people from being placed in over-indebtedness, and we have presented a powerful action program so that the companies that lend money will be forced to take a greater responsibility. We also want to ensure that those who cannot afford to pay back shall not be granted loans and credits.
But if one has fallen into over-indebtedness, one must, of course, pay back as much as is possible. We must remember, Mr. Speaker, that behind every debtor there is at least one creditor. Behind every over-indebted person there is at least one person waiting to receive money that they are legally entitled to. It could be a small business owner, it could be the state, and it could be all of us waiting to get back money that someone owes us.
It can also be a crime victim. It can be a woman who has been raped and who is waiting for compensation to at least receive some redress for what she has been subjected to. Here, the Sweden Democrats stand on the side of the crime victims. We do not want rapists to be rewarded - unlike the Left Party, who think that rapists should get more money in their pockets if the price of tomatoes happens to go up.
Mr. Speaker! I would very much like to know in what way it is good for those who are waiting to get their money back that it takes longer. And why does the Left Party prioritize the one who is in debt over, for example, crime victims?
Andreas Lennkvist Manriquez (V)
Mr. Speaker! The largest group that is exposed to or affected by this are not rapists. We are talking about pensioners who cannot manage to pay their costs when inflation increases and who are evicted from houses and homes. We are talking about families with children. I think it is quite remarkable that the Sweden Democrats claim that everyone who is in debt would be rapists.
Angelica Lundberg (SD)
Mr. Speaker! Figures from the Enforcement Authority show that Swedes' debt is higher than ever. Between 2022 and 2023 alone, the mountain of debt increased by 17 percent and is now up to 119 billion kronor. To that must be added the debts that still exist with the debt collection companies. In 2022, it was approximately 108 billion kronor. Swedes thus have unpaid debts of 227 billion kronor. The number of people applying for debt restructuring was again at an all-time high in 2023.
Almost half a million people and companies have a debt with the Enforcement Authority, and over 1.3 million have a debt with a debt collection company. A major cause of the payment problems is overconsumption, but crime-related debts are also common. Many gang criminals have large debts. An investigation that SVT has conducted shows that there are only in Stockholm County 200 gang criminals with debts to the Enforcement Authority amounting to 56 million kronor.
Mr. Speaker! The new law that entered into force in 2022 and which gave the Enforcement Authority greater possibilities to seize assets remotely with the help of the police has led to the Enforcement Authority being able to seize watches, clothes, and jewelry from gang criminals to a value of 93 million kronor. The law is therefore a successful piece of the puzzle in the fight against gang criminals. And it must continue this way. It should not be possible to have large debts, declare zero assets, and at the same time live a life with cars, travels, and other luxury items. This type of economic crime must be stopped, and the victims who are waiting for damages must also receive the state's help to collect them.
Mr. Speaker! The over-indebtedness investigation submitted its report this summer, *A strengthened consumer protection against risky lending and over-indebtedness*, in which there are several good proposals that are in line with the Sweden Democrats' policy. It concerns stricter rules for the marketing of credits, improved credit assessment, new caps for interest rates, and so on. These are measures that have a majority in this chamber and that can quickly be in place and make a real difference.
Right of compensation as well as insolvency and execution law
But the investigation falls short when it comes to the proposal for a debt register. Here, the government needs to take the investigation proposal back to the drawing board and produce a new proposal for a complete debt register that takes into account our current credit register. It must also become mandatory to use, so that there are no loopholes whatsoever for unserious actors and lenders to lend to people whom they know cannot afford to pay back.
Over-indebtedness is, of course, the individual's responsibility, but it is also a responsibility for the credit companies. Where the market does not function, it is also a responsibility for politics. Therefore, we have presented a powerful action program against over-indebtedness. These measures would be a necessary brake. The development must be reversed, and quickly.
Mr. Speaker! In conclusion, I would like to move for the approval of the Sweden Democrats' reservation number 1.
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.