Question Time

FÖRSTE VICE TALMANNEN

I would like to welcome the ministers. Questions today are answered by Minister Romina Pourmokhtari, Minister Lotta Edholm, Minister for Justice Gunnar Strömmer, and Minister for Education Mats Persson. A question must be of an overall and general political nature or relate to a subject that falls within the minister's area of responsibility and concerns his/her performance of duties. The question shall therefore not concern, for example, conditions within political parties. Minister Romina Pourmokhtari answers both general political questions and questions within her own area of responsibility.

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Ardalan Shekarabi (S)

Mr. Speaker! My question is addressed to the honorable Minister for Justice. I am posing it because gang violence is now accelerating. We see more and more shootings and the explosions continue. It is obvious that the increased penalties that the Chamber has decided upon over three parliamentary terms are now not leading to a halt in the development.

My question to the Minister of Justice is: What measures does the government intend to take here and now during the coming months to ensure that the work to stop new recruitment to the gangs succeeds?

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Justitieministern Gunnar Strömmer (M)

Mr. Speaker! I thank Ardalan Shekarabi for a question on an extremely important issue. There is a great deal in the question. We have recently seen further brutal reminders of the organized crime's violence and the indifference toward how completely innocent people are affected.

It is important with precise sentencing increases. On January 1, an important sentencing increase came into force, they doubled the minimum sentences for the serious weapons crimes. That we lock up those who carry weapons in an illegal manner twice as long does not only mean that they cannot commit new crimes during that time; they also cannot recruit any new children and youths into the criminal networks for a twice as long period.

Let me also say that we have brought the residence bans to the chamber. We have brought the security zones to the chamber, which four parties in the Riksdag unfortunately chose to vote against. We will bring more sharp tools, not only during the spring but also during the summer, the autumn, and the entire parliamentary term.

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Ardalan Shekarabi (S)

Mr. Speaker and the Minister for Justice! What I am missing is the government's description of how the new recruitment to the gangs is to be stopped. What measures does the government intend to take here and now so that we do not see a continuation where 12, 13, and 14-year-olds are recruited into the gangs? This is happening now at the same time as we see large cuts in schools, in social services, and in leisure activities. These are central interventions that are about stopping the new recruitment and saving the children from the gangs.

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Justitieministern Gunnar Strömmer (M)

Mr. Speaker! There are record-breaking investments in family support and in school social teams in the government's budgets. There are record-breaking legislative projects to tear down secrecy barriers between school, social services, and the police.

It is clear that we would have been in an extraordinarily much better position if this had been in place already when we took over. But that was not the case. Now we are doing everything that should have been done a long time ago, both when it comes to the police, when it comes to the tools, when it comes to the punishments, and when it comes to all the social and educational issues which of course are completely crucial in order to be able to stop the new recruitment in the long term.

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Adam Marttinen (SD)

Mr. Speaker! Previous Social Democratic governments chose during their time in government not to tighten the penalties for punishable offenders under the age of 18. This was something that was met with criticism from both the Moderates and the Sweden Democrats.

In the Tidö Agreement, which our parties have agreed upon, the specific sentence reduction that exists today for criminally responsible offenders under the age of 18 shall be reviewed. However, it is not specified in any further detail what such a tightening of the sentencing should look like.

I therefore want to ask the Minister for Justice whether the government is prepared to allow our investigation to open up so that those who are under 18 years old and of criminal responsibility can be met with a life sentence for the most serious crimes, for example, where an innocent person is shot to death in the open street in front of the eyes of their own children.

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Justitieministern Gunnar Strömmer (M)

Mr. Speaker! Thank you, Adam Marttinen, for a very important question! We are now going to make reforms concerning young people and young perpetrators. These are reforms in the area of criminal law and reforms concerning the penalties broadly. It is about the intersection between the correctional services and the reforms that are now to take place on the more social institutional side, i.e., the reorganization of the Sis-sector towards the HVB homes. These are reforms that are extraordinarily important if we are to have opportunities to both provide redress for crime victims affected by serious crime and protect society against serious crime that is also committed by persons under 18 years of age. It is also about having opportunities to break, in the long term, the destructive patterns that cause children and young people to be drawn into crime.

We have jointly agreed on directives for an investigation that is currently reviewing how the consequences, a transition to prison sentences also for perpetrators under 18 years old, should look. It is an open mandate for the investigator, and I do not want to anticipate the conclusions.

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Adam Marttinen (SD)

Mr. Speaker! I believe that quite a few of us in this country are beginning to get a sense that we lack justice in our country for the most serious crimes. If this Moderate-led government cannot say straight out that one can open up for the possibility that criminally liable perpetrators shall be met with the most serious punishment, namely life imprisonment, the Moderate-led government will be able to take the criminal's perspective into account just as the Social Democrats' governments have done previously. I believe that it is a dangerous path forward for our country.

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Justitieministern Gunnar Strömmer (M)

Mr. Speaker! That is also why the Moderates, the Liberals, the Christian Democrats, and the Sweden Democrats have agreed on very offensive directives for the inquiry that is now reviewing how the sentencing system should be designed, also for young people under 18. The inquiry also includes the question of whether the age of criminal responsibility should also be reviewed.

I completely agree, especially when it comes to the oldest young people, those who are 17 and nearly 18 years old: The difference in punishment between a 17-year-old and an 18-year-old for exactly the same crime can be enormously large. This is naturally extremely offensive, and it is not acceptable if we want to give crime victims a proper redress. This is what we shall change.

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Daniel Riazat (V)

Mr. Speaker! Sweden has the world's most extreme free school experiment, which over the last 30 years has led to many resources disappearing from our welfare and from the taxpayers directly into the pockets of a few greedy owners. Despite this, it has not been possible to have full transparency, that is, the principle of public access, within the Swedish school system. There, the free schools have gotten away with it by saying that it concerns business secrets.

On April 10, the Liberals announced that they had changed their position on the issue of the principle of public access. Consequently, there is a majority in the Swedish Riksdag to introduce this. On April 24, the Riksdag will vote on whether to have the principle of public access or not in the Swedish school system.

Does the Minister for Education intend to inform his members in the Education Committee that they shall vote for the principle of public access, or was the Liberals' press conference on April 10 just a show for the galleries?

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Statsrådet Lotta Edholm (L)

Mr. Speaker! I can tell you that just a couple of hours ago I received an investigation that presents a number of different proposals in this area. I think it is incredibly important that we significantly increase transparency in the friskolor, and the investigation provides different alternatives for how this could be achieved. We in the Liberals have said that we prefer a principle of public access.

The investigation will now be referred, naturally, and then we shall prepare a bill. But the important thing is that I can say here and now that we will significantly increase the transparency in the independent school system in the coming years.

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Daniel Riazat (V)

Mr. Speaker! Even though my expectations for the Liberals are extremely small, I still thought that when one has held a press conference before the country's citizens, one would stick to what was said a couple of days later.

I ask the question again: How is it that private actors are to be able to take part of billions and billions in tax money while at the same time we are not to have legislation that ensures that citizens and journalists get insight into what is being paid for? Why should this fiddling be allowed to continue?

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Statsrådet Lotta Edholm (L)

Mr. Speaker! That is exactly why this investigation has now come forward with a number of different proposals to address what Daniel Riazat is talking about. We will refer the investigation, and then we will negotiate within the parties in the government cooperation and present a proposal. The idea is that we are to significantly improve the transparency in our independent schools.

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Stina Larsson (C)

Mr. Speaker! We in Sweden often want to be the best in class and the best in the EU, but sometimes it unfortunately goes too far.

Last week, alarming news arrived that we Swedes are no longer allowed to burn our own garden waste. The Swedish Environmental Protection Agency refers to EU directives and maintains in all seriousness that it is no longer permitted to light a bonfire on the property after spring cleaning.

Here we cannot blame the EU. In all the discussions and deliberations we have had regarding the waste directive, I have heard nothing about any incineration ban whatsoever.

What is it then that applies? What assessment does the government and Minister Pourmokhtari make? Are we allowed to burn our branches, as the Vice Prime Minister does? Or is it, as the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency says, actually forbidden?

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Statsrådet Romina Pourmokhtari (L)

Mr. Speaker! I thank Member Larsson for the question. She belongs to the Center Party, and I find that quite interesting because a representative for the Center Party, by posting pictures and information about this EU proposal from 2008, has contributed to a heavily misled debate about what the proposal entails. Claims have been spread wildly that one would no longer be allowed to light bonfires in Sweden and that this government would be held responsible for it.

Let me be very clear: No cornfields in Sweden are endangered. If you follow your municipality's regulations, you are also allowed to burn your garden waste.

This debate is very worrying, especially in times of the election campaign for the European Parliament. One should not spread misleading information about what EU regulation entails. This simply means that we can continue to burn garden waste in Sweden as long as we follow our municipalities' regulations, just as we did previously and before the handling of this proposal.

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Stina Larsson (C)

Mr. Speaker! It is easy to pass the question on to someone else, in this case the municipalities. So we cannot have that. I raised this because such things create mistrust towards the EU. Overinterpretation or even misinterpretation of EU directives causes Sweden to have worse conditions than other EU countries with more regulatory complications, higher costs, and more administration.

What measures is the government taking to ensure that our authorities interpret and handle the regulatory frameworks in a reasonable manner?

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Statsrådet Romina Pourmokhtari (L)

Mr. Speaker! It is an interesting question that the member poses. I do not know if the Center Party now means that it is not the municipalities that should handle waste issues, but that these should be handled in some other way. For the time being, however, it is so in Sweden that the municipalities bear a great responsibility for waste management.

Just regarding this, misleading information has been spread where a proposal from 2008 has been shared and it has been implied that this means we would not be able to apply legislation and directives that should be applied. A lot of misleading information is being spread, and it is turning strongly against the government.

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Camilla Hansén (MP)

Mr. Speaker! I wonder when the government will address the underfunding of the school.

My questions about the government's priorities in the funding of education are starting to feel a bit like a self-playing piano. Perhaps it is because history is repeating itself.

For the child who is going to learn to read, write, and count, it matters whether the teacher has time here and now, not in the next boom when the government wants to invest in the school. If the teachers have classes that are too large, if student assistants are allowed to leave, and if there are not enough special teachers and special educators, something is missing in the educational country of Sweden.

Now the government is presenting an investment of 500 million. That is enough for approximately 1,300 teachers for half a year. It is not enough for a world-class school. The municipalities say they need more. There are parties, such as Miljöpartiet, that are prepared to give more. When will substantial investments in schools come from the government?

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Statsrådet Lotta Edholm (L)

Mr. Speaker! I thank you for the question.

The financing of Swedish schools is a shared responsibility between the municipalities and the state. We municipalized the responsibility for schools about 30 years ago, and it is therefore the municipalities' responsibility. But the state obviously also has a responsibility to ensure that the school functions. That is why we are making the major investments that we are now making for more special education teachers, smaller teaching groups, emergency schools, and not least teaching materials. These are investments that are extremely important for us to have a good school for all students. The latest addition is about half a billion kronor during the current year, precisely to support the municipalities in their important work for a good school.

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Camilla Hansén (MP)

Mr. Speaker! Now, the question I asked was regarding proper funding for the school, not for other parts. Teaching materials and teachers are important, but it needs to come now. Money is lacking, and it has been for a long time.

I note that others here are asking about combating crime with punishment. We know that school is an incredibly important protective factor. It matters here and now whether there are teachers in the classrooms when the children are small.

How are we to achieve the shift from late support to early support if there is no money?

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Statsrådet Lotta Edholm (L)

Mr. Speaker! I naturally share that view entirely. I believe that we must take a new approach to the funding of Swedish schools. It is also why we have commissioned an inquiry into a national school funding standard. Such a standard will mean that the municipalities will not be able to invest as little as any amount of money in our schools. I also believe that the state must in the future take a significantly greater responsibility than it does today.

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Helena Storckenfeldt (M)

Mr. Speaker! I live on a farm. Every spring, it results in a lot of garden waste, which in turn, of course, means a bonfire instead of many trips to the recycling center. Neither in the Waste Ordinance nor in the EU Waste Directive does it say anything about a general burning ban, just as the Minister said in his answer to Stina Larsson. Waste that has been prepared for material recycling may, however, not be burned, but that is something completely different.

Does what I have gathered on my land of leaves, twigs, and that stubborn raspberry bush that I have sorted out really count? According to the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency's guidelines, it apparently does, which has created great confusion in the municipalities, which have the responsibility to provide clear guidelines.

In my home municipality Kungsbacka, we are now in the "bräschen" and allow burning, but in Uppsala, this is interpreted as a total ban on burning.

My question is: What can the municipalities do? How can the municipalities find the right information for guidance here?

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Statsrådet Romina Pourmokhtari (L)

Mr. Speaker! Thank you, Member, for a well-posed question! Time is short; I will try to summarize as much as possible.

The implementation of EU legislation that Sweden, with the help of this government, chooses to carry out gives every municipality full opportunities to implement the legislation in an appropriate manner. We have fought hard, both when the issue was negotiated and when we worked with the implementation at the national level and at the EU level, to ensure that the municipalities shall have those opportunities.

The last thing a liberal and bourgeois government wants to do is to complicate things for the people. So we are absolutely not working that way. You can light brush fires when the time comes for it. And you can manage your garden waste in practically the same way as before.

It is sad when the debate is twisted in this way and when one has a hidden agenda and spreads misleading information. But the implementation of the legislation will proceed without any major changes compared to how it is today.

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Helena Storckenfeldt (M)

Mr. Speaker! I would like to thank the Minister for the answer. I hope that this clarifies a number of things for the municipalities that are now struggling with the interpretation.

The Swedish Environmental Protection Agency's guidelines have caused great confusion, even though it clearly states that it is only the waste that has been collected and prepared for material recycling that may not be incinerated. The guidelines from Naturvårdsverket are clear but completely disproportionate.

Just as the minister says, there is actually no difference. It is still up to the municipalities. I wonder if the minister can do anything. Or is it the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency that must do it over and do it right here?

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Statsrådet Romina Pourmokhtari (L)

Mr. Speaker! There are rules for how authorities conduct their work and interpret what we submit.

But I can state that the government since last year - long before the Center Party chose to spread inaccuracies about this - has worked on an investigation specifically on how we can clarify the formulations. It is about ensuring that such misunderstandings do not occur and that all municipalities shall apply the valves that, among others, the Swedish government has ensured exist in the legislation.

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Magnus Jacobsson (KD)

Mr. Speaker! My question also goes to Minister Romina Pourmokhtari.

When it comes to small-scale hydropower, we are talking about almost a thousand entrepreneurs in the countryside. They are waiting for a decision from the government regarding new regulations. They feel great concern and are wondering how they should act based on the new regulations and the difference compared to those that have existed until now.

My question is: How is the process going to produce new regulations for small-scale hydropower?

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Statsrådet Romina Pourmokhtari (L)

Mr. Speaker! We are keen that the measures at the hydropower plants are carried out, partly because we need to fulfill our part of the EU's Water Framework Directive. That is the case. And we need to do that in a reasonable way. That is exactly where the government comes in.

We will take measures to ensure that the impact on all types of hydropower becomes acceptable. And we will ensure that we include more perspectives than have been done previously.

Of course, it is important that the negative impact of hydropower on the environment is reduced. But we cannot, again, keep making things complicated for people as we do. This applies in particular to the small-scale hydropower owners.

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Magnus Jacobsson (KD)

Mr. Speaker! I have myself been involved in introducing a water council in Bohuslän and am well acquainted with the Water Framework Directive, whose main purpose is to ensure that there is drinking water. Authorities have interpreted it as the main purpose being to ensure that there is salmon swimming, but that is not quite the goal and meaning of the Water Framework Directive.

It concerns more issues, such as cultural heritage, food production and property value. We have 10,000-15,000 different dams, some of which have been planned for demolition. This would lead to radical changes in our cultural environment.

Do you also include those thoughts in the process, Minister?

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Statsrådet Romina Pourmokhtari (L)

Mr. Speaker! We bring those perspectives with us. There is much to weigh together here.

But let me point out that the primary thing is to ensure that hydropower becomes acceptable from a power system perspective. We must ensure that hydropower can play a good role in our power system.

In addition to that, there are many different aspects to take into account, not least from the cultural perspective that a liberal, bourgeois government naturally carries with it.

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Louise Thunström (S)

Mr. Speaker! My question is addressed to Minister for Education Mats Persson.

By the summer, Sensus Studieförbund will conclude all its activities in the Dalsland municipality of Bengtsfors. There has been an abundance of activity organized by the study association. During a week, the activities, courses, and cultural events were able to attract 130 people.

This closure is a direct consequence of the Sweden Democrats' and the government's heavy cuts to student unions. These are cuts that primarily affect the countryside.

In light of the consequences we are now seeing and how it empties the countryside of leisure activities and opportunities for education and community, I wonder if the government will nevertheless choose to proceed with the announced further cuts to the study associations.

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Utbildningsministern Mats Persson (L)

Mr. Speaker! Thanks to the questioner for the question!

It is true that some of our study associations have had financial problems for a long time. The tough economic situation we have now, with high inflation, means that some operations are affected. That is how it is, and it is regrettable.

It is also true that the government, just as the Social Democrats say, makes a clear prioritization. We prioritize education. We are making incredible investments so that people can get an education. It can be in vocational training, and it can be in komvux. We are making investments in education throughout our country. It is a clear prioritization in a situation where we cannot promise everything to everyone.

We mean that it is an important prioritization. If we are to build Sweden strong, there are namely three things that are important. It is education, education and education.

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Louise Thunström (S)

Mr. Speaker! I interpret the Minister's answer as that the cuts to the student unions will continue in further budgets. That is what the Minister is telling us now.

The idea that all of Sweden shall live, is it just a cliché without content? The consequences of this will, as stated, be that the countryside is emptied of education, leisure activities, and culture.

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Utbildningsministern Mats Persson (L)

Mr. Speaker! The Government believes that education and study associations are very important. That is why we are investing nearly 4 billion kronor in study associations and their activities. It is a testament to the fact that we consider them to be important activities.

But we also think that education is important, and we prioritize education highly. We are now expanding the number of educational places in our entire country, from Ystad to Vilhelmina. This means that tens of thousands of people now get the opportunity to attend an education that they previously could not have attended.

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Beatrice Timgren (SD)

Mr. Speaker! My question is addressed to the Minister for the Environment.

Recently, we have seen several high-profile cases where landowners have had their logging applications rejected with reference to species protection. This results in major economic consequences for private individuals.

Decisions on logging bans can be appealed. But in that case, a reverse burden of proof applies. The landowner therefore risks being left with both their own and the state's litigation costs and, in addition to this, also costs for consultants to investigate which species are present within the property. It can cost several hundred thousand kronor. That is a lot of money for a private individual.

The current management of species protection is also counterproductive. If a landowner takes measures on their land that make it favorable for many species, the landowner risks losing the right to cultivate their land.

That is why I want to ask the Minister why the forest investigation, which is starting now, will not address ownership rights in relation to species protection and infringement compensation when the need is so pressing.

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Statsrådet Romina Pourmokhtari (L)

Mr. Speaker! I thank the member for the question.

The government is well aware of the problem. We believe that it is important to establish a clearer regulatory framework for landowners and for other stakeholders. At the same time, we must have effective species protection in order to comply with our EU legislation.

In the work within the Government Offices, we have seen a need to further investigate two issues in light of the legal developments in the area. One concerns national protection, and the other concerns compensation linked to species protection. These are issues that we are working on right now and that we will continue to work on, and more information will be presented shortly.

Then I move on to the part of the question concerning how it is that this is not being handled within the forest inquiry. It is simply a matter of that the forest inquiry is to focus on how our bioeconomy can grow, and there are many potential pieces to investigate there. It is a complex issue that we prefer to handle separately in order to achieve it as well as possible for the landowners and for the forest owners, and with a liberal and conservative perspective in mind.

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Andrea Andersson Tay (V)

Mr. Speaker! The Minister for Climate and the Environment has on repeated occasions asserted that the government is the first to have a plan for how Sweden will reach all the way to net-zero emissions. The Climate Policy Council, however, states in its review that measures to reach the climate goals are missing in the government's climate action plan and that it is therefore misleading and lacks objectivity.

Last week, the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency also established that Sweden will not reach the climate goals by either 2030 or 2045 with the government's decided and planned measures. All that exists is a promise of an investigation that is to propose measures that, at best, can be in place after this mandate period's end.

Will the Minister for Climate and the Environment, in light of this, stand firm that the government has a plan for how the climate goals are to be achieved?

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Statsrådet Romina Pourmokhtari (L)

Mr. Speaker! The answer to that question is yes. I stand by what I have set out, with all the content contained in our climate action plan. It concerns over 70 proposals in total.

If we implement all these proposals as they are designed and written, and succeed in doing so within the timeframe, and if they achieve the effects we assess exist – then for the first time are the conditions present to reach the goals. But I do not intend to do as the previous government and say that we reach the goal because there is a line on a curve showing 60 percent in the reduction obligation. It is not enough to say that we have reached the goal and can lean back.

One must constantly review and evaluate how all the investments are progressing, whether they turn out correctly, and whether we get the energy system we need to electrify our transport sector and our industry. There is much that indicates that it will be a major challenge.

We need much more wind power, and we need much more nuclear power. Here sit members who do not quite know how they feel regarding nuclear power. The Miljöpartiet spokesperson says that the nuclear power plant felt scary to visit.

It is a long way forward, but with our plan, the conditions exist to reach net zero for the first time - yes.

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Anders Ådahl (C)

Mr. Speaker! The Minister for Education has on several occasions recently stated that there are too many independent courses at Swedish universities. Some courses are, moreover, of a hobbyist nature, the Minister for Education states. The criticism from the academy has been great and strong. It is even argued that the Minister for Education does not really know what higher education looks like.

The direct management to get this in order, I have understood from the Minister for Education, shall take place by having fewer economic resources for the universities. My questions are of a practical nature: How shall the Minister for Education ensure that it is precisely those courses that are of a hobby character that disappear from the course offerings? Is it the Minister himself who shall select these, or does he place a trust that the higher education institutions have the ability to clear their own catalogs themselves?

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Utbildningsministern Mats Persson (L)

Mr. Speaker! I thank Anders Ådahl for the question.

Will our educational institutions have access to less money in the coming years? The answer is no. The debate is not about how much money universities and colleges have. The debate is about that during the recent years, Social Democratic governments have deliberately used colleges and universities as a part of hiding youth unemployment and expanded the number of independent distance courses, which have increased enormously.

This has meant that instead of receiving teacher-led lessons, students complain that they receive too little teacher-led time. Instead, the focus has been on ensuring that as many as possible start university.

We think that is the wrong starting point. We want high quality in the educations, and we want to prioritize those parts that are needed more in society, namely engineers, nurses and other important key competencies for our society.

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Jacob Risberg (MP)

Mr. Speaker! My question also goes to Education Minister Mats Persson.

Sweden sees itself as a knowledge nation, a country that safeguards academic freedom. But few countries have such weak protection for academic freedom in Europe. Research is protected, but not teaching, the organization of higher education institutions, or their funding. The trust between government and academia has suffered some setbacks after a sudden change in the terms of office for boards, suddenly withdrawn research funds, the least amount of teaching time in Europe, and most recently, detailed comments on the independent distance courses and the devaluation of the humanities.

In Ekots Saturday interview, the Minister for Education opened for a review of the protection for academic freedom in the constitution. When will the government strengthen the protection for academic freedom? When will the work begin?

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Utbildningsministern Mats Persson (L)

Mr. Speaker! I thank the questioner.

The government considers academic freedom to be very important. That is why we are strengthening the protection for lecturers and professors who are threatened in their professional activities, so that they receive stronger criminal law protection if they are threatened or otherwise affected in their professional activities. It is a sign that we take researchers' academic freedom most seriously.

It is quite true, as the Green Party points out, that there is little teaching time for students in Sweden. The Green Party has a very large responsibility for this. There are fewer teaching hours for a chemical engineer today than 15 years ago. One does not get time in the lab, one does not get time in machine halls, and one gets too little practical teaching. Why? Well, because the Green Party, the Social Democrats, and the red-green parties for far too many years have prioritized hiding youth unemployment instead of increasing the quality of the universities.

It is over now. We are changing the policy, and we are clear about the fact that we are doing so.

(Applause)

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Crister Carlsson (M)

Mr. Speaker! The question goes to Minister for Climate and Environment Romina Pourmokhtari.

Every summer there is a mosquito plague around Dalälven. The issue affects at least four counties and many municipalities. It is good that the state now has an annual appropriation for mosquito control, but this year the municipalities around Dalälven have signaled that there may be a shortage of financial resources to purchase the agents used.

Does the government have a reassuring message to give the residents in the area?

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Statsrådet Romina Pourmokhtari (L)

Mr. Speaker! I thank Member Carlsson for the question.

The question is extremely important, and we are aware that there are problems with the mosquitoes, especially around the lower Dalälven. It is a discussion that we also had during a longer interpellation debate, which one can look at if one wants to hear more on the matter.

Briefly, there are state funds for the limitation of the mass occurrence of flood mosquitoes. From 2024, the county administrative boards have been allocated 5.4 million kronor for this specific purpose.

This year, we have allocated the funds in their entirety to the county administrative grants. This is something that has been requested. It is argued that it can reduce the administrative burden and facilitate long-term planning. But we naturally need to follow the issue and see how the problems develop. Then we can act from the state level.

Now the funds are there, and we truly hope they do the good they need to do.

(Applause)

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Lili André (KD)

Mr. Speaker! The supply of competence is one of the greatest future challenges we have to manage now and in the coming years. A key to solving this challenge is that students in primary school want to educate themselves for professions that the labor market needs. Here we see a need to strengthen the integration of study and career guidance in our schools in Sweden.

As recently as Monday, I met an association in Västmanland that is funded by various industries and municipalities. They act as the employers' voice in the classroom, where they inspire and motivate students to make well-considered study and career choices. It is a concept that has proven to yield good results.

In view of this, I would like to ask the following question to Education Minister Lotta Edholm. What is the government doing to ensure that students in primary school gain knowledge about the labor market in a way that enables them to choose education that leads to jobs?

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Statsrådet Lotta Edholm (L)

Mr. Speaker! I thank you for this very important question. I will immediately admit that I had not heard of this project, but it sounds very exciting and good. Good study and career guidance is sometimes crucial for young people to make the right choice. For quite a long time, we have seen that vocational educations are not chosen to the extent that they perhaps should; very many young people who are a bit unsure about which upper secondary education they should choose prefer a theoretical education.

Now we have appointed an inquiry into vocational education to see if there can be different ways to enter vocational education, different lengths and so on. But I think this question is very important, because it is important that young people choose correctly quite early, even though one can, of course, always change one's mind and choose again.

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Joakim Sandell (S)

Mr. Speaker! My question is addressed to Minister for Justice Gunnar Strömmer. With deregulation and liberalization as the guiding principle, the Swedish legislation regarding economic crime has become too weak. Economic crimes bring several problems. The most obvious is that gang criminals can launder money and finance their criminal activities. It is not a reasonable order that someone who is convicted of serious crimes linked to gang criminality should be able to run companies to launder money.

Against this background, we Social Democrats have, among other things, proposed to lower the threshold for business bans. A lowering of the threshold for business bans could prevent unsuitable actors from using companies as tools for crime. For example, gang-related crimes could lead to business bans.

How does the government view the issue of lowering the threshold for business bans, and what additional measures is the government taking to prevent gang criminals from running businesses?

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Justitieministern Gunnar Strömmer (M)

Mr. Speaker! I thank Joakim Sandell for this important question. To answer the question directly, we view the possibility of tightening the regulations regarding the opportunities to run businesses for individuals who have committed serious crimes in an extremely positive and constructive way.

The business prohibition is an essential part of this. I think there are also other issues of interest. Our entire sanctions system, that is, what is actually not about punishment but more about administrative sanctions of various kinds, I think there may be reason to review.

We are currently working on a report titled Companies and Crime, and we intend to return to the Riksdag in the near future with a government bill where we seriously direct the entire state's arsenal against the criminal networks in order to choke the criminal economy and strike away the economic base for the criminal networks.

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Mats Arkhem (SD)

Mr. Speaker! My question is addressed to Minister of Justice Gunnar Strömmer.

The laws regarding waste management show major deficiencies. One example of this is my neighboring municipality Botkyrka, which has been highlighted for the scandal involving the waste company Think Pink. It turned out that the municipality's and the legislators' possibilities to stop the handling before the damage was done were practically non-existent. There are also problems with larger established companies that do not properly take care of and deposit contaminated excavated soil in a proper way.

Waste management has also become a breeding ground for criminals, who are allowed to pollute land and nature without any significant risk of consequences. It also distorts competition and makes it difficult for serious companies that want to do the right thing. The management of waste should therefore be subject to a permit requirement. There should be a ban on landfills in water protection areas and greater requirements for landowners who lease out their land for landfills. Therefore, I want to ask Gunnar Strömmer if it is not time to tighten the legislation surrounding waste management.

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Justitieministern Gunnar Strömmer (M)

Mr. Speaker! I thank Mats Arkhem for the opportunity to discuss these important issues here today. The short summary of the long speech is: Yes, it is time to review that part of the legislation as well.

This also relates to a previous discussion about the fact that we must mobilize other parts of our public resources against the criminal networks and, for that part, against entrepreneurs who are not part of criminal networks but still commit serious crimes, perhaps for their own gain.

I have been in Botkyrka and met representatives from the police, the environmental department, and the new Moderate-led administration in the municipality. I received a great deal of very good fuel, not least in this area. I see this as an incredibly central part of the high ambition we now have together – several parties here in Sweden's Riksdag in cooperation with the government – to choke the criminal economy, to strike away the economic base for individual business owners who commit crimes and in that way distort competition and smash the structure of the criminal networks.

(Applause)

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Anna Lasses (C)

Mr. Speaker! Preschool and school belong to the most important things to address the increasing exclusion. But half of all children's groups in preschool are larger than the guidelines allow, and the school classes are large.

In recent weeks, Ministers Lotta Edholm and Johan Pehrson have put forward demands for maximum sizes for children's and student groups in accordance with the guidelines. It is very reasonable. But to achieve the guidelines for preschool, it requires, in rough terms, 18 billion in increased personnel costs. To this is added the school, premises, administration, and not to forget the municipalities' lack of money. The financial responsibility is, as mentioned, shared between the state and the municipality, but half a billion is far from 18 billion.

In addition to the investigation on a national school funding norm - how does the Minister for Education intend for the financing to be handled? It is about the children who are in school today, not in ten years.

(Applause)

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Statsrådet Lotta Edholm (L)

Mr. Speaker! I thank you for a very important question. I am completely convinced that we need more state governance of Swedish schools. I think it is good that the Center Party now also realizes this. I believe that we need more regulations. The state needs to take a greater responsibility. We also show this in the state budget with how much money we give to the municipalities generally but also directly to preschool and school. Naturally, we hope that the money will be used in those areas. But in the future, I believe that the state must take a greater responsibility for both preschool and school. The school system is national. Therefore, the state should take a greater responsibility.

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Elin Söderberg (MP)

Mr. Speaker! I turn to Minister Romina Pourmokhtari.

After Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, we in Miljöpartiet took the initiative for a total ban on the import of fossil energy from Russia, something that the Riksdag later supported unanimously. The government has acted insufficiently since then, and even today, fossil gas is imported from Russia to Sweden.

The world's sanctions against Russia have been insufficient. Today, approximately 3 million barrels of oil are transported per day through the Baltic Sea by Russia's shadow fleet. This strengthens Putin's war chest. It also entails catastrophic risks of oil spills in the Baltic Sea that can harm animals and nature and thus a risk that the Swedish state must bear the consequences and cover the costs.

My question is: How has this been able to continue for so long, and what does the Minister for the Environment intend to do about the Russian shadow fleet?

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Statsrådet Romina Pourmokhtari (L)

Mr. Speaker! I thank Member Söderberg for an extremely important question. We need, in many different ways, to ensure that we push back the activities, if one may call them that, which Russia is engaged in right now. It is not just war against Ukraine but so much more. Not least, many different types of deeply problematic activities are taking place in the Baltic Sea. Some of those aspects are raised by the Member in his question.

The government is working primarily to, together in the networks we have, primarily through the EU, ensure that assets are frozen and in other ways make it difficult for Russia to continue in the way they are doing. The EU has now taken concrete steps forward to ensure that, for example, the returns from those funds go to Ukraine. But we also need, within the contexts we have for the Baltic Sea specifically, to work with the type of issues that the member raises. Thank you for the very important question!

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Louise Meijer (M)

Mr. Speaker! We find ourselves in a very serious situation regarding explosions and shootings. Children are shooting children, and innocent, hard-working people are having their homes blown up. The gang criminals show no empathy for the innocent; last Wednesday's incident in Skärholmen shows exactly this.

When this government took office, a camera offensive was promised - an important measure to prevent and combat crime. The recent acts of violence make it clear that the police need expanded and simplified access to camera surveillance. My question to the Minister of Justice is: What is the Moderate-led government doing so that the police and other law enforcement agencies can quickly be given the opportunity for camera surveillance to prevent more innocent people from being affected by the brutal gang violence?

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Justitieministern Gunnar Strömmer (M)

Mr. Speaker! I thank Louise Meijer for this very important question.

Video surveillance is a completely central tool for preventing and investigating crimes, and societal developments mean that we must move the positions forward significantly. Therefore, the government immediately initiated offensive work to produce reforms, and on Monday we received the first proposals.

It is about simplifying for municipalities, regions, and state authorities by abolishing today's permit requirements. The police and others who combat crime shall also be allowed to use camera surveillance in places where it is judged that there is a risk of future crimes and strategic locations for crime - not just as today, places where crimes have already been committed. Furthermore, civilian police vehicles shall be allowed to have their cameras running even when the police leave the vehicle. It shall also become easier for the police to deploy drones.

We are now awaiting further proposals in a special fast-track that the government has initiated to complement with a number of important parts. This includes, among other things, giving the police access to automatic recognition of license plates with the cameras that the police have on their own cars and that they shall have the right to follow other cameras in real-time – traffic cameras, toll cameras, etc. – for the purpose of increasing safety and freedom for the citizens and to prevent, preclude, and solve more crimes.

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Torsten Elofsson (KD)

Mr. Speaker! My question is addressed to Minister Pourmokhtari.

During the previous parliamentary term, the then government submitted the bill A greater differentiation of the shore protection. It received the reception it deserved, that is, it was rejected. There were good reasons for this because the Social Democratic government had lost its way on that issue. It was sent back with the message: Do it over and do it right! The core criticism of the previous government's proposal was that the municipalities must be given a larger mandate regarding how development along lakes and watercourses should look and that local influence must be strengthened.

We want to see more legally secure and clear legislation where the landowner can more easily foresee whether a planned measure can be possible or not.

My question is: Can we today be told what the status of the coastal protection issue is in the preparatory process, and when can we expect to receive this bill?

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Statsrådet Romina Pourmokhtari (L)

Mr. Speaker! I thank Member Elofsson for this question. It always warms a Liberal's heart when one gets to speak about issues of freedom, and this is indeed fundamentally an issue of freedom.

We need a freedom reform generally - a freedom agenda even - for the countryside. We must stop complicating things as much as we do for ordinary people in Sweden. This applies, not least, to how we utilize the shore protection.

That is why it is so good that our four coalition parties within the government base are now in agreement to look at the shore protection and reform it. The work on it is in full swing. We want to ensure that the shore protection fulfills its fundamental purpose, to protect and safeguard valuable nature, and not that it should lay a wet blanket over all coastal landscapes and potential construction over large parts of Sweden. It needs to be protected.

Sweden has plenty of lakes, forests, and coastline, and we must be able to utilize them. The Government is working full-scale to step forward in this work and change and reform the shore protection.

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Paula Örn (S)

Mr. Speaker! It was very welcome that the Minister for Education told Dagens Nyheter this week that she truly regrets that the government base during the previous mandate period blocked the Social Democratic proposals to regulate the school market and that investigations have now been commissioned. In that case, it is very good that there is a much faster way for Minister for Education Lotta Edholm to get through the policy she regrets that it was voted down, namely to use the proposals that already exist and are prepared.

Why should the school wait until the next parliamentary term with regulations of the school market that the Minister himself wants to see, when it is also leaking 2 billion per year from primary school? The Minister for Education has the ultimate political responsibility and the power in school matters. The bills Increased Equality for School Principals and A More Equitable School Choice are ready, referred and prepared and would now also likely win a majority in the Riksdag. I therefore want to ask the Minister for Education: When will she submit these proposals to the Riksdag?

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Statsrådet Lotta Edholm (L)

Mr. Speaker! We have a long series of investigations in progress aimed at changing the independent school system so that we, for example, get more transparency. We must ensure that we remove the profit-making that exists in many independent schools, and we must ensure that we get a national school voucher system that is more fair and so on. All these questions are being investigated right now in various inquiries, and I look forward to taking part in them as they are now presented one by one.

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Robert Stenkvist (SD)

Mr. Speaker! My question is addressed to Minister for Education Persson.

The issue of third-country students who deviate after a short time at Swedish educational institutions and then disappear into our shadow society has become widely noticed after the Swedish National Audit Office raised the problem. An important aspect of this is that some of the colleges profit from this illicit activity. They collect student fees while the shadow society grows ever larger.

It is likely that some of these universities have known about the problem long before the National Audit Office without raising the alarm. Furthermore, the universities are state agencies, and it is serious that these agencies have not raised the alarm themselves but are participating in the handling of the matter.

Does the Minister consider it reasonable that third-country students are granted residence permits for shorter individual courses, perhaps with insufficient knowledge of the English language? What is the Minister's opinion on the fact that state authorities have actually been part of this handling?

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Utbildningsministern Mats Persson (L)

Mr. Speaker! I thank the member for an excellent question. This is a problem that has grown in Sweden in recent years and which means, and risks meaning, that students who are here in Sweden and doing their job, that is, studying, and who can contribute to our society and work in our companies, in the welfare sector or at our universities and colleges, risk not being able to be here because certain students exploit the system and cheat.

The government takes this very seriously, and therefore we have recently commissioned an inquiry that shall look into, among other things, that question. The inquiry shall also look at and address several of the problems concerning the fact that foreign doctoral students and researchers have difficulty being in Sweden. You have surely read stories about people who cannot leave Sweden because they must apply for a renewed residence permit from another country and so on. We are also taking those problems into our hands with the intention that Sweden shall be a country where one can conduct research and that people can come here and do so.

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Johanna Hornberger (M)

Mr. Speaker! My question is addressed to Minister for Education Lotta Edholm. It is my students Elena Tsolakis and Tuva Öhman who have formulated the question. They are also sitting here in the gallery and listening today.

Mental ill-health among young people has increased, primarily among young girls. The development can be linked to mobile phones and social media. The government has proposed that mobile phones should be banned in primary school during the entire school day. Few students are against a mobile phone ban during lesson time, as it increases concentration. Many students, however, find it difficult to understand why the ban should apply during breaks. It is argued that many then risk feeling lonely and vulnerable during the breaks. Many students in upper primary school have friends in other classes and in other schools. If these students are without mobile phones, it can lead to them sitting alone during the break. For students who do not have any friends at all at their own school, the mobile phone is a security – with it, they can keep in touch with their friends.

My question to the Minister for Education is: Can the Minister explain the government's reasoning for not limiting the mobile phone ban to lesson time?

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Statsrådet Lotta Edholm (L)

Mr. Speaker! I thank you for this important question. I would say that there are important reasons why mobile phones should be prohibited during the entire school day and not just during lessons. We know today that Swedish children move far too little, for example. It is only two out of ten children who move sufficiently. We know that bullying today takes place to a very high extent with the help of mobile phones. We know that many students are dependent on their mobiles and on video games and so on.

There is now research showing that students who attend schools that have a total mobile phone ban use screens less in their free time, i.e., at home. I think it is important to take note of that. We must do something about the major problem with mental ill-health, where screens are precisely an important explanation.

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Mats Wiking (S)

Mr. Speaker! Education Minister Mats Persson has, during the past week on several occasions, expressed a strong criticism of the higher education institutions' independent courses and characterized them as hobby-oriented. We Social Democrats interpret this as an indication of a lack of trust in the higher education institutions' ability to offer relevant courses based on the students' needs and the labor market's demands.

The question that is raised is whether the government has sufficient grounds to support its claims and how this will affect students' opportunities to tailor their education according to their individual goals and needs.

My questions to the Minister for Education are: What does the Minister for Education actually mean when he says that independent courses are hobby-oriented? Which hobby-oriented courses should, according to the Minister for Education, be removed?

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Utbildningsministern Mats Persson (L)

Mr. Speaker! This is completely wrong. We are not critical of the educational institutions at all. We are critical of the Social Democrats, and that is a huge difference.

We mean that the policy that the Social Democrats have pursued for many years has meant that one has tried to hide youth unemployment by significantly expanding higher education. They have focused on having as many as possible start higher education instead of giving the students an education of high quality. It has been devastating.

In connection with this, we have seen a development where the number of distance courses has grown very significantly. I believe that many Swedes are asking themselves: Must courses in beer knowledge, wine knowledge, and cat behavior be conducted as academic educations, or can that type of course be offered by someone else? I believe that many Swedes are asking themselves that question.

We are not critical of the educational institutions. We are critical of the Social Democrats. That is a huge difference.

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Anders Alftberg (SD)

Mr. Speaker! My question is addressed to Minister for Education Lotta Edholm. Recently, the issue of radicalization of children in preschool has been highlighted in several high-profile cases. In Socialdemokraternas Malmö, the preschool administration's work against honor norms in preschool was completely torn down by the City of Malmö's own city audit. Staff do not dare or do not want to report concerns to social services when children are subjected to honor oppression by their parents.

In the Järva area, a number of preschools were recently closed with reference to the fact that the preschool administration in the City of Stockholm did not consider that the owner had taken sufficient measures to ensure that the children were not exposed to radicalization.

My question then is: What measures does the government intend to take to prevent children in preschool from being exposed to radicalization?

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Statsrådet Lotta Edholm (L)

Mr. Speaker! This is a very serious issue. That small children, already at preschool age, are exposed to that type of values and influence is completely unacceptable and violates the Swedish Education Act.

The Swedish Schools Inspectorate has received an expanded mandate to review this regarding the school world. But it is clear that the municipalities, which have responsibility for the supervision of the independent preschools, must also take their responsibility.

I think that the latest reports from different parts of the country show what important responsibility the municipalities have. I believe that there are many, not least municipal politicians, who have now opened their eyes to this important issue and that one actually must act in precisely the same way as the government does on the school side.

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Marie-Louise Hänel Sandström (M)

Mr. Speaker! My question is directed to the Minister for Education or perhaps, in this case, the Space Minister Mats Persson.

This week, the minister signed the Artemis space agreement together with the US ambassador - I hope no one has missed this. The agreement includes, among other things, a number of principles for how to behave in space and how to explore space. It also gives Sweden the opportunity to participate in the American national initiative, the Artemis program.

What does this program mean a bit more specifically, and what benefit do we have from it in Sweden?

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Utbildningsministern Mats Persson (L)

Mr. Speaker! Thank you, Marie-Louise Hänel Sandström, for your excellent question! Sweden is an inventor nation. Sweden is an engineering country. It is clear then that it is important for Sweden to have cooperation with countries that are like-minded – countries such as the USA, Canada and Japan and naturally our friends within the framework of the European cooperation.

This is about taking advantage of the power that exists in the space industry. It is part of the technological shift occurring in the world. This agreement provides good conditions for the Swedish research community to take part in the information and the data that will emerge when we now in the world will most likely have a permanent crew on the moon and in the future will go to the planet Mars. This creates great opportunities for Sweden and not least for Swedish academics.

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Anna-Belle Strömberg (S)

Mr. Speaker! Yesterday I met PRO, who described how the frauds have increased. All too often it is the elderly who are the targets of card and telephone frauds. They testified about the members' vulnerability, their shame, and their anxiety about having been defrauded.

They have had meetings with banks, Villaägarnas Riksförbund, Småföretagarnas Riksförbund, SKPF Pensionärerna, and Sveriges Konsumenter. There is a broad consensus that more must be done. PRO has submitted a petition with demands for tougher measures to stop the fraudsters. Certain laws also need to be changed.

Now the government must act and ensure that fraud against the elderly becomes impossible to carry out. There is a letter, and there are proposals from PRO. My question to Minister of Justice Gunnar Strömmer is: What does the government intend to do to prevent fraud against the elderly?

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Justitieministern Gunnar Strömmer (M)

Mr. Speaker! Thank you, Anna-Belle Strömberg, for these questions being raised in the question period today! I am – just like Anna-Belle Strömberg, PRO, SPF and other organizations in civil society that raise these important issues – very shocked by the testimonies that emerge regarding, in particular, elderly people who are subjected to very brutal frauds, often by telephone but also in other ways. We also know that these frauds, together with welfare fraud and other economic crime, collectively today constitute a larger source of income for the criminal networks than narcotics. That says something about the depth and scope of the problem.

We are doing a lot. Together with PRO, I have met with the banks. They are to return during the spring with their preventive measures. We are reviewing the penalties. We are opening up possibilities to use coercive measures even preventively to prevent fraud crimes. I will go through several of PRO's proposals. Much of that needs to be implemented.

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Johnny Svedin (SD)

Mr. Speaker! My question is addressed to Minister Romina Pourmokhtari.

The chemical industry is one of the most research-intensive industries, where innovation and technological development are crucial for competitiveness and sustainability. Innovation within chemistry can lead to more environmentally friendly products and processes and increase resource efficiency and the development of new materials that can contribute to the solution of global challenges such as climate change.

The government has a crucial role in shaping a policy that promotes innovation within the chemical industry by, among other things, ensuring that the regulations are clear, predictable, and not unnecessarily restrictive. This includes reviewing existing rules and consulting with the industry and other interests, as well as avoiding over-implementation of EU directives to ensure that it is a level playing field within the union.

Does the Minister intend to work to improve and simplify the regulatory framework to support innovation and new thinking within the chemical industry and avoid over-implementation of EU legislation?

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Statsrådet Romina Pourmokhtari (L)

Mr. Speaker! Let me be very clear: Yes. The Government generally sees a major problem in that we complicate things infinitely for people who want to do a lot of different things in our society, not least people who want to run businesses within a complex industry, which one can still call the chemical industry. It has been mentioned several times just during this question period.

There is a lot of regulation from the EU side, and we work a lot on developing that regulation to ensure that products produced with the help of the chemical industry are more environmentally friendly and can be circulated and recycled.

We must, therefore, stop making things complicated. The simplification advice that the government recently announced will look at the over-implementation of EU legislation, which may be a task that can benefit the chemical industry.

We also see that we need to have much more dialogue with the industry than we have had previously. Even there, the government is making a big leap, not least by me joining forces with the chemical industry when we talk about, for example, sustainability and the climate transition.

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Niklas Sigvardsson (S)

Mr. Speaker! My question is addressed to Education Minister Mats Persson.

The Minister for Education never gets as excited as when he gets to smear the Social Democrats. But the problem is that the Minister for Education, on several occasions during the past week, has thrown out facts that do not quite hold up. The Minister for Education talks about the extremely growing proportion of independent courses. But the problem is that there were significantly more independent courses when a former liberal Minister for Education sat in power and steered the Ministry of Education.

Therefore, my question to the Minister for Education is: On what basis do the Minister for Education and the government base the claim that the independent courses have been significantly expanded?

(Applause)

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Utbildningsministern Mats Persson (L)

Mr. Speaker! We base that on the fact that the number of places since 2017-2018 has increased significantly following deliberate political decisions from the Socialdemokraterna.

Today, every other independent course is a distance course. It is a fairly significant development that we have seen, which means that many students complain that they do not get teacher-led time. It means that many students complain about not being able to do laboratory work. It means that many students complain about not being able to meet teachers. All of this means that the quality of the education is constantly deteriorating.

This is a deliberate political choice that the Social Democrats have made in a spirit of constantly wanting to hide their failures regarding youth unemployment by expanding higher education, which has been devastating.

Now we are turning that policy around. We believe in a different policy. I understand that it is difficult for the Social Democrats, but we still believe that the way forward is about quality. The one who starts university should know that they receive a high-quality education. I am not ashamed of that.

(Applause)

The question period was hereby concluded.

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