Question Time

ANDRE VICE TALMANNEN

I would like to welcome the ministers. Questions will be answered by Foreign Minister Tobias Billström, Minister Lotta Edholm, Minister Camilla Waltersson Grönvall, and Minister for Rural Affairs Peter Kullgren.

A question must be of an overarching and general political nature or concern a subject that falls within the minister's area of responsibility and relates to his performance of duties. The question shall therefore not concern, for example, conditions within political parties. Foreign Minister Tobias Billström answers both general political questions and questions within his own area of responsibility.

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Aylin Fazelian (S)

Madam Speaker! The Liberals say they want to limit the free profit withdrawals from tax-funded schools. That sounds powerful, but the proposals in the Palace Agreement are completely toothless and are furthermore welcomed by large school corporations.

That the right-wing parties and SD furthermore want to link the right to take out profit to the schools' results risks leading to an increase in grade cheating, not least considering that the profit-driven schools are already generous in their grading.

My question to the Minister for Education is therefore: How will you ensure that profit-driven schools do not increase the proportion of "joy grades" in order to retain the profit?

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Statsrådet Lotta Edholm (L)

Madam Speaker! We will now implement the largest changes in the free school area in 30 years, since the free school reform was implemented. We will ensure that we get a focus on quality and that the municipal school system is paid for the costs it actually has. We will introduce sanction ladders for the free schools that do not behave. We will ensure that we, to a greater extent through the School Inspectorate, inspect schools so that they meet the quality requirements that one can actually have of them.

The grade cheating, which the member speaks about, is a major problem. Approximately 40 percent of all students in grade 9 receive a higher grade in mathematics than that which corresponds to their performance on the national tests a couple of months earlier. We have a large grade inflation, and it is a problem. Therefore, an inquiry will now be appointed regarding this.

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Aylin Fazelian (S)

Madam Speaker! The burden of ensuring the school companies' right to profit is placed on our students and teachers. My follow-up question is therefore: How much bureaucracy and administration do the Liberals think it is reasonable to place on our already pressured school and our already pressured teachers so that the school companies can continue to have the right to profit extraction?

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Statsrådet Lotta Edholm (L)

Madam Speaker! We will now appoint an inquiry into the administrative burden for our teachers in Sweden's schools. We know today that teachers devote far too much time to administration and thus less time to preparing their lessons and teaching the students. I look forward to presenting the directives for that inquiry during the spring.

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Aron Emilsson (SD)

Madam Speaker! My question is addressed to Foreign Minister Tobias Billström. A question that is highly topical for Ukraine is that of the narrative and how historical and current events are described and judged, both morally and legally. One such event is the mass famine Holodomor in Ukraine in 1932-1933, under Stalin's rule, when between 2.6 and 3.9 million people died of politically caused famine.

Yesterday, a moment of silence was held here in Bankhallen in connection with the event. More and more EU countries recognize the event as genocide. In total, 23 EU countries and Nordic countries as well as the European Parliament have done so.

The Committee on Foreign Affairs has undertaken extensive information gathering on the issue from the prosecutor, authorities, and several others. State practice and current constitutional considerations indicate that the government has good opportunities to recognize the event as genocide. So my question to Foreign Minister Billström is whether the government intends to recognize the Holodomor as genocide.

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Utrikesministern Tobias Billström (M)

Madam Speaker! No, this is how it is, and I think it is important to remember. To recognize genocide is and has always been a complicated issue, not least in relation to the Swedish Riksdag, which by tradition has not done this.

I think it is important to emphasize that there are always risks associated with doing this. One risks transforming oneself into a parliament that devotes itself to adopting resolutions rather than making decisions.

There is no doubt that the events that Aron Emilsson refers to have occurred. There is also no doubt that from a historical perspective, the mass famine in Ukraine can very well be seen as orchestrated. But to draw the conclusion that the Swedish Riksdag should express an absolute opinion on that, we are hesitant from the government's side. In many cases, it is better to leave it to historians to reach conclusions regarding this than to let politicians do so.

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Aron Emilsson (SD)

Madam Speaker! I agree with what the Minister for Foreign Affairs says. We have, for many different reasons, concluded that state practice and current constitutional considerations indicate that this is rather a matter for the government than for the Riksdag. Therefore, my question is directed precisely to the government. It is across Europe and also in our immediate vicinity to a large extent governments and courts that have made this type of decision. It is an important consideration and accompaniment that this possibility is good for the government. My question is therefore whether the Minister wishes to work for this within the EU circle.

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Utrikesministern Tobias Billström (M)

Madam Speaker! The concept of genocide is defined, among other things, in the UN Genocide Convention of 1948 and also in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court of 1998. In this sense, it is a legal term with a clearly defined content. To find such a criminal intent requires an assessment of evidence that judicial authorities are best suited to perform.

Therefore, it is important to remember that this principle has meant that events that lie far back in time have not been able to be legally categorized as genocide. After the Holocaust, it is actually only crimes in Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia that have been designated as genocide by international courts. These are good arguments for being cautious with this.

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Frida Tånghag (V)

Madam Speaker! I would like to ask Minister Camilla Waltersson Grönvall if she intends to act on the issue of the Aliens Act taking precedence over LVU. The issue became highly topical in February, when Julia, nine years old, was to be deported, despite placement according to LVU.

When a child is placed with the support of LVU, it is because the parents are not suitable. Violence, substance abuse, and a lack of care often occur. A child has the right to a secure upbringing with secure adults - I believe we agree on that.

Vänsterpartiet has raised the issue in 2008, 2011 and now 2023. Nothing has happened for over 15 years. Previously, the Convention on the Rights of the Child was not law; it is now.

Will the Government correct this error and change the law so that children are not deported together with parents whom we assess as unsuitable to care for them, or to a country they have never been to with a language they neither speak nor understand?

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Statsrådet Camilla Waltersson Grönvall (M)

Madam Speaker! Thank you, Member, for the question! Being the Minister for Social Services also means being the Minister for Children's Rights. In this area, the government has now begun a high-priority task of doing something that has not been clear in Swedish legislation until now, namely making children independent rights holders. It is a task that has been started here in the Riksdag, among other things in cooperation with the Left Party in the Social Affairs Committee. There is a powerful majority to drive these important changes in Swedish legislation forward.

A number of projects are underway, I should say, where precisely this issue with the child as an independent rights holder will have a major impact, but we are only at the beginning there, so we will have to return to that question.

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Frida Tånghag (V)

Madam Speaker! The question was still whether the Minister agrees with me that it is a systemic error that the law is designed as it is today. It simply does not work. We see that through the examples of Julia and other children who have been affected. There are many examples where children are forced to socialize with and meet their perpetrators.

In these types of cases, it becomes a bit absurd. These children are left completely to their parents, whom we know are not suitable, while at the same time they are sent to countries where, in some cases, we cannot ensure that there is a functioning safety net that can catch them.

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Statsrådet Camilla Waltersson Grönvall (M)

Madam Speaker! Right now, in a number of areas, powerful work is being carried out regarding the advancement of children as independent rights holders. Visitation rights is an example of such a matter included in the referral process of the important investigation that arrived a few weeks ago.

It is important to highlight that in several respects and in several areas - including when it comes to protected housing, where children today lack their own rights and are not allowed to make their own decisions - a great deal of work is being done. We will return to these issues.

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Stina Larsson (C)

Madam Speaker! It is clear as day that the government has no ambition to limit climate change. Our agricultural and forestry policy is of great importance for climate emissions, and I therefore turn to the Minister for Rural Affairs. We cannot transition the entire transport sector to electrification overnight. Therefore, there must be other alternatives.

Sweden has fantastic opportunities to produce renewable fuels from soil and forest. The green industries and Swedish industry are ready for large-scale investments. But the government gives no answers on the long-term rules of the game. We need to get answers regarding the reduction obligation.

That is why I ask the Minister: When can we and the industry receive information on long-term rules for renewable fuels, and in what way do we ensure that the industry dares to make these investments?

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Landsbygdsministern Peter Kullgren (KD)

Madam Speaker! Thank you, Member, for the question, which came very timely! Yesterday, I received, on behalf of the Government, the first partial report of the bioeconomy investigation, which deals precisely with biofuel production in Sweden. Just as the Member says, we have great potential in our residual products from the forest and other agricultural industries that can enable us to transition our transport sector in a good way. I received that investigation yesterday. It will be prepared according to the usual routines in the Government Offices, and we will return to the matter.

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Stina Larsson (C)

Madam Speaker! I have also read the proposal in the partial report on what can be done for the renewable fuels. But we need to get answers to this question now. We cannot wait.

I wouldn't have expected a statement with a clear timeframe here today. But the reduction obligation is central, and my follow-up question is: Will the Minister for Rural Affairs and the government back down on the Sweden Democrats' demand to abolish the reduction obligation entirely, or what does the government think?

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Landsbygdsministern Peter Kullgren (KD)

Madam Speaker! No, but what the government parties and the cooperation party agree on is that we shall reduce the reduction obligation. I understand that you take it as a lack of concern for the issue. But we can also observe that the policy that Sweden pursued regarding the reduction obligation caused us to vacuum up all of Europe's production and also other parts of the world's production of biofuels at a very high price. We want to get a production started in Sweden. We have no problems at all with biofuels in our minds, but we must get a production started, so that the product exists in Sweden first.

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Camilla Hansén (MP)

Madam Speaker! On Tuesday, the Prince's Foundation launched the report The Value of Being Yourself during a seminar where, among others, Minister for Education Lotta Edholm participated. Majken Messelt, an intern here in the Riksdag, and I myself were also there listening.

The value of being oneself is invaluable on a personal level, but it can also be measured in kronor and öre. The report is about how school, higher education, and working life manage to include neurodivergent individuals, i.e., people with neuropsychiatric functional variations or dyslexia. And we are not doing particularly well with that. The costs are enormous: 67 billion kronor.

The report states that teachers and special educators do not have sufficient knowledge. The researchers in the panel stated that the knowledge exists, but it does not reach out. Majken's and my question to the Minister for Education is: What measures will the Minister for Education take so that young people can be included and contribute to society?

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Statsrådet Lotta Edholm (L)

Madam Speaker! Thank you, Camilla Hansén, for the question! It is a large and important question that Camilla Hansén raises: How do we ensure that the school is better equipped to meet students who have, for example, different types of NPF diagnoses?

I believe that we must do a number of different things. For example, we must invest more in special education teachers in our schools. Therefore, the government is now increasing the grants to train more special education teachers and the possibilities for the municipalities and the school administrators to employ more special education teachers. We must also increase competence generally, both in teacher education and among those who already work in Swedish schools. There is much to do in this area.

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Camilla Hansén (MP)

Madam Speaker! Thank you, Minister for Education, for the answer! Every year children start in preschool and move on to primary school. Youth start in upper secondary school, and young adults enter the workforce or go on to higher studies. Knowledge needs to be spread now.

What we know is that the people we can call neurodivergent are not involved in taking these steps to the same extent. We need interventions now. Therefore, my question is: How will the Minister for Education and the government strengthen the school's funding already now in the spring budget?

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Statsrådet Lotta Edholm (L)

Madam Speaker! I will not speculate today about the spring budget, naturally. However, I can state that the investment in the ordinary budget for the 2023 fiscal year is the largest state investment in Swedish schools in 30 years. We are doing a lot now, but we must do more. I would particularly like to highlight the investment in more special education teachers and more smaller teaching groups in Swedish schools.

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Marie-Louise Hänel Sandström (M)

Madam Speaker! My question is directed to Minister for Education Lotta Edholm.

I have a student doing their internship with me now, Selma, 15 years old, from Gothenburg. I asked her: What is most relevant in school among you and your friends – what is it that you think about most? Unfortunately, she answered: mental health.

It is sad to get that answer, of course. Stress and anxiety are actually something that almost half of young people between 13 and 18 years old experience. It is stress regarding school and stress regarding life in general. Many feel an uncertainty regarding grades and the demands that are placed, but one also feels an anxiety that one is not perfect as a human being.

Therefore, I want to ask the Minister for Education: What is the government doing to make these young people feel better in school?

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Statsrådet Lotta Edholm (L)

Madam Speaker! Thank you, Member, for the question! There is no doubt that mental illness is increasing. It is not just a phenomenon here in Sweden but something we see in the entire Western world. But this is no consolation for the children and young people who are suffering today, and it is clear that there are many explanations for it. Social media, for example, is one explanation. But as the Member points out, another factor can be this with grade-anxiety, which to some extent is due to the fact that grading criteria, curricula, subject plans and so on are far too unclear.

The government will eventually appoint an inquiry that will address, among other things, the design of the curricula and subject plans so that it becomes easier for students to know what they actually need to be able to do to receive a certain grade.

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Marie-Louise Hänel Sandström (M)

Madam Speaker! Thank you, the Minister for Education, for the answer! I hope that Selma and her friends will be pleased to hear what is coming next. But I am also thinking that one must prevent. We do not want the mental ill-health to even arise. Much is said about what should be done about this, but I also wonder how we can prevent it. Does the Minister for Education have any thoughts on how we can prevent, so that young people avoid being affected by mental ill-health?

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Statsrådet Lotta Edholm (L)

Madam Speaker! First and foremost, it is well that it is not just about the school, but it is a societal phenomenon. I believe that we all in this chamber sometimes wonder about these questions: How is it that mental ill-health seems to be increasing to a large extent? How is it that suicide does not decrease in the very youngest age groups?

I believe that school is an important part of this, but it is not everything. That is something we must also remember.

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Magnus Oscarsson (KD)

Madam Speaker! My question is to Minister for Rural Affairs Peter Kullgren. I meet very many farmers during my travels across the country. They are truly worthy of our great thanks and our admiration for their great and important work that ensures we can have food served on the table.

For many, it is a 24/7 job, every day of the week. What I am getting is that many express their concern that agriculture today is accused of being a major environmental villain. Our media seem to be driving that agenda. For example, a reporter said in a segment some time ago: Previously we talked about flight shame, but now we talk about farmer shame. And in a radio program, the existence of cows was questioned.

How does the Minister for Rural Affairs view this?

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Landsbygdsministern Peter Kullgren (KD)

Madam Speaker! I can state that one can become quite concerned about the debate and about how the issue of Swedish agriculture, not least the issue of beef production and milk, is described and treated.

These are Swedish foodstuffs that have a central role in our national food supply but also in the food culture that we have in this country. It is important to note that cows provide us with nutritious food through the milk and meat we receive. Milk contains almost all the nutrients that we need to consume daily. But cows are also crucial for biodiversity. Grazing animals provide open and species-rich landscapes.

And cows actually do well in Sweden. We have high animal welfare requirements, and Swedish farmers use the least antibiotics in the entire European Union. Cows also contribute to food production by eating things that we humans cannot eat.

All industries must endure criticism, but it is clear that there must be relevance in the criticism.

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Magnus Oscarsson (KD)

Madam Speaker! For seven years, I have hosted Milk Day here in the Riksdag – there will be one this autumn as well. Our Swedish dairy cows and beef production are very close to my heart. Sweden's cows are currently being blamed for most things. In fact, the cows' existence is being questioned. But the statistics are clear. 100 years ago, there were 2 million cows. Today, there are 500,000. We can compare it to the fact that in the 50s there were 50 cars and today there are 5 million cars. Is it all the cow's fault?

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Landsbygdsministern Peter Kullgren (KD)

Madam Speaker! No, I do not believe that. I believe that agriculture must be seen as part of the solution to the climate problems that we de facto have. Agriculture shall take its responsibility and shall transition. Large parts of agriculture are already very circular, and those that are not, we shall try to make even better.

For me, the global climate transition and increased Swedish competitiveness in production go hand in hand. And that is given the good animal husbandry we have in Sweden, given the absence of fossil sources in our energy production, and given the low antibiotic use that Swedish farmers have.

In this speech, Staffan Eklöf (SD) agreed.

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Juno Blom (L)

Madam Speaker! The state's locked wards are a total failure. I now completely lack confidence in the Director General of SiS, and that is because the alarm reports regarding violence and sexual abuse against already vulnerable children do not come from the SiS management but from children's rights organizations. And despite alarming facts on the table, which also include criticism from the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, JO and Ivo, the management lacks crisis awareness and the ability to handle the serious situation.

Throughout the entire previous parliamentary term, the Liberals were clear that an external review was required - without any interest from the government's side. Therefore, it is strange and almost unworthy that MP now wants to shut down the state's locked residential facilities. We all understand that without a basis and a plan for what we should do instead, it is impossible. It is about a basis that MP refused to produce when in power. But the problem remains. Children are suffering here and now. And now I wonder how the Minister views the work ahead regarding vulnerable children in social care.

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Statsrådet Camilla Waltersson Grönvall (M)

Madam Speaker! Thank you very much, Member Blom, for a very important and pressing question! I also want to thank you very much for the genuine commitment that the Member has and the long-term work that the Member has put into this. We have had the privilege of driving this together, looking back in time, in the Social Affairs Committee - also together with many other parties, it should be said.

Let us say the obvious: Children and young people in social care today do not receive the support they should have and that they deserve. I want to be very clear that abuse must not occur. Abuse must absolutely not occur against children and young people who are in social care.

We note that children's rights are not clear in Swedish legislation. It is something that we are now putting into writing. We need to have children as independent rights-holders, and we need a basis and a plan to take a collective grip on all care and treatment involving vulnerable children.

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Juno Blom (L)

Madam Speaker! After the latest report on sexual abuse at Sis, the Director General went out and pointed out, among other things, that an internal complaint function would be introduced. But the Liberals do not consider that sufficient. The Liberals see a need to introduce an external, independent complaint function so that children who are already vulnerable, who are subjected to or risk being subjected to abuse when they are placed, will be met by the right people who take their testimonies most seriously. What is the Minister's view on that?

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Statsrådet Camilla Waltersson Grönvall (M)

Madam Speaker! I thank you for the question. This is a question that, not least the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, raises as an important issue. I had the opportunity to be present at the very dialogue that Sweden had in Geneva with the Committee on the Rights of the Child. This is an issue that we need to raise. It is important that Sis itself works with this, but it is also important that we see what is now emerging in several reports: that children and young people do not feel that they are being listened to. This requires a different kind of function, and we will return to that.

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Johan Büser (S)

Madam Speaker! My question is addressed to Foreign Minister Tobias Billström. Two years ago, in 2021, Hungary introduced legislation that prohibits what is called homosexual propaganda. It concerns making it illegal to depict LGBTQI persons in public. It is legislation that suspects and stigmatizes LGBTQI persons.

The Court of Justice of the EU has chosen to examine whether the law is compatible with the EU treaties and with fundamental rights. The lawsuit is supported by a large number of countries. The European Parliament also stands behind the lawsuit.

Hungary is a country that, for example, many Sweden Democrat politicians have as a role model. Under Fidesz, the country has become an example of when the nationalistic value-conservative right sacrifices freedoms and rights. I would therefore like to ask the Foreign Minister how he views the stance on Hungary and whether the government and the Foreign Minister will clearly stand behind this stance in both words and deeds.

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Utrikesministern Tobias Billström (M)

Madam Speaker! It is well known that Sweden is a strong voice for the rights of LGBTQ people, and the government considers it important that Sweden, just like several other member states, intervenes in the case in support of the Commission.

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Anna-Lena Blomkvist (SD)

Madam Speaker! Several interest organizations for persons in need of assistance have recently, when we have met them, raised a number of challenges and major problems that exist within the disability rights.

It is becoming increasingly difficult to find personal assistants, and one of the biggest reasons is contracts with uncertain and insecure terms. Low flat-rate payments mean that wages remain low and the money is not enough, and the general wage level has lagged behind for several years. In the labor market for privately employed personal assistants, arbitrary dismissals, unclear overtime payments, and questionable forms of employment are commonplace.

This results in a worrying and growing problem of finding staff with the competence who want to work as an assistant.

How does the Minister and the Government intend to ensure the supply of personal assistants without compromising the freedom of choice for people to choose their own assistants?

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Statsrådet Camilla Waltersson Grönvall (M)

Madam Speaker! I thank the House for another important and pressing question.

I am glad that I have the opportunity to have a good dialogue with the different actors within the area of disability and personal assistance. It concerns both users and the actors who organize assistance.

LSS and personal assistance was a reform that came about during a bourgeois government. It is fundamentally a freedom reform, which we truly safeguard and want to be involved in developing. I have therefore invited all different parties to a dialogue to see how we can find ways forward for safer and better working conditions, so that we can maintain the diversity and freedom of choice that we all strive for to remain.

It is with long-term sustainability, legal certainty, and legitimacy that we move these issues forward. I see that we have problems in more welfare professions, but here it is important to find a way forward together.

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Håkan Svenneling (V)

Madam Speaker! We shall see if we get a longer answer regarding Hungary now.

Last week, the Riksdag debated and made a decision regarding a Swedish NATO membership. At that time, I warned of the risk that Turkey and Hungary would attempt to continue blocking the Swedish application because we have been critical of their views on democracy and the principles of the rule of law.

It is now clear that Hungary has copied the Turkish playbook, as yesterday they presented a list of demands with three rather vague requirements for the Swedish government regarding the Hungarian-Swedish relationship. They even named three people whose statements they were critical of: Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, the Moderate EU Minister Jessika Roswall, and the Left Party's MEP Malin Björk.

How does the Foreign Minister view the Hungarian demands? Does he intend to reject them, or does he envision some form of negotiation with Hungary? Will Sweden be clear that the principles of the rule of law apply and that conditionality applies to Hungarian EU funds?

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Utrikesministern Tobias Billström (M)

Madam Speaker! I answered this question yesterday, so I believe that Håkan Svenneling is well acquainted with Sweden's position. However, I do not mind repeating it, as it is important that this also reaches the Chamber and the Chamber's minutes.

Sweden, like the EU, has previously directed criticism towards Hungary on issues regarding the rule of law, and therefore we welcome that the Hungarian government, in its dialogue with the EU, has signaled reforms to strengthen the independence of the judiciary.

We would, of course, like to deepen this dialogue, but at the same time, I want to be clear that we will not waive the criticism we have directed at Hungary.

We do not see it linked to our Natoprocess, but we see it as an issue where the EU Commission is responsible for driving the views.

Let me also repeat to the Chamber what I said yesterday, that I note that Finland has directed the same criticism towards Hungary as Sweden has. So have many other member states. Since Finland's application could be ratified by the Hungarian parliament, Sweden's application should also be able to be ratified.

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Niels Paarup-Petersen (C)

Madam Speaker! Lotta Edholm and I agree that it is absolutely crucial that children learn to read and write, and in that regard, books are important. It is also important to learn to write by hand. The analog and the physical have some advantages. But the world is also digital, and the world that our students will live in is digital, which the students must be prepared for.

When the government now enters a struggle against the digitalization of the school, there is a risk that the Liberals once again, just as during Björklund, will fall for some simple claims instead of well-thought-out strategies for how digital solutions can be used to achieve the best possible results in school.

There are undoubtedly bad digital services; we do not need to discuss that. The school platform that the Minister previously was responsible for is perhaps the clearest example of truly poor digitalization in schools.

But there are also good examples. That is why I ask Minister Edholm: What is, in her opinion, the absolute best digital learning tool in Swedish schools, and how can it be used even more and better to strengthen Swedish schools?

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Statsrådet Lotta Edholm (L)

Madam Speaker! I, like many others in Sweden, am concerned about all the time children and young people spend in front of screens. We are beginning to see that it has negative consequences, not least when it comes to mental health. At the same time, Sweden has fewer textbooks in schools than comparable countries do. This development has occurred simultaneously, that is, more and more screens and fewer and fewer books in Swedish schools. The government is therefore making a major investment in teaching materials that are professionally developed.

Just as the member says, there is a digital development that we cannot escape and that children and students must be able to meet. It is important. But right now, I would say that the biggest problem is the lack of real learning materials in Swedish schools.

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Bassem Nasr (MP)

Madam Speaker! I have a question for Foreign Minister Tobias Billström.

Israel has parallel legal systems based on ethnicity in occupied areas. If an Israeli child throws a stone at a Palestinian in a settlement, they end up in a civil court, with all the rights that entails, for example, the right to legal counsel. If a Palestinian child in the same settlement does the same, they instead end up in a military court, with unlimited detention time and without contact with parents and legal counsel before the trial.

In what way is the government acting to combat this undemocratic order and protect the Palestinians, especially children, who fall victim to this Israeli injustice?

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Utrikesministern Tobias Billström (M)

Madam Speaker! Sweden and the EU view with great concern the increased violence which has resulted in rising death tolls on both sides, not least among minors.

We naturally stand up for Israel's legitimate security needs, but lethal force may only be used when it is necessary, in line with international law.

We equally condemn the indiscriminate terrorist attacks that have taken place plus the recurring indiscriminate rocket fire from terrorist organizations in Gaza.

It is important and central that Israel and Palestine now act to de-escalate this situation. They need to maintain mutual dialogue and avoid actions that conflict with international law, escalate the level of conflict, and furthermore undermine the conditions for a two-state solution. It is important that security work between Israel and Palestine continues.

Sweden's and the EU's international law-based policy for a negotiated two-state solution is firm. There is no other sustainable solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

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Johan Hultberg (M)

Madam Speaker! Re-establishing the work line is one of the most important tasks for the Moderate-led government. It is important for many reasons for both individuals and society as a whole. Exclusion and benefit dependency lead to high costs and major problems. The cost of financial assistance alone amounts to over 15 billion per year, and research clearly shows that long-term benefit dependency increases the risk of ill health.

To re-establish the work line, a long series of reforms is required. Lower taxes and benefit ceilings are required so that it always pays better to work than to live on benefits. It is also important to ensure that those who are dependent on benefits are not passivized.

How will the government proceed, Minister for Social Services, with the Moderate proposal to set requirements for full-time employment for those living on social assistance?

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Statsrådet Camilla Waltersson Grönvall (M)

Madam Speaker! I thank the member for the question.

Today, Sweden has the fourth highest unemployment in the EU. More and more people are spending longer and longer periods in unemployment. People find it difficult to escape the dependency on benefits. We know that this leads to social exclusion, and it leads to poverty. Those who are always hit hardest are precisely the children.

Children need to see their parents go to work. We know that otherwise we risk that exclusion is passed on to a higher degree. Therefore, we need to support the adults who have the capacity to work, who today are on benefits, to enter employment. That people should move from benefit dependency to work is one of the government's most prioritized issues, and it is fundamentally a question of freedom.

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Christian Carlsson (KD)

Madam Speaker! The Islamist disinformation campaign currently underway against Sweden, with allegations that Swedish social services are taking Muslim children as part of a fight against Islam, has caused threats against social services to increase. Social workers are being filmed, and addresses are being posted. In some cases, it involves calls for gross violence, even shooting social workers or kidnapping their children.

70 percent of the social workers in our vulnerable areas have been subjected to threats or violence. It is many people and families whose safety is affected by the situation.

What measures is the government taking to strengthen safety for the employees and to counter the campaign?

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Statsrådet Camilla Waltersson Grönvall (M)

Madam Speaker! I thank the member for the question.

What the member is raising is fundamentally a threat to our democratic institutions. What is a threat to our important social service staff is ultimately a threat to us doing everything we can from the society's side to protect our most vulnerable children and young people. In that regard, the government has now taken a unified grip on the issue. Authorities are working side by side for information exchange and individual measures.

The National Board of Health and Welfare has received a different assignment to meet the disinformation campaign where it takes place, namely in social media. The Ministry of Justice is working on a number of different legislative proposals to support the social workers, including with guards and the like in the municipal buildings. It is also about the Psychological Defence Agency taking a comprehensive grip on this.

We will return with more measures because this is a very important issue.

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Anna Wallentheim (S)

Madam Speaker! During question periods, presentations, and debates, I have taken the opportunity on numerous occasions to highlight my background as a teacher. It is a professional title I carry with pride.

However, I am not as proud of the world-unique school system we have in Sweden, whose problems are raised again and again, internationally, in the media, in debates here in the chamber and in reports.

When I received my teaching degree in 2011, I was given the opportunity to combine two different teaching positions; one at a municipal school and one at a private upper secondary school. In hindsight, I learned that all my Fs had been changed by the principal to at least a grade E - this without my knowledge and without having the discussion with me and my profession. I believe that everyone sitting here and everyone listening at home can figure out which of the schools it happened at.

I have the following question for Minister Edholm: How does the Minister view the fact that the friskolor are the worst when it comes to giving higher grades than what has been earned?

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Statsrådet Lotta Edholm (L)

Madam Speaker! I thank you for an important question.

Grade inflation and incorrectly assigned grades are a threat not only to individual students who risk receiving incorrect grades and perhaps entering higher education despite not having the knowledge, but they are also a threat to Sweden as a nation built on innovation and knowledge. We must address this. 40 percent of all students receive a higher grade in grade 9 mathematics than they performed on the national tests.

This will be investigated, and we will review the possibility of linking the grading to the results of the national tests to a greater extent. But other measures were also needed. Large-scale measures were needed within the independent school sector, and measures were also needed regarding grading criteria, curricula, course plans, and subject plans.

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Jörgen Grubb (SD)

Madam Speaker! My question is directed to Minister for Education Lotta Edholm.

There is a strong criticism that the current curricula focus on argumentative texts and analyses rather than factual knowledge. The result of this is not only that students miss out on important subject knowledge, but also that the grades focus on something other than what the students actually can do and have learned. The risk of sweeping assessments is therefore obvious.

How can students be able to understand and analyze different phenomena if they lack basic knowledge about them? Everyone understands that one must first learn a number of facts in order to then be able to perform analyses.

In primary school, factual knowledge shall constitute a basis for both teaching and grading. The student who knows their course literature shall, naturally, receive the highest grade. A focus on factual knowledge shall lead to diligence and thus yield high grades.

What measures does the Minister intend to take so that the curricula focus more on subject knowledge?

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Statsrådet Lotta Edholm (L)

Madam Speaker! I thank you for the question.

This is one of the most burning issues in the Swedish school debate right now. Many students and parents are critical of the curricula that focus on things that cannot be learned - so to speak.

We will take the initiative, not this year but hopefully next year, for a broad investigation concerning syllabi and curricula. I agree in many respects with what the member says, for example, that we need syllabi that actually better reflect what the students can or cannot do. I look forward to this in due course.

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Kajsa Fredholm (V)

Madam Speaker! I have a question for the Minister for Rural Affairs regarding the ban on cages within the Swedish egg industry. This is something that the Left Party has proposed for several years.

In response to a written question I have asked previously, the Minister argues that there is no need to precede the review of legislation that is currently ongoing at the EU level. I contend that, on the contrary, it would be good if Sweden could take the lead in the matter and set a good example in the EU. Sweden should continue to be a pioneer for strong animal welfare.

Can the Minister imagine changing his/her position on the issue?

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Landsbygdsministern Peter Kullgren (KD)

Madam Speaker! Sweden shall have, and has, a high level of animal welfare. We have led the way in many areas, and we will likely continue to do so. At the same time, it must be taken into account that we cannot run as far ahead as we wish, and that is why we are putting great effort from the government's side, and from my side personally, primarily in the Agricultural and Fisheries Council, on making a powerful review and change of the entire EU's animal welfare legislation. It is good for the animals and for food production, and it is good in the work against the high antibiotic use in certain countries. Furthermore, it is good for Swedish competitiveness.

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Anne-Li Sjölund (C)

Madam Speaker! In 2020, the EU Commission approved an extension of Sweden's tax exemption for biogas. This led many transport companies to choose to invest in biogas trucks, both because they are fossil-free and because more customers were interested in green transport.

Now Sweden's tax exemption is being torn up following a ruling in the EU Court of Justice, which means that companies will face a price increase on fuels of almost 5 kronor at the pump - an increase of up to 1,000 kronor for a full tank. It is a fatal blow for companies, which are dependent on long-term rules of the game. Furthermore, there is a risk of large retroactive tax hits.

Now there is an opportunity to quickly resume the tax exemption. This was approved in the EU just a few weeks ago. Therefore, my question to Minister for Rural Affairs Peter Kullgren is how the government will work to restore full tax exemption for biogas as quickly as possible and how the government intends to ensure that Swedish biogas producers do not have to face clawbacks on already granted tax exemptions.

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Landsbygdsministern Peter Kullgren (KD)

Madam Speaker! First, I want to state that it is a very unfortunate situation that we have ended up in. But to drive this process through appeals and so on would, as has also been communicated, not be fruitful.

With that said, I also want to state that it is primarily the Minister for Finance and the Minister for Energy who have handled this issue. But it is in agriculture that we have great potential to increase the production of green biogas, so it is clearly of the utmost importance, also from my policy area's perspective, that there is a solution as quickly as possible to the situation that has arisen.

That is why we have, among other things, formulated letters to the Commission. We have also had bilateral contacts with the Commission, and we hope for a solution as quickly as possible so that this can be resolved.

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Rebecka Le Moine (MP)

Madam Speaker! There was a bit of a confused atmosphere here earlier during the question period. Therefore, I want to begin by saying that these emissions are absolutely not the cow's fault. However, the global livestock industry accounts for 14 ½ percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, so it is important that we address those emissions as well.

Earlier today, the Green Party called the Minister for Rural Affairs to the Committee on Environment and Agriculture to get answers on how the government intends to act to prevent and avert the next major pandemic. It is the case that avian influenza is in a completely new situation in Europe, and the mink farms are described by researchers as a ticking bomb.

My question is whether the government has any concrete plans at all, based on this new situation, to prevent us from getting a new pandemic.

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Landsbygdsministern Peter Kullgren (KD)

Madam Speaker! We were indeed invited to the Committee on Environment and Agriculture today to discuss this issue. Unfortunately, I was prevented from attending at short notice, but I know that you received a good presentation nonetheless.

Infection control and animal welfare is a high-priority issue for this government and has also been for previous governments. We have a strong animal welfare legislation that also covers mink.

During 2020, we had to manage a completely new zoonosis in the animal population, namely SARS-CoV-2 in mink. The outbreak highlighted the need for cross-authority communication and cooperation. But as a concrete answer to the member's question, there is currently no work ongoing in the Government Offices involving business prohibitions for this sector – or any other sector either, for that matter.

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Joanna Lewerentz (M)

Madam Speaker! The right to be protected from one's perpetrator, a partner who is violent, is self-evident for all of us, and protected housing is a very important measure so that crime victims dare to take the first step to leave a violent and destructive relationship.

What we absolutely must not forget in these situations are the children – children who have witnessed a parent being assaulted, children who in the worst cases have themselves been subjected to violence, children who are also themselves crime victims.

Today, children who accompany a guardian to a protected residence are often granted no individual intervention. They therefore run the risk of losing the care or support they may need given the dreadful life situation they find themselves in.

My question is directed to Minister Camilla Waltersson Grönvall. What does the Minister and the government intend to do to ensure that the children's needs for protection, care, and support are also met?

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Statsrådet Camilla Waltersson Grönvall (M)

Madam Speaker! I thank you very much for a very important question.

Yes, today it is exactly as the member describes. When women – for it is often women we are talking about – flee for their lives from men who beat them, children today are seen as accompanying, as belongings of their parents, and there is a lack of decisions linked to those specific children.

We see, issue by issue, that despite the Convention on the Rights of the Child having become Swedish law, there is a lack of legislation that makes children independent rights-holders. This means that these children miss out on schooling, health and medical care, dental care, and leisure activities, and that many women are faced with the situation of choosing between their own safety, in the worst case their own life, and the child's rights.

That is why this government and I are currently drafting legislation that will ensure that children will have their own decisions and that their rights will be met.

(Applause)

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Mikael Oscarsson (KD)

Madam Speaker! I would like to direct my question to the Minister for Rural Affairs.

A terrible war is currently taking place in Europe, and it makes us all see that we must strengthen our defense. We need to strengthen our military defense in preparation for challenges, but we must also strengthen the civil defense.

I have been involved in several defense preparations, and now I am involved again. We have been in Finland recently.

Finland is an example. They sometimes say that they learned civil defense from Sweden, but they were wise enough not to dismantle it. They manage, for example, to store ingredients for food production for up to half a year. They also manage to have medicines and fuels.

I would like to ask the government and the Minister for Rural Affairs what the plans are, especially regarding food security and drinking water supply. What can the government do to strengthen our preparedness?

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Landsbygdsministern Peter Kullgren (KD)

Madam Speaker! First and foremost: The supply of food and drinking water is something incredibly central from a preparedness perspective. Without food, it is difficult to get anything done.

Food preparedness needs to be built up so that the food supply can be secured in the event of a security policy crisis or another crisis. The drinking water supply also needs to become more robust.

An important issue for agriculture is our country's great dependence on imported inputs. We have inputs such as fertilizers that we need to achieve stronger production of and own control over.

We have a long series of investigations and assignments ongoing, not least Ingrid Petersson's investigation of preparedness issues where we will receive interim reports and a final report ahead. But the most fundamental thing for having food security is to state that what we cannot produce in peacetime, we will also not be able to produce in times of crisis or extreme war.

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Niklas Sigvardsson (S)

Madam Speaker! In recent weeks, reports have come in from all corners of the country regarding grade inflation and unequal grading. It is observed, just as before, that the organization of the Swedish school system, where students and children are seen as commodities in a market, inevitably leads to grade inflation.

What is worse with the latest reports is that many teachers experience being pressured by principals to give higher grades in order to receive higher pay. When pay is linked to teachers' exercise of authority, the entire legitimacy of the grading system is at risk. When grades are seen as a competitive advantage, the marketization has also affected our exercise of authority.

My question to Minister for Education Lotta Edholm is therefore: How will the minister act so that teachers do not receive lower salaries because they give the grades they consider to be fair?

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Statsrådet Lotta Edholm (L)

Madam Speaker! We must do something about grade inflation in Swedish schools, especially because students risk receiving incorrect grades. One might receive higher grades than one actually has knowledge for and believe that one can, for example, manage a higher education, and then it turns out to be difficult. It is also a problem for Sweden as a knowledge nation that we have a grading system that obviously does not function as it should.

Therefore, the government will take the initiative to, for example, link the results of the national tests more clearly to the grading so that we can get away from this actually quite extensive problem in Swedish schools.

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Carita Boulwén (SD)

Madam Speaker! We have unfortunately had reason to return repeatedly to the extremely serious conditions prevailing within Sis. Already vulnerable children and young people who, under the care of society, should be protected and cared for are instead subjected to violence, violations, and sexual abuse. Young girls are particularly affected.

Furthermore, vulnerable girls experience that they are neither believed nor listened to when they finally tell about the abuse they have been subjected to, which can be perceived as just as terrifying as the abuse itself. Barnrättsbyrån and Childhood released a new frightening report last week that confirms exactly this.

These children and young people need support and security and someone to listen. Sverigedemokraterna has long advocated for an independent children's ombudsman to ensure that the rights of placed children are followed. I know that the Minister for Social Services is as eager as Sverigedemokraterna that the situation of young people at Sis is truly taken seriously and that powerful measures are taken. We also hear that there is broad support in the chamber; another member took up exactly the same issue here.

Does the Minister intend to take measures to ensure that placed young people feel safe and have someone to turn to? Could, in that case, for example, independent children's ombudsmen be an alternative?

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Statsrådet Camilla Waltersson Grönvall (M)

Madam Speaker! Thank you for another very important question and for the warm and strong commitment I feel from the Social Affairs Committee when it comes to just Sis and how we develop Swedish child and youth care!

All the reports we have received recently, Childhood's and Barnrättsbyråns reports as well as Ivo's audit report from a few weeks ago, confirm something that we have known for a long time. It is naturally frustrating that despite extensive work for change, not enough is happening fast enough.

Apart from the obvious things, such as abuses where there must be a zero-tolerance policy, it is very serious that children and young people experience that they are not being listened to. Therefore, it is something that is currently being worked on further, and we see the Sweden Democrats' proposal as one of various alternatives that we will consider.

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Johanna Rantsi (M)

Madam Speaker! This week I have brought a practical student here to the Riksdag, Altina Osmani, who is now participating in the gallery. She was tasked with preparing a question for this question time. She reflected for a long time on what was important for her specifically and landed on the issue of schooling.

Madam Speaker! We note that there are some bad schools in Sweden today. Even though we all agree that all schools should be good, there are actually bad schools in Sweden today. Altina herself has opted out of a school she did not want to attend, a school that was not good for her. Today she attends a school that she has chosen, a school that she thinks is good and that she likes to attend. Freedom of choice and the right to choose create both will and commitment.

Recently, there has been a lot of talk about independent schools and about restricting them, and it has created concern among our young people. Will they continue to be able to choose what is best for them?

Madam Speaker! I would like to ask Minister for Education Lotta Edholm about and, if so, how she will work for a continued free school choice for Sweden's young people.

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Statsrådet Lotta Edholm (L)

Madam Speaker! Thanks to Altina, one might say in this case!

I am a warm supporter of the school election, but it also needs to be developed. In the Tidö Agreement, we write a part about this: that we shall have a mandatory school election but also that we must create a common system for the school election so that it becomes fair.

I believe that most in this chamber today stand up for freedom of choice and students' right to choose school, but also actually to change schools when things and matters do not work as they should.

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Hanna Westerén (S)

Madam Speaker! Gotlandic food producers contribute every day to Sweden's supply capacity and thus also to Sweden's total defense. More than 80 percent of Gotland's food production leaves the island. The price increases for freight are now at sky-high levels and have increased by almost 50 percent over the last year. Several producers are now warning that they are considering closing down, with devastating consequences for Gotland and thus also for Sweden as a whole.

I therefore wonder if Minister for Rural Affairs Peter Kullgren is considering any transport support for Gotland. If properly designed, a transport support could ensure Gotlandic companies' transport costs and also ensure that they do not exceed the transport costs in the rest of the country.

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Landsbygdsministern Peter Kullgren (KD)

Madam Speaker! This is a question that does not primarily lie on my desk either, but the Gotlandic production of food is, of course, immensely important from my perspective.

I know that we are monitoring the situation closely regarding the transport issue, which is very special on Gotland, because it is an island and one is limited in transport possibilities.

I know that my colleague Andreas Carlson in my department is paying close attention to this very issue for the sake of agriculture, but also for passenger transport and other transports that are necessary for Gotland.

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Staffan Eklöf (SD)

Madam Speaker! My question is directed to Minister for Rural Affairs Kullgren.

I believe that the blue and yellow parties agree on wanting to simplify the rules for agriculture. The important investigation on competitiveness with maintained animal welfare has already been launched and will be able to solve some of the problems. But a broad simplification investigation was also needed.

One such is intended to come soon, if I have understood correctly. We Sverigedemokrater consider that a major overhaul should be made this time. New methods must be tested, and we must be brave to change. Reforms for increased legal certainty must also be made in the same overhaul. It is also important that the reforms do not delay for too long. They are needed now!

A clear signal that simplification is coming would facilitate for all those farmers who struggle with difficult conditions and could even help generational transitions that are in the works, because the future would look brighter.

Therefore, I ask: When will the broad simplification inquiry for agriculture arrive?

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Landsbygdsministern Peter Kullgren (KD)

Madam Speaker! It is beyond doubt that the regulatory burden on Swedish business, agriculture in particular, affects competitiveness negatively. As a first step, the government has already made adjustments in the regulatory letters of the Swedish Food Agency and the Swedish Board of Agriculture so that they shall, within their respective areas of operation, report which rules and conditions create obstacles.

We prioritize the work to develop a food strategy 2.0 where measures for companies' competitiveness are central and simplification is prioritized. The goal is for production in Sweden to increase.

As you mention, we have commissioned an inquiry into competitiveness and strong animal welfare. The inquiry shall also investigate possibilities for regulatory simplifications, and there are more processes underway to look at regulatory simplifications. We are also not waiting for inquiries but have, as stated, already issued amended regulatory letters to several central authorities.

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Adrian Magnusson (S)

Madam Speaker! The Swedish school market means that schools compete for students in a market. It is a completely unique way of managing students' education.

There are several different and highly creative ways that private schools use to attract students, because more students equals greater profit. Reports are constantly coming in that grades are being used as a competitive tool. Easy grades are used to attract students, quite simply. It destroys the entire idea of the grading system and can harm Sweden and young people's education in a way that is difficult to oversee.

With the Swedish market school, it is the owners' waffle stands and bank accounts that are prioritized, not the students' education or the country's competitiveness. The issue is very serious. Grades must never be used as a means of competition.

My question to Minister Lotta Edholm is therefore the following: How will the Minister ensure that schools can never attract students with easily earned grades?

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Statsrådet Lotta Edholm (L)

Madam Speaker! Thank you, the member, for this important question, which I have now answered several times in the chamber today.

Grade inflation is a major problem. It is a major problem that students receive grades that are too high – that is the biggest problem – but it also happens that students receive grades that are too low. Nevertheless, grade inflation is a very major problem. Therefore, the government intends to appoint an inquiry to review the possibilities to, for example, more clearly link the grading to the results of the national tests. In order for it to be possible to do this in an effective way, we need to have a central direction of the national tests, for we know that there are also problems there, but also a digitalization of this. This will take place in the coming years.

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Ludvig Aspling (SD)

Madam Speaker! Swedish integration policy has for a long time focused on economic integration, i.e., that one should work, while we as the only party have underlined the importance of norms and values within integration policy, i.e., that one should adapt to the cultural rules and norms that apply here.

The so-called Easter riots are a clear example of how this perspective has been missing. Several persons who have been convicted of acts of complete madness have appeared to be economically integrated, and from interviews it appears that many of the persons who have participated fully completely lack any understanding of how Sweden functions as a country.

That is why I want to ask if Tobias Billström considers that norms and values must achieve a greater impact in Swedish integration policy and if that question needs to be followed up and measured in an equally clear way as is done regarding, for example, unemployment and economic issues.

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Utrikesministern Tobias Billström (M)

Madam Speaker! That the Sweden Democrats is the only party, we can discuss that. I think my own party has been very forward-looking in the view that it is important that we actually discuss the need for norms in relation to integration.

It is completely obvious that in a matter such as values, including regarding gender equality policy, a forward-looking perspective is needed when it comes to integration. This is, of course, something that we need to consider, and there is certainly reason to reflect on this both when it concerns agency governance and when it concerns the municipal level in the work of conducting integration activities. One must not forget that much of the integration today is conducted in a primary municipal environment, where we discuss what the schools and social services do.

But I welcome the view that it is important to incorporate norms into the integration perspective. If we do not do that, we risk ending up in a situation where those who are newly arrived in Sweden do not understand what we actually believe and think in this country regarding, among other things, an issue such as equality, and that is naturally unfortunate.

The question period was hereby concluded.

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