The National Audit Office's report on identity verification at government agencies
Translated from Swedish by AI; the translation may contain errors. The Swedish text is the original.
Summary AI, written in advance
The debate concerns the Swedish National Audit Office's report on identity verification at state authorities. S argues that correct population registration is crucial to counter welfare fraud and identity theft 1, but criticizes the government's ability to lead and the long time it has taken to rectify deficiencies 1 2. S points out that no census has taken place despite promises 3. M argues that the previous government did not prioritize quality 4 5 and that the government is now working towards a coherent identity management 6. M believes that the government has a high level of ambition 6 7 and that Skatteverket is conducting continuous censuses 8. SD argues that deficiencies harm national security 9 and welcomes the government's work 9.
Written by AI in advance and may contain errors. The numbers lead to the speech a statement builds on; check against the text below.
Kalle Olsson (S)
Madam Speaker! Sweden is in a challenging time. For several years now, we have lived with an elevated level of terror threat. At the same time, the war in Ukraine continues to rage. We know that Russia and other countries conduct illegal intelligence activities directed against Sweden, here in Sweden. It is terror threats, intelligence threats, threats from criminal groups and, on top of that, extensive problems with welfare fraud – i.e., that persons in different ways, for example through identity theft, acquire benefits that they are not entitled to.
Rarely, Madam Speaker, has the need for our authorities to have a handle on who is coming to Sweden been greater. A correct population registration is crucial to counter and complicate matters for individuals and networks with evil intentions. It must also be considered of general importance that the data entered into the population registration actually reflects the population's residence, identity, and family law conditions. The popular expression order and tidiness often begins with correct population registration.
In the audit report from the Swedish National Audit Office that is the subject of this debate, a number of deficiencies have been discovered in the authorities' work to establish the identity of persons arriving in Sweden. Time does not allow me to go through all the criticism, but a recurring theme or problem is the silos in the state administration – difficulties in getting authorities to work effectively together – as well as question marks regarding the government's ability to govern and lead.
Many authorities are involved in the work of establishing identities. They have partly different roles and tasks and varying, in some cases lacking, competence. In addition, the regulatory framework, not least regarding information sharing between authorities, leaves a great deal to be desired.
For a government that has made internal and external security its priority, this report is troubling. A prerequisite for internal and external security is that we know who is coming here, but that is not always the case. The Swedish National Audit Office tells, for example, how third-country nationals have been registered in Sweden as EEA citizens, with identity documents that, according to the police, are obviously fake. In several cases, it has involved grossly criminal individuals.
"Sweden has to a large extent lost control over the population. We have a shadow society whose extent we do not know." Jimmie Åkesson said provocatively some time ago. One asks oneself, Madam Speaker: What happened next?
There are several observations in the Swedish National Audit Office's report that stand out. For example, it is testified within the police that there are major problems even in getting hold of the right person at the Swedish Tax Agency to conduct a dialogue regarding suspected false identities. One wonders again, Madam Speaker: Has the Tidö government not come further than that?
It must also be considered unsatisfactory that clerks at the state service centers, who have a key role in practically verifying identities, have not known the guidelines for how the visual check of ID documents should be conducted. At some service centers, in-depth checks are performed as a rule, at others only in exceptional cases. We are therefore talking about important exercise of authority that is being handled haphazardly.
Ultimately, it is of course the government that bears the responsibility for ensuring that the work at the agencies functions. Even more, it is the government's responsibility to ensure that we have effective agency cooperation. Here, as has been said, there are tangible problems, according to the National Audit Office.
The Police and the Swedish Migration Agency have insufficient access to identity documents at the Swedish Tax Agency. The Swedish Tax Agency, for its part, finds it difficult to access certain of the Swedish Migration Agency's records. And the Swedish Migration Agency needs the police to do more to take custody of identity documents from asylum seekers. The Swedish Social Insurance Agency lacks information on the status of coordination numbers at the Swedish Tax Agency. It is not exactly a confidence-inspiring picture that is being painted.
There probably isn't a law or budget initiative that solves all these problems. However, there should be a government that ensures that the state administration is put in order.
Now we can perhaps hope that things start moving a little bit in this matter. The National Audit Office's report arrived last summer. In December, a government mandate finally arrived for the agencies that are the subject of the audit to develop cooperation and strengthen the state's collective competence when it comes to ID issues – that is, exactly what the National Audit Office requests. Good so!
As the opposition, we will now follow this work closely. We will return with questions regarding how it is progressing and about the gap between the campaign's feverish promises of order and tidiness at the border, the census, and everything else it was, and the reality described in the National Audit Office's report.
It is quite obvious that we as a society must step up several notches to get better control over who comes to our country. The level reported in the National Audit Office's review is far from satisfactory.
Fredrik Ahlstedt (M)
Madam Speaker! I became a little curious when Member Olsson brought up Statens servicecenter. It did come about during the Social Democratic government. It was somewhat of a showpiece that one was to roll out fine, fantastic, citizen-oriented services. It was also done at a rather high speed.
There is a saying that it is better to think before than after. How did the Social Democrats and the previous government actually think when they placed something as central as a large part of the identity verification in the population registration with a completely newly established agency? It has affected and continues to affect the entire quality of the population registration. How did you actually think?
Kalle Olsson (S)
Madam Speaker! It has now been two years and four months since the current government took over the responsibility of leading this country. We have come more than halfway through the mandate period. It is perhaps starting to become a bit tedious to constantly ask what the Social Democrats did in their time. The question is rather: What is this government doing today, yesterday, and tomorrow?
What if the Moderaterna, instead of putting forward grandiose but, upon closer inspection, totally hollow proposals regarding for example the census, ensured that some order and clarity was established in the state administration that they now have to manage? The Instrument of Government is clear: It is the government that governs the realm, it is not the opposition. It is the government that has to answer to the Riksdag for how the work in the state functions or does not function.
I naturally think that the observations made by the National Audit Office are important, not least when it comes to the deficiencies at the service centers. I think it is remarkable that it has taken so long for the government to get started with rectifying those deficiencies.
Fredrik Ahlstedt (M)
Madam Speaker! It was not exactly a set table that we took over when it comes to the Statens servicecenter and especially not when it comes to the population registration. It has emerged with all clarity when we have made study visits to Skatteverket that order and quality in the population registration was not something that was prioritized by the previous government.
I still became a bit curious regarding this matter with the Statens servicecenter. It was a very hyped and large reform, and it was supposed to be a successful reform where we would get closer to the citizens. I received no answer on how one thought about the population registration and identity issues when that activity was outsourced to the Statens servicecenter. What happened was that one said: You can do a bit as you want – it is not so important. That is why we have ended up in the situation we are in today.
I will return to my speech later and tell about all the excellent things that the government is doing right now. But I still believe quite a bit in the principle that it is good to think before. It is also good to look historically and see what has actually happened.
I can state that the reform was not well-thought-out. We have to suffer for that now, and we will certainly have a number of problems ahead of us until we have sorted it out.
Kalle Olsson (S)
Madam Speaker! One must think before and not after, says the member. What happened to the promise in the election campaign about a large census in Sweden? That was what was supposed to solve the problems. It was a total census that was the question, the first of its kind since 1990. That was the Moderaternas and Sverigedemokraternas promise to the Swedish people.
One must think before and not after. Now we stand here two and a half years later. No major census has taken place. As I tried to point out in my speech, we still have major deficiencies in the population registration work and the possibility of having control over those who come to our country. Now it is the Moderaterna who bear the responsibility for this.
Why was there no census? Why is it still the case that a police officer cannot get hold of the right person at Skatteverket to check a suspected false identity? The high tailwind for the Moderaterna and Sverigedemokraterna during the election campaign, what happened to that? Now we see that we do not even have governance in the state in a satisfactory way.
I see that there have been deficiencies at Statens servicecenter. I see that there are deficiencies at Skatteverket, Migrationsverket, Försäkringskassan and so on. Now the ball is in the government's court to address those problems. Make sure to do that!
Markus Wiechel (SD)
Madam Speaker! The National Audit Office's review has once again turned the spotlight on a very critical aspect of our national security, namely identity management regarding persons arriving in Sweden from other countries.
The report clearly points out several significant deficiencies in our state agencies, including competence shortages, insufficient technical equipment and inadequate digital system support, as well as inefficient information exchange. In addition to this, it is pointed out that current national legislation does not provide the possibility to robustly manage and store biometric information, which is crucial to ensure that individuals cannot appear under other identities.
Madam Speaker! The consequences of these deficiencies can cause enormous problems for our society. An inability to establish the identity of individuals can lead to persons with unclear intentions being admitted into our society, which in turn can increase the risk of crime, fraud, and in the worst case, terrorist activities. Not least during the years with enormous migration pressure to Sweden, particularly from conflict zones far from our country, we have clearly seen what this can bring about.
When we cannot ensure that those who come to Sweden really are the persons they claim to be, we undermine not only our national security but also the citizens' safety and, of course, also the trust in our system, both from our own inhabitants and from citizens in other countries. Thus, it also damages the image of Sweden.
The government has now noted these problems and has therefore initiated an investigation and legislative process, which we should all welcome. The assignments that the government is now distributing to various agencies aim to strengthen overall cooperation, spread competence, and develop operational cooperation to counter identity misuse. The work is crucial to ensure an effective and coherent identity management.
Madam Speaker! It should come as no surprise that this is a high-priority area for us in the Sweden Democrats. We see it as our duty to push for effective and secure routines for identity verification. It is not just a matter of administration – it is about protecting our citizens and preserving the Swedish welfare.
It is therefore with concern that we have noted that during the years with the Socialdemokrater in power, there was an extremely minimal success in this area despite the problems having been known for a very long time.
In light of this passivity, it is therefore paradoxical that the Social Democrats are now expressing particular concern over the significant deficiencies that the Swedish National Audit Office has identified.
Their statement, which underlines the serious consequences of inefficient identity management, comes after decades of lack of action. In the current global situation, with increased terror threats and military threats, reliable identity routines are precisely crucial.
Madam Speaker! I am nevertheless very positive about the fact that the committee is now united in this matter and that we can conclude that we need to improve this work.
The Government's ambition to rectify these deficiencies is a significant step in the right direction, and we are committed to supporting all efforts that lead to our security mechanisms being strengthened and developed.
Madam Speaker! Let us act in unity to ensure that Sweden becomes a safe place for everyone!
Fredrik Ahlstedt (M)
Madam Speaker! In the report from the Swedish National Audit Office, one can read that the Swedish National Audit Office has audited the verification of identity at state agencies and the government's management of the agencies' work. As several have pointed out, the overall conclusion is that this is not sufficiently effective and that the government should do more.
The review shows deficiencies in the competence of the auditing authorities. It concerns this with technical equipment and digital system support. We have already in the debate touched upon that there is a lack of sufficiently effective information exchange between the different authorities. One also needs to look at this with biometric information.
Madam Speaker! I thought I would point out how the government addresses the various proposals contained in the report. I will also mention some of them.
It is obvious how important this is. We need a coherent identity management to ensure that an identity is not misused or used by criminals. Swedish identity management shall be reliable and solid, also over time. It is therefore not just a matter of taking some individual measure right now, but it must be measures that work over a long period.
In this context, an increased use of biometric data is also needed. This has been pointed out by several different investigations.
Madam Speaker! I would then like to remind that the government as recently as in October last year decided on the bill Biometrics in Crime Fighting, which we voted on yesterday. This will be an important part, perhaps even a decisive one, in crime fighting going forward. This also applies to crimes that are related to identity and identity theft.
We Moderates have long advocated for a stricter view on the population register, which has also become the case after we received a new government following the 2022 election.
The government has also appointed an inquiry tasked with reviewing whether the Swedish Tax Agency should be granted extended powers within the population registration and crime fighting. The inquiry shall analyze and take a position on whether the Swedish Tax Agency should be given the opportunity to store and otherwise process facial images and fingerprints and the biometric data that can be derived from these in cases concerning population registration and coordination numbers.
We know today – we have established – how important order and clarity in the population register is, so it may very well be justified that Skatteverket is given this opportunity. In this context, it is important that the state takes a major responsibility to ensure that the basic registration itself becomes correct with a strong verification and that it is one of the main authorities that has the responsibility for it. The Government also intends to have an inquiry look more closely at this area.
Madam Speaker! Population registration issues are very important for all authorities in Sweden, and they affect many. If errors occur in the population registration, it can create major problems. Add to that the fact that it can also be exploited for abuse and criminal activity!
The government has taken several initiatives and presented several proposals for a better and more orderly population registration. Strict rules have been introduced. There is more order and tidiness. Resources have been added. There is a focus on increased quality in the population registration. I can state, in short, that the government's measures are yielding results, which is also evident in the annual report that Skatteverket produces. It should be specifically noted that the work to conclude and follow up on coordination numbers has yielded good results.
Today, several identity issues are handled by Statens servicecenter and not by the relevant authorities themselves. This means that we need to achieve a common coordination and competence development primarily between Migrationsverket, the police, and Skatteverket. The government has also decided on such a mandate. One can therefore conclude that the government both takes initiative and governs the realm.
But the Swedish Tax Agency cannot do everything itself and needs help from other agencies if we are to increase the quality of the population register, curb fraud and abuse, and prevent crime. Therefore, the government has decided to task Arbetsförmedlingen, Bolagsverket, CSN, Försäkringskassan, Migrationsverket, Pensionsmyndigheten, Skatteverket, and Transportstyrelsen to ensure that information available from the population register and regarding coordination numbers is used in their operations to contribute to correct decisions and payments.
In conclusion, I want to point out that direct cooperation, which Member Olsson previously touched upon, between all levels within the Swedish Migration Agency, the police, and the Swedish Tax Agency is needed to prevent identity misuse. It is not enough that there are only analyses. It is not enough that exchange only occurs at a certain level; instead, all levels in the relevant agencies need to share information regarding errors, suspected identity fraud, and what measures can be taken to prevent this. Here too, the government has given a mandate to the relevant agencies.
Madam Speaker! I want to state with this that the government has a very high level of ambition in this area and a very high pace of work.
Madam Speaker! I hereby move to approve the committee's proposal in report SkU10.
Kalle Olsson (S)
Madam Speaker! Fredrik Ahlstedt mentions a number of initiatives that the government has taken. These are initiatives that I believe will lead in the right direction. This applies in particular to the latest assignment, before Christmas, to the relevant authorities being reviewed in the Riksrevisionen's audit to initiate a closer and more intimate cooperation in act and meaning to strengthen the collective state competence regarding ID issues. That is good.
Fredrik Ahlstedt did not mention anything about this regarding the census. I will return to that. It was a grand promise from the Sverigedemokraterna and the Moderaterna: a total census, a census such as the one carried out last in 1990, when every single person was registered.
We have heard Jimmie Åkesson and Ulf Kristersson warn over the years that the shadow society is expanding and that we no longer have control over who enters our country and who is present here.
Now it has, as said, been just over two years – two years and four months – of the Tidö government's time in power. No referendum has been carried out. No referendum has been announced. When will this referendum come? Will a referendum come, Fredrik Ahlstedt?
Fredrik Ahlstedt (M)
Madam Speaker! Member Olsson is asking about the census. One cannot believe it, Madam Speaker, but I was actually there in 1990. I filled out that form, FoB 90.
It was meticulous. There were yellow and blue fields, and sometimes there were white fields that one was supposed to tick in. One was supposed to tick if one had a dog, if one did not have a dog, and so on. If I remember correctly, it was six pages, with a perforated strip that one opened the envelope with. It was certainly good and useful and worked well at that time. But when we talk about the census, something has actually happened since 1990. All these systems are now digitized.
The Swedish Tax Agency now has a very high ambition when it comes to the population register, not least regarding its quality. The Swedish Tax Agency carries out population counts every day, every hour, and every minute, for these are, as mentioned, now digital systems. The complement to the digital systems is home visits. We have seen and received an account of this when we have visited the Swedish Tax Agency. One selects the parts of the population registration that do not have sufficiently high quality regarding the digital population count or the parts that one wants to look at specifically. A population count is therefore carried out every day, every hour, and every minute.
This can also be read in the annual reports, which I mentioned in my speech. There, one can see how the various changes have occurred in the population registration. This applies, for example, to how we have phased out a large number of coordination numbers, how incorrect population registration addresses have been rectified, and how the quality of the census has been increased.
Kalle Olsson (S)
Madam Speaker! Thank you, Member, for the answer!
I shall quote Gunnar Andersson, professor of demography: ”It is not a census even if one calls it that. Possibly one can say that it is an expansion of the system with the population registration. And an attempt to find persons who are not included in the registered population through random checks here and there.”
Random spot checks here and there – there is a rather large discrepancy between that and the images shared during the 2022 election campaign. I believe it would be good, Madam Speaker, if the Moderaterna and Sverigedemokraterna reflected on this, not least ahead of the upcoming election campaign. Is there perhaps a value in turning down the volume a little bit on social media and instead focusing on measures that make a difference here and now? It is not always measures that are particularly sexy or that do well on social media, but it is such things that make a difference in reality. I hope that it can become a lesson.
The Swedish National Audit Office's report on the verification of identity at government agencies
This is not a census. There may have been some voters who went along with the promise that there would be a census in Sweden. The toothbrushes were supposed to be counted. Now it turns out that there were a few spot checks in vulnerable areas. It is a broken promise, and the voters should be aware of that.
Fredrik Ahlstedt (M)
Madam Speaker! My experience is, as I told Member Olsson, that I was there in 1990 when the form was released.
The voters I represent, and I believe also the voters that Member Olsson represents, probably think that efficiency is a rather important thing. How can we carry out things in the best and most efficient way to achieve results?
In the annual report from Skatteverket, it is evident that the efforts and measures that the government has decided on and that Skatteverket implements are yielding results. I believe that is what the voters want. I believe that the voters want to see better order and clarity in the population register so that we know which persons are in Sweden and which persons are not in Sweden. The voters want us to address abuse and fraud in our welfare systems.
A modern census that provides effective and good results – I believe that is the important question in this. It is not about sending out a form as it looked in 1990.
The deliberation was hereby concluded.
Source: The Swedish Parliament. The speeches come from the open data of the Riksdag, translated into English by AI, which may contain errors.