Public administration

Ulrik Nilsson (M)

Madam Speaker! We shall now discuss the Committee on the Constitution's report on public administration. The concept of public administration may sound a bit bureaucratic and boring, but fundamentally, the report is about perhaps the most common intersection between Swedish citizens and the state. It is when we encounter an authority that our relationship with the state is tested. It is there that the trust between the state powers and the citizens is created.

It can be perceived as bureaucratic. There is so much that has to be submitted - shouldn't one just be able to give me the notice that it is okay? It can also be perceived as that the wrong decision is missing. It is part of the matter that one is not always satisfied with all the decisions one receives. One has a bit of a feeling of standing with one's hat in hand before the state power to get answers to the requests and questions one has.

Mr. Speaker, I believe we can also state that we can hardly manage without the public administration. It would not be a society based on the rule of law if we did not have anyone to carry out the things we decide on here in the chamber.

One can have some general principles for the public administration. It shall treat everyone equally. It shall also be clear and transparent so that one understands why a certain decision is made. It shall be based on legal certainty. We should strive to have a scope that corresponds to the need. It shall not be too extensive, but it shall also not be too simple. It shall be efficient. It shall be modern. It shall be reliable. It shall be non-oppressive. In the face of the state authorities, one should feel that it is security, legal certainty, and trust that characterize the relationship. The image is, of course, the somewhat square official. But above all, it is about building trust between the state and the citizens through the public administration.

The report concerns a large number of proposals on how the administration can be developed and changed. It can be about receiving a decision within a certain set time so that, as a business owner, one does not have to wait for the decision for too long. It can also be about wanting a decision in some kind of advance.

It can be about what responsibility officials should have to stand by promises and to make proper assessments. One can sometimes feel a bit vulnerable before an official, who also has an information advantage.

It can be about the authorities, as I said earlier, performing their duties impartially and not as part of a personal interest, to push an issue forward or to be activist. It can also be about how the local service should be organized, where one should be able to meet the state, and how it should function.

All these questions are important. But they are difficult to decide on here and say: "Now we do this and that." It has consequences. This is a process that must grow out, because the trust between citizens and the state is of central importance. Someone once said something wise: "Trust is an important thing, spelled the same forwards and backwards." That's how it is; it is important, and it happens to be spelled the same way from both sides.

Mr. Speaker! In the report, there is another issue, which perhaps does not feel like a fundamental security issue. It concerns the organization of authorities. I shall devote a few words to one of the proposals: the question of potentially moving the embassy in Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

I do not think it is a decision that we should make here today. I may also not agree. I think it is quite reasonable that each state gets to choose where to have its capital. But in Sweden, we have chosen a path where the government handles foreign policy. And foreign policy and diplomacy are significantly more than marking a position in such a matter, or making a political manifestation. It is also about trade relations and security for Swedish citizens.

It is a proposal that I understand is being brought up. But I have some difficulty seeing how much it actually has to do with administration. Above all, the conclusion should be that it is an issue that the government should be allowed to own.

Mr. Speaker! The report contains a number of ideas and thoughts. It must be an ongoing debate, and we must agree here that we are to have an efficient, fair, legally secure and accountable public administration.

Mr. Speaker! Therefore, I would like to move for approval of the committee's proposal in the Committee on the Constitution's report number 24 regarding public administration.

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Ida Karkiainen (S)

Mr. Speaker! I would like to begin by moving for approval of reservation number 3.

As a previous speaker was in, building a strong democracy depends on many components. One part is that the public administration functions well. If it does not function well, there is a risk that people lose confidence in democracy and in the public sector. It can range from long processing times in a case to waiting a long time in the authorities' telephone queues or complicated administrative routines. Even though much in society functions well, there are many things that can be improved.

Mr. Speaker! I have an example. I want to tell you about Pelle Pesula and the pile of paper. Pelle and Åsa are farmers in Kukkola and run a diversified business. A few years ago, Pelle contacted me, sounding a bit desperate. He showed me a thick pile of paper and sighed. It was all the administration associated with the public supervision of their business, and furthermore, at an extensive level of detail.

It is not about the supervision not being important. It is very important. It is needed, among other things, so that we can secure and maintain good animal welfare throughout the country. But as Pelle's pile of papers can illustrate, one can really wonder if it is not possible to simplify the bureaucracy and coordinate certain processes. For example, the supervision could take place during concentrated days, so that it does not occupy an entire work week. There are simply many ways to make the bureaucracy a bit smoother.

Mr. Speaker! We have every reason to be concerned about the decreased voter turnout in the country. It decreased by 3 percentage points from the 2018 election to last year's election. We still have a relatively high voter turnout, at 84.2 percent. But it is not good that it is decreasing so sharply. Deep analyses of the causes of this must obviously be carried out, and we need to make efforts during this parliamentary term to raise the voter turnout for the next election.

Mr. Speaker! One of the reasons why people might choose to abstain from voting is the feeling that the public sector is not there when I need it, that it has withdrawn. From this aspect, there is a reform that is particularly important. It is the establishment of service centers. They were established as part of increasing service cooperation between some agencies but have taken on another important purpose.

In recent decades, there has been an extensive closure of the local offices of government agencies. There has been a strong centralization, and people all over Sweden have seen the agency signs being unscrewed and the jobs disappearing. It has contributed to the feeling that the public sector has withdrawn and that I, as a taxpayer, do not receive the service I expect.

Now the signs are being taken down again. Today there are 131 service offices around the country. It is a very appreciated reform. I would like to take this opportunity to extend a big thank you to all the incredibly skilled employees at the service offices. They perform a task that is much greater than contributing to increased service; they also contribute to the feeling that the public sector is there for me.

We will have reason to return to the debate on the service offices in light of the National Audit Office's review of and report on the service offices.

Mr. Speaker! Another matter I would like to touch upon is the county administrative boards. Sweden's 21 county administrative boards are central for us to have an efficient administration and state. They have many assignments within a large number of policy areas and shall work to ensure that seventy national goals gain traction in the counties. But they shall not only work to ensure that state policy gains traction in the counties but also carry back the specific regional conditions of each county to the state, so that we can make effective and wise decisions that work in the whole country.

The County Administrative Boards shall also contribute to cooperation between the state actors present in the county and promote cooperation between the municipalities, the regions and the state. They are central actors.

They are primarily central in issues that we are now discussing intensively within politics: permit processes, being able to quickly make decisions on an expanded energy system and more establishments linked to the green industry's transition. These are large investments that are accumulating. It is a fantastic development. But for them to be able to establish themselves and for Sweden to be able to keep the lead, permits are required to establish themselves and conduct operations.

It is processes that are difficult and complex. And to a large extent, they land with the county administrative boards. The county administrative boards process the cases, which involves extensive consultations with relevant actors and society at large, as well as reviewing the applications.

The previous Social Democratic government, among other things, tasked the county administrative boards with developing methods and forms of cooperation to promote an efficient consultation process in accordance with the Environmental Code. We also tasked the county administrative boards with reporting proposals on how the authorities' review activities can be made more efficient.

In my previous role as Minister for Civil Affairs, I visited many county administrative boards. I can testify that all around our country, in our 21 counties, very skilled officials are working on the permit processes. They have many wise ideas on how the permit processes can become more efficient without compromising legal certainty and important environmental values.

There are, therefore, proposals that the previous government put forward and that the current government is continuing to work on. There are proposals to realize, and which can be realized quickly. There are also many proposals from the county administrative boards and their employees that can contribute to this. It is the hope that this is also done.

Mr. Speaker! Our colleagues in the Committee on Finance recently dealt with a report on public administration, which has very many relations with this report. How the public sector is organized is one of the things being addressed. It concerns, for example, agency structures, digitalization issues, and where agencies should establish themselves. In that report, it is also described how the Swedish Payments Agency, which was intended to be established in Södertälje, will now be established in Stockholm instead, according to the government's decision on 6 December 2022.

Mr. Speaker! The reason I am raising this question is that the state must engage in localization issues, otherwise the establishments risk taking place within a very narrow geographical area in Stockholm. "But isn't that efficient?" someone might think. One might believe that—but the costs for premises are high in the Stockholm area, and the staff turnover is high. It is also about the fact that in order to be able to have trust in the state, the state, just like the state jobs, must exist throughout the entire country.

Mr. Speaker! There are different political views on how large and strong the public, the common, should be. There are always some who want to go to an election to push issues of a reduced number of agencies, reduced administration, and reduced bureaucracy. It may sound popular, but it is easier said than done, because when it comes down to it, there is no agency that sits around twiddling its thumbs today. Everyone performs a task and fulfills a function.

In the budget bill for 2023, the government has stated that it will streamline the state administration through further reassessment of the public commitment and analyze the agencies' organization. I just want to raise a warning finger in the discussion regarding both the localization issues and the question of how processes can be steered, because it is not always completely simple.

Mr. Speaker! What we do agree on, I believe, is to strive to improve and strengthen the public administration, as that is also a way to promote democracy.

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Jessica Wetterling (V)

Mr. Speaker! "Sweden can no longer be governed like a company." That was the headline of a debate article published last week. The signatories were the chairman of the trade union ST together with several researchers, and they called for a new management policy—a policy that is not influenced by the worst parts of the business sector and that invests in core activities instead of building up enormous control systems and placing increased efficiency requirements on already streamlined operations. It is not difficult to agree.

The results of the last 30 years of ravaging by new public management are visible everywhere in the municipal, regional, and state sectors. It simply does not work, and has instead led to increased stress and workload for employees, while many agencies today struggle with long processing times and have difficulty meeting the expectations that residents have and have the right to have met.

We must be able to trust that if we are affected by crime - then the police will come. If we are affected by unemployment - then we should receive help from Arbetsförmedlingen to find a new job. If we become ill - then we should be able to easily report this to Försäkringskassan and receive compensation shortly so that we avoid falling into debt. And before we go into retirement - then we should receive correct and good information from Pensionsmyndigheten, regardless of whether we were born in 1957 or some other year.

Mr. Speaker! Sweden can no longer be governed like a company. In recent decades, the public sector has often been the first to leave the countryside and suburbs to their fate. Our country has large and growing regional differences. The inequality is clear to everyone. The money is in the center, in the large cities and in the urban cores, while the countryside, the industrial towns, and the suburbs are left behind.

Of the ten richest municipalities in Sweden, eight are in Stockholm County. All of the ten poorest are located in rural areas. Despite all parties, at least in the election campaigns, saying they want to bridge the gap between city and country, it does not seem to be heading in the right direction. Vänsterpartiet considers state presence to be a prerequisite for everyone to have both the right and the opportunity to live wherever they want in the country.

An overall strategy based on long-term thinking, developed cooperation, and greater regional influence is needed to ensure that basic community services are available throughout the country, because access to public services is crucial for people to be able to live their lives. This commits, Mr. Speaker, and places higher demands on state operations than on private operations.

I must admit that I personally have had - and still have - great hopes for the state service centers. I still believe in the idea of increasing the state presence by having agencies join forces to be able to provide good personal service at physical offices and also offer increased accessibility, especially for those with difficulties managing their affairs digitally.

At the same time, it must be noted that the Swedish National Audit Office's review and evaluation of the state service centers, which arrived at the end of last year, was unfortunately quite a disappointing read. The Swedish National Audit Office noted, in fact, that the service centers do not provide equivalent service but operate under completely different conditions. The Swedish National Audit Office also noted that it is not possible to ensure that all visitors receive equivalent service and gave examples of visitors often seeking help with matters that the service centers do not have the authority to help with. In the long run, this risks leading to diminished trust in the agencies that are connected.

Mr. Speaker! As a state employee, one works in the service of the citizens and with a special trust and mandate. Not infrequently, one also exercises public authority. Furthermore, high demands are placed on complying with the state's values, which rest on our constitutional laws and the goals that exist for the Swedish administration – namely that all agencies carry out their mandate in a democratic, efficient, and legally secure manner and are free from corruption.

A part of this also involves the Parliamentary Ombudsman, JO. It is an authority under the Riksdag that I know the members of the Committee on the Constitution are particularly fond of because JO audits that the authorities work according to the laws and rules that govern their work - especially those laws that concern individuals' rights and obligations in relation to the public.

Mr. Speaker! Finally, I would like to say something brief about civil servant responsibility. Given that a government job can grant great power over the individual, there is the so-called civil servant responsibility, which, among other things, means that employees can be convicted of misconduct in office. Sometimes it appears in the debate as if there are no consequences for those who, intentionally or through negligence, fail in their exercise of authority. That is wrong.

During the previous parliamentary term, an investigation was conducted on whether the criminal liability for official misconduct should be expanded, following an announcement from the Committee on the Constitution. But according to the investigation that was submitted in 2020, there were no strong reasons to define the scope of liability for official misconduct in any other way than to the exercise of public authority. It is a carefully crafted concept that over time has led to better application. The investigation also concluded that an expanded official liability would likely lead to a demand from the employees for clearer management of the operations, which in turn could lead to increased detailing that would likely cause even more problems with processing times and other matters.

It was also argued in the investigation that an excessively strict and unnuanced criminal liability risks creating a culture of uncertainty among officials, which can lead to them becoming afraid to make decisions. The trade union ST testifies that such a culture already exists.

Despite all this, and despite that the Riksdag last voted a year ago to make a new announcement regarding extended civil servant responsibility and that it fell here in the Riksdag, I note that the government and its coalition partners still promise to introduce such one. This is done despite that they do not take responsibility for the other things which, according to trade unions and others working within the state, could lead to a better management of the public sector. For example, ST emphasizes that what is needed instead is more resources and increased staffing density so that the quality in the public operations can be raised.

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Ulrik Nilsson (M)

Mr. Speaker! Thank you, Jessica Wetterling, for your contribution! I gathered from the introduction that it was important to establish that the state cannot be run like a company. After that came a long exposition on the importance of serving its citizens, or customers, as a company would have said. Is that not exactly what a company usually strives for – to meet the customers' needs? Is that not precisely what a company entails?

I am a bit unsure as to what your post was actually intended to mean. What change do you want? What is it that is not good with the public administration in Sweden today, since you make this clear statement and thereby give a hint that it is run like a company. I would wish for a clarification of what is being requested.

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Jessica Wetterling (V)

Mr. Speaker! I shall try to clarify what I said in my previous contribution. It concerns a motion report, which means that Vänsterpartiet has not submitted any of its own proposals this time and therefore has no reservations.

I do not think it is a surprise for the member or for the Moderates that the Left Party is strongly critical of using new public management as a culture in state activities in the same way as is done within companies.

I tried to be clear, but I will try to be even clearer. I believe there is a difference between the mandate that the state has and the mandate that a company has. I think it is wrong to talk about our residents and citizens in Sweden as customers. One is not a customer, but one is a citizen in Sweden and has the right to expect good service regardless of where in the country one lives.

In the system that is governing now, we can see that the state has been one of the first to withdraw from large parts of Sweden. It leaves what is not profitable and focuses on the large cities. At the same time, all parties, I assure you even the Moderaterna, talk about it being important to have good conditions and that one has the right to expect a certain level of service regardless of where in the country one lives.

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Ulrik Nilsson (M)

Mr. Speaker! I must say that I am a bit surprised by the way of arguing. What I perceive from Member Wetterling's answer is that it is almost the local service centers that are at issue. It is nothing else, then?

You speak of us not governing according to new public management. Where does it say that we govern according to new public management? It was an economic term that one reasoned about. There are naturally points to it, but just as you say, there are also points to seeing citizens as just citizens. That was why I had to, when I asked about this, make that connection – that we are probably actually citizens and not customers.

At the same time, new public management and corporate thinking are about trying to do as well as possible because that is what generates results. It therefore becomes a bit too general, a bit too shallow and a bit too much slogan-heavy when one says that the state cannot be managed like a company. Then one will also need to talk about what mistakes are being made today.

I can state that what Member Wetterling takes as an example is that it can be difficult for certain parts of the country to receive service. Otherwise, it was obviously not as much as the flashy statement was based on.

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Jessica Wetterling (V)

Mr. Speaker! Thank you, Member, for the question! I regret if I use too many flashy slogans, but I quoted the headline of an article in DN which was signed by nine different researchers, who focus precisely on the state administration and state activities, together with the chairman of the union ST. It was they who set the headline that the state cannot be managed like a company. But I agree with it, and one was not talking exclusively about the state service offices.

The Chairman lifted up the report from the National Audit Office which says that one might need to slow down a bit with the state service centers. I believe in the idea of state service centers, but then it is important that the state service centers can fulfill the function they are intended to fulfill. Otherwise, it only leads to citizens once again being disappointed by the service they can receive, or perhaps rather cannot receive.

What I also highlighted, but which the member perhaps did not hear, was about the efficiency requirements, cuts, and other things that have characterized public activities for at least 30 years. I think, and the Vänsterpartiet thinks, this is bad, and we have submitted proposals to change it.

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FÖRSTE VICE TALMANNEN

I remind the members that in a debate, one speaks about a speaker, and in that case, one should use the speaker's first and last name or "the member". This means that direct addresses between speakers, for example, saying "you" or "you" to each other, should not occur.

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Fredrik Lindahl (SD)

Mr. Speaker! First, I would like to move for approval of the Sweden Democrats' reservation 4 in the report KU24 Public Administration in the part concerning digitalization.

The use of digital postal services has increased sharply over the last ten years. Today, more than 5 million Swedes have a digital mailbox, and the number of users is growing very rapidly. The difference compared to ordinary mail is that the recipient is reached virtually instantly and that the sender knows that the correct person has received the shipment.

In line with the changing service level for the mail, interest in switching to digital services is increasing. Every-other-day delivery, concentration of mailboxes, stations, and increased postage costs are such changes. The challenges for rural areas are furthermore greater.

There is a clear demand and a need to meet the residents' expectations of offering digital letters and mailings. While companies have been quick to offer invoices and payslips digitally, the public actors have been slower to keep up with the development. According to information, it is only one-third of the country's municipalities that today send official mail through the state infrastructure Mina meddelanden.

The idea of making digital mail a right is nothing new. Already in 2017, the issue was raised in a partial report to the investigation on the efficient management of digital services. Now, five years later, 51 percent of Swedes have access to a digital mailbox. Therefore, the Sweden Democrats believe that an explicit right for citizens and companies to be able to receive official mail electronically should be introduced and that a mandate for state agencies, regions, and municipalities to offer official mail digitally should constitute an important complement to the society-wide postal service.

Then I want to mention something about one of our specific statements regarding this report concerning the introduction of a civil servant's liability. As is known, this has been an important principle issue for us Sverigedemokrater, and therefore I can joyfully state that we have reached an agreement with the government under the Tidö Agreement on precisely this issue.

An inquiry shall be appointed with the mandate to present proposals for how an expanded civil servant responsibility could look, with the aim of strengthening measures against official misconduct and broadening the responsibility for other public activities other than the exercise of public authority. We view the statement of intent very positively and look forward to the ongoing work in this part.

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Gudrun Brunegård (KD)

Mr. Speaker! Today, 75 years ago, the impossible happened; a country rose again after its inhabitants had lived in exile, scattered across the entire world, for nearly 2,000 years. This happened as the international community's response to the Holocaust during World War II. Today, Israel celebrates its Independence Day, and on May 14th, the 75th anniversary is celebrated of when the Jewish state of Israel was proclaimed in 1948 by the country's first Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion.

In today's report, which we are now considering, there is a long series of motions from the Christian Democrats and motions from other parties regarding moving Sweden's embassy to Jerusalem. Now, it is not the Riksdag's business to decide where the government chooses to place its missions. Therefore, we will reject the motions, but let me still clarify that the Christian Democrats view Israel as the Middle East's only democracy. The Jewish people have, throughout all years in the diaspora, regarded Jerusalem as their self-evident capital. For millennia, people have greeted each other at Passover with the words "Next year in Jerusalem." There is also the country's parliament, the Knesset, which I visited together with a group of parliamentarians as recently as in January this year.

The Christian Democrats believe that Sweden should rather recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital and, after the recognition, begin the process of moving the Swedish embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. This is something we will continue to act for.

Mr. Speaker! Otherwise, this report highlights many important perspectives regarding public administration. Some of them have been raised here today. The report is long, and therefore there are unfortunately parts that we do not have the opportunity to highlight during today's debate.

I want to raise the issue of democratic participation here. We are all keen on the secrecy of the ballot. No one should have to reveal their political opinions - or other opinions as well, for that matter - unless they choose to do so themselves. But think about how it looked at the polling stations in the autumn! There were many who were perfectly capable of using all their senses who had difficulty finding the correct ballot. If you then have a visual impairment, it can be almost impossible to find the correct ballot without having to request help to find and take the correct ballot and mark your personal vote for your specific candidate. In that case, the secrecy of the ballot is compromised. This is a challenge that has not yet received its solution.

The local service centers are also addressed in the committee report, which a previous speaker has touched upon. It is an important issue of equality to ensure that public services are accessible to our residents, both in segregated and socially vulnerable suburbs but also in the countryside where the distances are long.

When my family moved to Vimmerby, a medium-sized Småland town, there were offices for Försäkringskassan, Arbetsförmedlingen, and Skatteverket. Thirty years later, they had all been closed down. The residents had to travel to neighboring towns instead. Unfortunately, there happens to be a connection. The people who are in greatest need of the services from these public authorities are those who have the greatest difficulties getting there. It can be due to the very reason they are seeking the service – illness or unemployment – and the economic vulnerability that follows from those conditions. Therefore, the service offices are important for providing these services in an equal and high-quality manner. Furthermore, they are a way to increase the state's presence in the country's municipalities. Unfortunately, the Riksrevisionen's report shows that the new organization with service offices cannot fully ensure equal service, but we will take that discussion in connection with another report later this autumn.

With these reflections, Mr. Speaker, I move for approval of the proposal in the committee's report.

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Jan Riise (MP)

Mr. Speaker! The report on Public Administration covers a long range of areas, from the promotion of democracy via simplified rules to the organization of foreign administration. I will focus on the two areas where we have submitted reservations, namely, partly the promotion of democracy, and partly local service.

Miljöpartiet has, as is well known, a decentralist view, which, among other things, is expressed in that we want regions and municipalities to be given increased responsibility and influence over the political decisions that concern the region and the municipality. And decisions should be made as close to the citizens as possible.

It also becomes relevant for our part to stand behind the proposal that the Democracy 100 Years committee submitted this year, namely to give the county administrative boards a democracy-promoting mandate. The committee was tasked with planning, coordinating, and implementing a collection of measures and activities for a strong democracy during the years 2018-2021. Among other things, the committee judged that there is a need for a national coordination of authorities and other actors who carry out democracy-promoting measures. For this, the committee proposed that a national democracy function should be established to provide knowledge support regarding methods to increase participation and involvement in democracy, as well as to analyze and produce situation updates on the state of Swedish democracy. Today, there is a lack of such a national actor that collects and coordinates democracy work. We think it is an important initiative and support the idea that this work can advantageously be placed with the county administrative boards.

Mr. Speaker! I just mentioned our basic view of a decentralized Sweden where it is possible to find one's own desired combination of places to live, stay, and work. It is a way of looking at society that encompasses many areas and measures. Opportunities to travel in a sustainable way, preferably by rail, open up new work regions. Digitalization comes with obvious opportunities to conduct activities almost independently of location.

But then there is the question of accessibility to social services. Functions such as healthcare, elderly care, police, the public employment service, and the unemployment insurance fund shall be for all of Sweden's inhabitants and be available throughout the country. State regulations shall function equally well for small municipalities as for large growth municipalities. A well-functioning tax system shall provide equivalent economic conditions to conduct municipal activities and services throughout the country.

In rapid industrial establishments, the focus on sustainable community building is particularly important. With several large establishments and expansions planned in, for example, Norrbotten and Västerbotten counties, large efforts for sustainable community building need to be made in a short time to enable this development. Here, for example, the Council for Sustainable Cities has an important role to contribute to creating sustainable and good living environments where people want to live, reside, and work.

Society also needs to plan for places for sports, recreation, and culture. Good preschool, school, leisure time, and nature are values that make it so that people do not just work there temporarily but can also imagine moving to a location.

With this said, Mr. Speaker, we believe that the local service centers should be expanded to coordinate public and commercial services and contribute with support and advice. Such centers can, in addition to what they already do, contribute with agency systems for pharmacies, post, and Systembolaget and offer so-called self-care centers or family centers where residents and patients meet healthcare staff via video link or in person. Here, people can come into contact with authorities such as Försäkringskassan, Arbetsförmedlingen, or Skatteverket.

The National Audit Office has relatively recently presented a report on a first expansion of the system, and even though there is, as it is usually called, room for improvement, we believe there are good reasons to continue the development of the expansion.

Public administration

Mr. Speaker! I thank you for the floor, and I move for the approval of our reservations number 2 under point 1 and number 3 under point 3.

The deliberation was hereby concluded.

(Decisions were made under § 15.)

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