Support for people with disabilities

Malin Höglund (M)

Madam Speaker! Today we are debating the Social Committee's report 21 regarding support for persons with disabilities.

I would like to begin by expressing my support for the committee's proposal.

Madam Speaker! In the government statement delivered by Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson on 18 October 2022, it was highlighted that "persons with disabilities shall be able to be fully included in society without being subjected to discrimination. To integrate the perspective of disability rights in more policy and social areas continues to be in focus."

Madam Speaker! Disability policy in Sweden has been an important issue in recent years and continues to be so for me, for the Moderates, and for the Tidö parties. There is much that needs to be done to ensure full participation in society and equality for persons with disabilities.

One of the biggest challenges for disability policy in Sweden is to ensure accessibility and accessible means of communication within all areas of society. It is crucial for people with disabilities to be able to participate fully in society. We need to ensure that all public buildings, means of transport, and digital platforms are accessible for people with disabilities. We also need to increase awareness among the general public about the importance of accessibility for people with disabilities.

Madam Speaker! Another important issue is the promotion of the right to work and education for persons with disabilities. To achieve this, we need to ensure that employers and educational institutions take persons with disabilities into account and create workplaces and educational environments that are accessible to everyone.

A week ago, I met Mimmi. She works in a clothing store, where she prices all the clothes. At first, the shop owner was skeptical about hiring a person with a disability, but today she is very happy that she did. It has enabled her to do other things, but she has also contributed to more people entering the workforce. Mimmi performs a job that the shop owner would otherwise need to do. We need to invest in a broad and accessible labor market where people with disabilities have the opportunity to participate in and contribute to society based on their abilities.

Madam Speaker! The Moderates believe that it is important to strengthen the cooperation between different actors in the field of disabilities, including organizations, authorities, and the business sector. By working together, we can create a more inclusive and accessible social environment for people who have a disability.

Madam Speaker! The Moderates believe that it is important that persons with disabilities have access to assistive devices and rehabilitation to facilitate everyday life and increase independence. The focus should be on the individual's needs so that they can manage everyday life as well as possible. Today, access to assistive devices is a bit like a postcode lottery: where in Sweden you live matters for the possibility of gaining access to a certain assistive device. So we actually cannot have it that way.

Madam Speaker! We must see an increase in the availability of assistive devices and that research into and development of new technical solutions continues.

Some time ago, I visited Samhall in Dalarna, which is responsible for managing the reconditioning of assistive devices. Every assistive device is cleaned. If any part needs to be replaced, there are spare parts. Among other things, they handle rollators, beds, and permobility vehicles. Those who work there do a great job that is very important.

In Dalarna, there is good access to assistive devices, but that is not the case throughout the entire country. Problems can arise if a person who has assistive devices wants to move to another part of Sweden. In the worst case, the person may have to hand over their assistive devices and need to apply for them again once they have moved to the new county. We cannot have it this way either.

Madam Speaker! I want to conclude where I began, namely with the quote from the government statement of 18 October 2022: "Persons with disabilities shall be able to be fully included in society without being subjected to discrimination. To integrate the perspective of disability rights into more policy and social areas continues to be in focus." It is such a Sweden we shall have.

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Christofer Bergenblock (C)

Madam Speaker! I thank the member very much for a good speech on how important it is to integrate the perspective of functional rights in, as the member said, more policy and social areas.

Two weeks ago, I was, like the member, at a seminar concerning the opportunities for deaf, hearing-impaired, and deaf-blind people to be integrated into social life and, above all, in the labor market. The basis for this seminar was the interpretation services investigation conducted in 2020, whose referral round was completed in September last year. The interpretation services investigation proposes that one should provide the possibility of interpretation via the state and that this should be communicated out to companies via Arbetsförmedlingen. Today, it is very much up to the companies themselves to bear the costs if they have a need for interpretation.

During the question period last week, I asked a question to our Minister for Employment regarding this interpretation services investigation and where the government stands on that issue and thus also, by extension, where the Tidö parties stand on the issue. Therefore, it would be interesting to hear the Moderates' view on the interpretation services investigation and whether they intend to implement the investigation's proposals. The investigation has been sitting there for quite a long time now. Are you prepared to move from words to action regarding creating workplaces that are accessible to everyone, Madam Speaker, just as the member just expressed?

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Malin Höglund (M)

Madam Speaker! There are very many investigations that we as new members of Parliament must read up on - Christofer Bergenblock and I have been new since last autumn. I cannot answer the member's question fully, so I must be allowed to return to this.

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Christofer Bergenblock (C)

Madam Speaker! I note that this was approximately the same answer I received from the Minister for Employment last week. This is, however, a very important issue for people with hearing impairment, deafness, or deaf-blindness to be able to be integrated into working life. One does not in any way – or at least not necessarily – have any other limitations when suffering from these disabilities. One is fully capable but is prevented from entering working life due to the lack of opportunity to receive interpretation.

Employers sometimes become hesitant - especially when they have to bear a cost themselves, they very often do not dare to take the step fully. Therefore, support from the state was needed to enable interpreting services even in working life.

Today, the interpretation service is primarily handled via the regions' interpretation service agencies or interpretation centers. There, they do not take responsibility for workplaces; instead, it is primarily about everyday interpretation. Even there, there are limitations, and it is necessary to review how this functions today.

Since the member was involved in the labor market, I would have liked to see an answer to this. I note that it is not coming today, but it might come at some point in the future. It would be good if, in the near future, an answer came both from the Moderaterna and from the entire government's side regarding where one stands on this issue.

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Malin Höglund (M)

Madam Speaker! It is very important that people enter the workforce and receive the help and support they need. I told you about Mimmi. She is part of Vi vill bidra, which makes it possible for her to choose for herself where she wants to work instead of being in the municipality's labor market policy measures. She has help from her assistant, who accompanies her to work. There she works a couple of hours a day and enables very much for the person who owns the shop.

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Karin Sundin (S)

Madam Speaker! As legislators, there is reason to be proud of much in Swedish disability policy. We have clear national goals that are based on the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which states that persons with disabilities have the right to equal living conditions and full participation. We want to achieve this by designing society so that it is as accessible as possible for everyone, regardless of who one is and what needs one has, by ensuring that individuals receive individual support so that they can live as independent a life as possible and - of course - by countering discrimination.

We can be proud that Sweden is a country where there is a broad political consensus that these issues are important and that disability policy is part of an equal and just society.

As a Social Democrat, it is not very often that I am pleased to hear Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson speak. I was nevertheless pleased when, in his government statement this autumn, just as Malin Höglund recently quoted, he pointed out that persons with disabilities should be fully able to participate in society and that the disability rights perspective should continue to be in focus also under a bourgeois government. It is a promise to hold to and to follow up on.

Madam Speaker! As it stands in the report we are now debating, the rights and living conditions for persons with disabilities are fundamentally a question of democracy. Disability policy is a prerequisite for us to be able to say that all people have equal value and that everyone has equal opportunities, equal rights, and equal obligations.

As always when it comes to solemn promises, this is however easier said than done. We have quite a lot to be proud of, but we also have much left to do from the side of the Riksdag in order for us to live up to our promises.

In my party, we usually say that everyone who can work shall work, just as other parties usually say and just as could be heard in a previous debate here in the chamber today. But it is far from self-evident that everyone who could work can actually work. Society fails in support and adaptation for persons with disabilities.

If we are to be able to talk about a real work line, it requires significantly more flexibility and efforts. It requires, for example, as we just heard, interpretation services for deaf, hard of hearing, and deaf-blind persons on a completely different scale than today if they are to be able to work fully. The proposals from the interpretation services investigation that was commissioned by the previous Social Democratic government are now on the current government's desk, and they need to become a reality.

Madam Speaker! I also want to emphasize in this context how important it is that persons with disabilities who are of working age but who do not have a job can be granted daily activities. It is an effort that provides opportunities for increased participation in society. It provides meaningful occupation and the opportunity for personal development.

To give people the best possible conditions to participate in daily activities, the previous Social Democratic government introduced the so-called habilitation compensation, a state grant so that municipalities shall pay out a certain compensation to those who participate in daily activities. It is a small but very important measure that needs to continue, and the few municipalities that still do not pay out any daily compensation need to start doing so. It is in the small things that an important contribution is made to say that everyone's efforts and everyone's participation count and are valued.

Madam Speaker! Another investigation, which was also commissioned by the previous Social Democratic government, has submitted an important report that is now on the government's desk. It concerns how personal assistance is to be designed. The proposal is that the state, through Försäkringskassan, shall have a unified primary responsibility for decisions on and financing of the personal assistance intervention. It is an important change so that personal assistance can be as predictable and as equal as possible, regardless of what needs one has or where in the country one lives.

We Social Democrats support the proposal for state organization, and with that, there is a broad majority for the proposal in the Riksdag. I look forward to the continued preparation of the issue, because with such a far-reaching change follows also a number of other decisions we will need to take a stand on.

It is also important that we politicians implement these types of reforms in close dialogue with those who are affected by them. Something that is clear when I meet representatives of the disability movement is that there is a very large frustration regarding the economic conditions for both individual individuals and users. We can see how large assistance companies with administrative economies of scale and, unfortunately, often poor employment conditions can continue to make good economic profits, while many smaller assistance companies, which want to offer good conditions for their employees, find it increasingly difficult to make the finances work. In the long run, it is unsustainable. In the long run, we will need to take a stand on how the society's financing should be designed so that it becomes sustainable over time.

Madam Speaker! I naturally stand behind all our reservations, but in order to gain time, I move for approval only of reservation 7 regarding state ownership for personal assistance.

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Dan Hovskär (KD)

Madam Speaker! I vote in favor of the Social Affairs Committee's proposal.

Christian Democratic policy is anchored in a view of humanity that starts from the inviolable value of the human being and that all people are different. Based on their own conditions, everyone shall have the right to full participation in society. The goal of disability policy is that persons with disabilities shall have living conditions equivalent to those that the rest of the population has. The policy shall focus on improving accessibility, educational opportunities, and integration in the labor market.

The Christian Democrats want a society that sees, embraces and includes all people. Therefore, knowledge of hidden disabilities must also increase and the situation for persons with neuropsychiatric or intellectual disabilities must be strengthened.

LSS, the Act on Support and Service for Certain Persons with Disabilities, which was introduced in 1994 by the then conservative government, is a rights act that must be protected and developed. Since it has been 29 years since the reform was introduced and society has evolved, a review is needed so that the law can uphold the fundamental values expressed in the preparatory works for the law. Several measures have been taken over the years to strengthen the rights of persons with disabilities, and this work must continue.

Madam Speaker! Everyone, including people with disabilities and their families, should be able to trust Sweden. It is a matter of human rights, we in the Christian Democrats believe.

The national goal for disability policy is to, with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities as a starting point, achieve equality in living conditions and full participation for persons with disabilities in a society based on diversity. The goal shall contribute to increased equality and to ensuring that the children's rights perspective is taken into account. Rights and living conditions for persons with disabilities are fundamentally a matter of democracy.

It is at the same time important that the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is actually implemented in society.

An important part of the management of disability policy is that the national goal for disability policy and the implementation of this is followed up and that the results of the measures can be assessed. It is therefore positive that the government has decided on a strategy for systematic follow-up of disability policy during 2021-2031.

Madam Speaker! In the agreement between the Tidö parties, the following is stated regarding personal assistance: "Based on the investigation proposals expected to be presented in March 2023 regarding measures for a state overall responsibility for personal assistance within the framework of LSS, measures shall thereafter be considered with the objective of a state responsibility."

As we know, the investigation report "A state headship for personal assistance - Increased equality, long-term perspective and quality" was presented on March 1 this year. In the report, it is proposed, among other things, that the state, through Försäkringskassan, shall have a unified headship for decisions on and financing of the personal assistance intervention, that the current qualification for the right to personal assistance according to LSS shall be maintained in a state headship, that the municipalities shall no longer be obliged to co-finance the first 20 hours per week of the assistance benefit, that the work with good quality shall be complemented with rules to ensure the individual's self-determination, and so on.

The investigation report is now being prepared within the Government Offices. For me as a Christian Democrat, it feels good that this is finally moving forward. The Government has given several assignments that are now being worked on, including one to follow up on changes regarding assistance for the visually impaired and blind. Much is therefore in motion from the Government.

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Christofer Bergenblock (C)

Madam Speaker! I thank the member for the speech. I was struck, above all, by what was said regarding LSS, personal assistance, and the investigation into principalship. Just as was read, it states in the Tidö Agreement that a state principalship for personal assistance shall be considered. It does not state that it is actually to be implemented. The Minister has also been stalling on this ever since the government took office.

The committee member refers to the fact that the report is now being prepared in the Government Offices, which is good. The referral process has just concluded. We know that a majority of the referral bodies are very positive towards a nationalization of personal assistance. We see that it has not functioned well as it has been. People have fallen through the cracks, and the assessments have differed in different parts of the country.

But if the member now sits in possession of information regarding the preparation currently underway at the Government Offices, it would be good, both for us here in the chamber and for everyone who is interested in and affected by the issue, to be told clearly and distinctly that the government will propose a nationalization of personal assistance. Will it happen? That is my question to the member.

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Dan Hovskär (KD)

Madam Speaker! I thank Member Christofer Bergenblock for the question.

I cannot anticipate what the government will come up with, but the signals I am receiving and the positive responses coming in regarding a nationalization of these parts, I feel relatively confident about. My hope is that it will be implemented. We Christian Democrats have been clear that we think the issue is extremely important.

We must try to get a holistic perspective. It should not matter which part of the country one lives in - as it looks now - when it comes to what intervention one receives. One could move away from this with a base to start from.

I am relatively confident that it will be implemented, but exactly how it will look we will have to wait to see until the government presents the entire proposal.

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Christofer Bergenblock (C)

Madam Speaker! The Minister has also expressed several times that she is positive towards the proposal for a state ownership of personal assistance. The Minister has also been one of the initiators of the committee initiative that has existed on the issue previously.

The spring before the election, all the Tidö parties together with the Center Party were positive that the nationalization should take place. That is why we were so surprised on the part of the Center Party when we could read in the Tidö Agreement that the issue was only to be considered and not that it was to be implemented.

I fully understand that one cannot say what all the details will look like. The consideration is large, and it contains a number of different considerations that need to be made. But if one can still say from the government's side that this will be implemented, even if it may look different in the details or in the margins, is a question we have asked ourselves since this autumn.

As stated, the referral process is now complete, or largely complete. Consequently, the government will be able to prepare this properly in the Government Offices and arrive at a bill. I hope that the Christian Democrats, together with the other Tidö parties, push forward so that a bill reaches the Riksdag as soon as possible. If this can be implemented by 2026, as proposed in the investigation, a decision needs to be issued in the near future from the government's side.

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Dan Hovskär (KD)

Madam Speaker! As many know, the question of improving support for those who receive LSS has been one of the Christian Democrats' core issues. We will continue to work on these issues, and this is one of the main issues. For me personally, it is also an incredibly important issue. The member can therefore rest assured that the Christian Democrats will continue to work with this and that we will push forward.

Exactly how it will look, however, we will have to return to when the government presents the final proposal. But the Christian Democrats will, in any case, be involved in pushing forward and see the possibility of implementing a state ownership.

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Carina Ståhl Herrstedt (SD)

Madam Speaker! Many important and interesting debates take place here in the chamber, but I must nevertheless admit that today's debate is a debate that is particularly close to my heart. These are issues that I truly burn for and that I have motioned for since 2010 when I entered the Riksdag.

I also intended this year to begin my speech by reading a text: "A problem that is palpable today when it comes to personal assistance is Försäkringskassan's assessments of the concept 'basic needs'."

"The Försäkringskassan's harsh, almost inhumane assessments of basic needs often lead to that persons who can feed themselves and who can dress themselves or wash their hair are not considered to meet the basic needs."

"These excessively harsh assessments lead to more and more people not becoming eligible for assistance or losing their assistance upon reassessment. With that, they also lose the opportunities for inclusion and participation in society. The possibility of living a life like other people is palpably restricted."

Madam Speaker, fellow committee members and listeners! One could easily believe that this is a text written yesterday, but the tragic truth is that it is a text that I wrote in my motion in 2012 – that is, over ten years ago. One could believe that after so many years it would look different, but unfortunately it does not, in that case only marginally.

The recent parliamentary terms have meant a major setback for many people with disabilities and their families. It cannot be understated that the existence of many of these families was characterized by insecurity and uncertainty during the red-green government.

For this, the Social Democrats who have been in power during this time are responsible. It cannot be ignored that the signals that the government has sent, for example via regulatory letters to Försäkringskassan, have created ripples that have overturned the lives of incredibly many people.

Madam Speaker! No one becomes safer or happier by us standing here in the speaker's chair and accusing each other. It benefits no one. Now it is time, as someone else here has also said, that we together ensure that the goals for disability policy and the intentions of LSS are fulfilled and upheld.

Politics has betrayed people with disabilities for far too long. Therefore, I am glad that we now have a new government with a strong Sverigedemokratiskt influence. This, together with the red-greens' newly found commitment to these issues, means that the future actually looks quite bright. I am pleased when I see this committee report and the reservations that exist. It shows a will to jointly drive these issues forward.

We in the Sweden Democrats stand firm on our positions. We continue to maintain that all basic needs should be considered entitlement-generating in their entirety, that the assistance allowance needs to be increased, that blind and visually impaired persons should be granted travel services and escorting, and that children and adults should have the right to assistive devices adapted to their needs and based on a national price list. We still want to see the right to a coordinator that families can seek help from and increased opportunities to enter work and studies, among other things. We stand firm on the policy we have laid out. There is much that we must take responsibility for together today.

Madam Speaker! Our reservation 36, which I otherwise move for approval of, concerns precisely the possibility of work. We believe that the government should investigate more possible financing models to facilitate for deaf, hard of hearing, and deaf-blind persons to obtain or retain a job.

Madam Speaker! Another important and decisive issue is that increased competence regarding diagnoses and diseases is required to meet the needs that exist. Increased competence is also required regarding specifically the manner of interaction, and it is required in all areas: in schools, in social services, in different types of housing and daily activities - yes, everywhere. LSS has been neglected in so many areas, and we must collectively put a stop to that. Therefore, we want to see a national LSS boost.

What has been going on for a longer period of time is nothing other than an unworthy betrayal of the welfare state that has been met with nonchalance and incompetence. But now there seems to be agreement on many of the issues. It is time that we together steer the ship in the right direction.

Madam Speaker! It is not reasonable that the blind and visually impaired are no longer granted transport services but are instead urged to carefully memorize the route. It is also not reasonable that people with disabilities, from one day to the next, as if by a miracle, suddenly are no longer considered to have a need for assistance. It is not reasonable that persons with municipally decided assistance are not covered by the review ban and that they, out of fear of receiving less or even having their assistance completely withdrawn, do not even dare to apply for more hours, even though the need has increased.

It is definitely not reasonable, but rather totally unacceptable, that staff at residential facilities act completely vilely with both physical and psychological abuse. Competence must truly increase there.

Madam Speaker! It must end with portraying people with disabilities as costly citizens who only make demands and as cheaters, just so that savings can be justified. We must once again let the debate be about rights and inclusion instead of focusing on costs and savings. It is time to do over and do right. I believe that we can do it together.

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Christofer Bergenblock (C)

Madam Speaker! I would like to thank the member for an engaged and personal speech on disability rights policy and, above all, on personal assistance. There, the member read out a part of their own motion from 2012.

Just when it comes to basic needs, the Social Affairs Committee and the Riksdag have noted that it is not working well. During the last parliamentary term, initiatives also came regarding codifying parts of what concerned oxygenation and tube feeding. But we all know that it is not enough. Still, the basic needs are divided, fragmented, into small parts. It is said that one has the right to help entering the toilet and the right to help finishing one's toilet visit, but not the right to help during the time one is on the toilet. It becomes very strange. No holistic approach is taken regarding the basic needs.

Mr. Speaker! I hear from the members that there is a great will to rectify these problems. In today's report, there is actually a reservation from Vänsterpartiet, Centerpartiet, and Miljöpartiet, reservation 9 under point 5. We want to announce to the government that the issue needs to be reviewed.

After the committed speech we just heard and based on the motion that the member himself submitted to the Riksdag in 2012, I assume that the Sweden Democrats are prepared to stand behind the reservation. Will SD do that?

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Carina Ståhl Herrstedt (SD)

Mr. Speaker! Thank you, Christofer Bergenblock, for the question!

Mr. Speaker! It is exactly as Christofer says; there has already been a notification regarding the basic needs. I and the Sverigedemokraterna are of the opinion that a notification shall be fulfilled, and it shall be done as soon as possible. That is something we will absolutely work for. It is also for that reason that we have currently chosen not to stand behind the reservation. We assume that the previous notification shall be fulfilled.

For the others, it may be good to know that the Sweden Democrats submitted a follow-up motion to the bill on strengthened rights to assistance. Neither the Centre Party, the Left Party, nor the Green Party chose to stand behind it at that time. The member is therefore well aware of how politics works.

I can assure you that it is an issue that we still stand behind and will continue to pursue. If nothing happens with the announcement, we will once again bring it forward.

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Christofer Bergenblock (C)

Mr. Speaker! My recollection does not tell me that there is an active announcement being processed in the Government Offices. The member may correct me if I am wrong.

The announcement I spoke about was the one that has already resulted in a review and new legislation. Therefore, an announcement to the government was still needed regarding just the basic needs, based on what we just talked about, that is, the fragmentation that Försäkringskassan does of the needs. One should instead look at the whole.

Mr. Speaker! I perceive that the member is open to the consensus that nevertheless exists in these issues. Together, we in the Riksdag can steer this ship in the right direction. That is exactly what we want to do. The part of the ship consisting of the government may from time to time need a little push in the right direction. The announcement is a way to give the government the push that it may need.

I would really appreciate it if, after today's debate – where all positions have already been taken – we could sit down and look at a joint announcement to the government to review the basic needs and the management of them.

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Carina Ståhl Herrstedt (SD)

Mr. Speaker! Thank you for the clarification, Christofer Bergenblock!

The Speaker is both right and not right regarding the announcement. The announcement I meant actually concerned a supplementary directive to the Huvudmannaskapsutredningen, that it should also look at the basic needs.

Now it is overplayed in substance. But it also shows that there is a clear majority when it comes to the core issue itself. I assume that the government will take action on it. If they do not, I think we can absolutely help each other in pushing them forward.

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Malin Danielsson (L)

Mr. Speaker! An eleven-year-old who loves hockey, a young woman studying to become a doctor, a lawyer, a girl who against all odds has learned to walk, a preschool-aged boy who loves the rustling, and a group of young adults heading out into life - these are some of the people I have met during the spring. Much separates them, but one thing they have in common: They all have some form of disability.

When one speaks about persons with disabilities, it is not about a homogeneous group of individuals to be pitied, who stand outside or who one should take care of. It is about people who are everywhere, here and now, with ambitions and with life dreams. They are people with prerequisites that in some respects may differ from the majority's but who are an important part of the social community and who have a right to participation in it.

Disability policy is about realizing that right and about independence and self-determination. Disability policy is about the freedom to be one's best self and about removing barriers.

Mr. Speaker! LSS is one of the largest freedom reforms that has been implemented. Personal assistance makes it possible for people to work, to move out of their homes, to live longer and to manage without having to ask loved ones for help. The individual's needs are at the center. Self-determination is important. When the reform was launched, it functioned well, but in recent years we have unfortunately seen a deterioration.

The eleven-year-old who loves hockey needs help around the clock to be able to breathe, eat, and live. The lawyer needs monitoring at night for the breathing to function. LSS is a necessity for them. But despite it being a rights-based legislation, there is a fear among both, and many others, of losing this support due to new case law and narrower assessments.

Mr. Speaker! The Liberals have on several occasions taken the initiative to improve, or perhaps rather restore, the assistance, from the review ban to the investigation on strengthened right to assistance and the Principal Responsibility Investigation.

Some bright spots exist – the strengthened right to assistance entered into force at the turn of the year, and the Principal Responsibility Inquiry is currently being prepared in the Government Offices – but more needs to be done. A suitable way forward, the Liberals believe, is to implement the state principal responsibility for LSS and also, in line with what the investigator proposes, further investigate fundamental needs so that one can move away from the minute-hunting and the privacy-infringing audits. In the long run, a completely new coherent LSS legislation is needed to tackle the erosion of the law, so that LSS once again becomes the freedom reform it was intended to be.

Mr. Speaker! The young woman who is studying to become a doctor has a hearing impairment. She testifies about how different regions make different assessments when it comes to hearing aids. One and the same hearing aid can be seen as standard in one region, but as an option at an extra cost in another. For someone who is studying and needs to move from one region to another, this can cause great problems. This is experienced by many young adults who are heading out into studies and professional life. Think of everything one as a young adult without a disability needs to do for the first time when leaving home, and add to that a number of aids with different primary owners that one is not allowed to move with at all when moving to another location to study or work!

The National Board of Health and Welfare, in its report released earlier this year, concluded that it is not appropriate to develop a common national guideline for assistive devices. The agency believes, however, that increased national support is needed in these areas. The National Board of Health and Welfare is also tasked with continuously collecting and publishing data and statistics for the purpose of long-term monitoring of the assistive devices area.

We politicians, in turn, need to follow this carefully. Disability policy should be about removing barriers. A fragmented management of assistive devices creates rather than removes barriers.

Mr. Speaker! School and work are two important parts of our lives where we spend large parts of our time. School shall give all children the right to develop based on their own circumstances.

For some, it can be like for the girl I met at a specially adapted preschool for children with extensive disabilities, who against all odds, with the help of the educators, has learned to walk. It can also be like for the boy at the same preschool, who, thanks to social community on his own terms, now has friends. And not only that – he makes them laugh and can communicate with them.

For others, it is about the school actually compensating for the disability one was born with. It is not enough for visually impaired students to receive adapted learning materials deep into the term when the course is almost finished, that there are no smaller teaching groups for those who need a smaller context, or that resources are not deployed in time.

Just as support and structure may be needed in school, it can also be needed when one has left school. The path into working life is not easy for everyone. In the report "I want so much to find my place in society" from Attention, one can learn how young people with different forms of NPF often end up in a bind.

One who tells his story is Jonathan, who after a tougher time in high school where his disabilities led to both exclusion and depression, eventually ended up completely outside the system and became a shut-in. Now he plans to train as a systems developer at a vocational college, but the path there has been unnecessarily difficult and painful because the right support was not provided in time - or as Jonathan himself expresses it: When you go off the rails, it is difficult to get back up. You end up outside quickly, and then everything stops. It cannot be assumed that everyone has their own resources or parents who have them and who can steer derailed lives back on track. I really want to be a part of society. I no longer want to feel the enormous emptiness that comes from just staying at home and not doing anything.

Mr. Speaker! Jonathan's story and many of the people I have met during the spring testify that society's support is needed so that more people can become their best self. It can be in the form of support and help with structure or a functioning interpretation service so that one can perform their work. It can be through personal assistance, the right support in school, the right assistive devices, or the possibility of bringing one's guide dog to the workplace. It can be about bringing one's sports equipment on the transport service, having car support granted without unnecessary administrative hassle, or being granted transport service trips so that one can actually have an active leisure time.

Overall, it is about making life a little easier for those who already live with a disability. People, ambitions, and life dreams come in all forms, and our mission is to tear down the obstacles that stand in the way so that more people can become their best selves. I move for approval of the proposals in the report.

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Maj Karlsson (V)

Mr. Speaker! There is a fairly widespread perception that for those who end up in a wheelchair, life is over. This is highlighted by GIL and the furniture maker Staffan Holm with a very powerful work depicting a wheelchair with an enormous coffin inside. The prejudices regarding those who live with non-normative functionality are so extensive that they are to be regarded as very widespread phobia of disability. It is precisely because of these deep-rooted perceptions that politics for decades has built a society that excludes citizens simply because of their functionality.

Raise your hand, those of you here in the chamber who have experienced arriving at a district that you could not physically access! Raise your hand, those of you who have been denied access to public transport or have not been able to enter the restaurant you desired or even a toilet when it was needed!

Each one of us in politics can ask ourselves how we would view governments that have accepted an unemployment rate of nearly 20 percent or a schooling that does not provide any bright future prospects. What would we have thought about politicians who did not put a stop to the fact that one is not granted assistance despite it being one's right? The reason why we must ask ourselves these questions is not only that it is a reality for thousands of people here and now, but also that it could at any time come down to me or you.

None of us know what tomorrow has to offer. A single small accident can be decisive for whether you will be part of society or if you will be forced to stand aside, completely cold.

Mr. Speaker! There is actually not a single area of society where Sweden fails to provide people with disabilities access to what other people have a right to. Your functionality is crucial for what you can participate in in society, whether you will receive a good education, a job, proper healthcare and a home where you can live, and whether you will be able to move freely in the public space. Your functionality can determine whether you will get to live a full life or just exist.

Our society is built with a long series of obstacles that could have been cleared if we had only ensured that society was adapted to those who live in it and not the other way around. It is a fundamental failure, which means that we actually cannot see ourselves as a full-fledged democracy.

We from Vänsterpartiet have submitted a comprehensive motion to the Riksdag based on the demands coming from Funktionsrätt Sverige. With our proposals, we want to achieve that the policy takes a holistic approach to ensure that the entire society is planned and built inclusively. Our motion contains a long series of proposals spanning many areas, but I intend to highlight five of them a bit extra here.

Firstly, we want the government to take the steps required for the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities to become Swedish law. Swedish legislation must proceed from the premise that all people are equal rights-holders with the same rights and obligations. Despite the fact that Sweden adopted the convention in the Riksdag in 2008, it has not been incorporated into Swedish law. Therefore, it is of the utmost importance to sharpen the ambition by enacting legislation in that direction.

Secondly, we want the government to take the threats and the hatred affecting people with disabilities most seriously. To turn a blind eye to the widespread ableism and not ensure that people are protected according to the law is unacceptable. We therefore demand that the protection for people with disabilities be ensured by including hate crimes and insults against the group in the Penal Code's provisions on incitement against a population group.

Thirdly, we want the government to appoint a power inquiry to increase the participation of persons with disabilities. Persons with disabilities generally have a lower level of participation and representation in democratic processes than others. This has enormous consequences for how the political issues concerning the group are prioritized and implemented and is a major flaw in our democracy. We also know that a person's ability to influence their own situation and the issues concerning them themselves has a great impact on health and well-being.

For the fourth: There is probably no area where the discrimination of persons with disabilities becomes so clear as when it comes to accessibility. In principle, our entire society is designed based on a strongly normative perception of people's functional abilities.

In 2015, lack of accessibility for persons with disabilities became a form of discrimination in Swedish law. It was a very important step for Sweden to live up to the convention on human rights, but unfortunately, the legislation contains several crucial exceptions. We therefore want the government to evaluate how the Discrimination Act is complied with and adapt it to eliminate its shortcomings.

For the fifth: I want to particularly highlight the importance of the government standing by its promise that the state will become the principal for personal assistance. I am very proud and happy that during the previous mandate period we entered into an unholy alliance with the Moderaterna and Kristdemokraterna to achieve this major and long-awaited reform. It was an initiative that all current government parties stood behind.

The investigation is now complete with a clear statement that a state ownership is the most appropriate and how the reform should be implemented. I therefore assume that the proposal will now become a reality and that the government will not break the promise that it has itself been involved in pushing forward.

Vänsterpartiet naturally stands behind all its motions, but today I only move for approval of reservation 1.

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Christofer Bergenblock (C)

Mr. Speaker! Initially, I would like to move for approval of reservation 2 under point 1.

Today's committee report is titled Support for persons with disabilities, but actually, the debate is about disability rights, that is to say, all people's right to participate in society on equal terms regardless of any disabilities. I also believe that it is how we actually must think about these issues: that it is more about rights than about support.

Sweden, just like 165 other countries, ratified the so-called Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which took place 15 years ago. Nevertheless, its content is still not a matter of common knowledge, and it has not yet achieved the far-reaching impact in society that it deserves. In practice, a very large amount of the responsibility for realizing the content of the convention lies with municipalities and regions in Sweden. Therefore, the Center Party believes that an inquiry should be appointed on how the state can strengthen the conditions for municipalities and regions to contribute to Sweden complying with the content of the convention in practice.

Mr. Speaker! One of the problems today is that far too many decisions are made without consideration for persons with disabilities. This does not happen out of ill will, of course, but out of ignorance. People simply do not reflect enough on how persons with disabilities can be affected by different decisions.

It can be a matter of forgetting to install a hearing loop when building new meeting rooms, which makes it difficult for those with hearing impairments.

It can be a matter of forgetting to lay down a tactile strip when building a new sidewalk, which makes it difficult for the person with a visual impairment.

It can be a matter of forgetting that the learning environment needs look different for different people when one is going to build a new school. If one does not take that into account, it can become difficult for the person who has an NPF diagnosis.

To avoid such mistakes, which occur all the time in planning, the Center Party wants all political decisions and all social planning to be reflected by a functional perspective. It is simply a matter of including the right information in the decisions right from the start.

Mr. Speaker! In 1994, the Act on Support and Service for Certain Persons with Disabilities, LSS, was introduced, which meant a radical freedom reform for many people with disabilities. One of the most important parts of the law is the right to personal assistance, which, when introduced, came to restore people's right to decide over their own lives and their own everyday lives.

Now it has been 30 years, and the law has become marginalized. The original intentions are not fully followed, and rights differ between different parts of the country. Therefore, the Huvudmannaskapsutredningen, initiated by the Riksdag, is very positive. In the investigation, a state principal is proposed for personal assistance.

Those who know us in the Center Party know that nationalization of operations is something that we are fundamentally very skeptical about, but regarding personal assistance, we see that it is absolutely necessary to guarantee quality, legal certainty, and equality across the entire country. We therefore stand behind the proposal to consolidate the currently divided ownership under the state. But what we ask ourselves is why the government hesitates to express the same clear will and say that a nationalization actually shall take place, even if one cannot answer all the details in the matter.

Mr. Speaker! Nor even in contact with healthcare is it a given that people fully understand or take into account the needs of people with disabilities. Persons with disabilities more often experience poorer health and have a greater need for contact with healthcare than people in general.

A fixed doctor contact is naturally good for everyone who is in contact with healthcare, but it is not enough for those who have an extensive disability. Here, instead, a coordinator could fulfill an important function by helping to gather information, guiding correctly within healthcare, and sorting out situations so that one does not fall between the chairs. Not least, this is a help that many parents who have had a child with an extensive disability would need. Often, they experience great difficulties in orienting themselves in their new everyday life.

Mr. Speaker! Sometimes, even within healthcare, one needs to be educated or changed in order to better understand and take into account the perspectives of people with disabilities. One such example is the access to assistive devices where the assessments can partly differ between different municipalities and regions, and partly can become unreasonable in relation to the right to live a life of full participation.

It can be a matter of not being entitled to a wheelchair adapted for sports and leisure activities, even though it differs significantly from the one needed in everyday life, in the classroom, or at home.

Centerpartiet wants to see a regulation of the prescription of assistive devices, strengthen the right to leisure aids, and also provide the possibility to appeal decisions if a request has been denied.

Mr. Speaker! Disability policy is fundamentally about living up to what the UN Convention stipulates regarding the right of persons with disabilities to live, be included, and participate in society on the same terms as everyone else. It is not about wishes but about rights – civil liberties and rights. But it is also about opportunities and all people's ability to contribute, regardless of functional ability. We must become better at taking advantage of that opportunity.

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Ulrika Westerlund (MP)

Mr. Speaker! Sweden is to be a country where everyone has the opportunity to live their lives in the best possible way. Everyone should have the opportunity to shape their life according to their own wishes, based on their own circumstances. Society shall provide support so that this becomes possible, but it is the individual who shall be in control of their own life.

It was, among other things, to ensure that this would be possible for everyone once the Act on Support and Service was first introduced. Since then, we have unfortunately seen a considerable number of deteriorations and erosions of what was intended to be rights-based legislation for people with disabilities. In today's debate, I would like the previous speaker to raise some of these challenges.

For personal assistance to function well, the working conditions for being a personal assistant need to be sufficiently good. They cannot be if the standard compensation is too low. Many companies and associations that employ personal assistants are now warning that the low increases in compensation are depleting their possibilities to recruit and retain assistants and to conduct serious and good work.

When the increase is only made at 1.5 percent, as was the case in the government's budget, the result is that the level is depleted year by year. The level of the formula naturally affects which wages one can give, but an increase also means that one can begin to value employees with long experience and competence when it is important, provide guidance and training, and so on.

Miljöpartiet considers that the level should be increased by 5 percent. We also consider that the government should rather return with proposals for a long-term, stable and predictable model for the upward adjustment of the assistance allowance moving forward. Our proposed increase is intended as a first step on the way towards being able to close the gap that has arisen after a number of years with far too small an upward adjustment at the end of the mandate period.

Mr. Speaker! In addition to the economic challenges, there are also other problems regarding personal assistance. LSS was, as I mentioned, originally a rights-based legislation intended to guarantee the individual's basic rights based on need. As many of the organizations in the field have pointed out to us, this can no longer be said to be the case. LSS must be reinstated. The Government should therefore appoint an inquiry with the aim of strengthening LSS with the objective of reinstating the law's basic intentions and, based on that, developing and modernizing the legislation.

It is also central that the report from the Huvudmannaskapsutredningen be prepared expeditiously and that the Riksdag as soon as possible be given the opportunity to take a position on a proposal for a state principal for personal assistance. Since the Huvudmannaskapsutredningen never received the additional directive that the Riksdag in March 2022 announced to the government that it desired, which concerned also preparing proposals that ensure that all assistance moments for all basic needs shall be assistance-establishing, it is central to ensure in another way that precisely this occurs.

The development of Försäkringskassan's assessments of the concept of basic needs is a major and urgent problem. Regulation and practice have moved too far away from what was the basic idea behind LSS. The law should be reviewed so that all support elements for all basic needs shall give entitlement to personal assistance. The Government should therefore as soon as possible appoint an inquiry that restores the law's basic intentions.

Mr. Speaker! All people, regardless of functional variation or ability, shall have equal rights and opportunities. At the same time, we know that Swedish legislation falls short in several areas when it comes to ensuring this. Miljöpartiet therefore wants an inquiry to be appointed to produce a clear proposal on how Swedish legislation should best be designed to fully live up to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The inquiry should, among other things, take a position on whether the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities should apply as Swedish law just like the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Heat and hatred against people with disabilities must come to an end. Today, the right of people with disabilities to non-discrimination is protected through the Discrimination Act. Disability is therefore a specific ground for discrimination, just like, for example, gender, ethnic origin, and religion or other belief. But while most other grounds for discrimination - not all - are included in the Penal Code's paragraph on hate speech against a population group, disability is not included. Miljöpartiet therefore wants to appoint an inquiry on how the criminal law protection can be strengthened. Legislation, as we know, has a significant impact on people's attitudes. Through legislation, society signals what is right and wrong, in this case by clarifying that hateful and prejudiced statements against groups and individuals with disabilities are a crime.

Mr. Speaker! I want to mention a few more issues that are of great importance for people with disabilities. Having access to functioning assistive devices can be completely decisive for whether one feels ill or disabled or not. Miljöpartiet's general position is that it must be smooth and easy to obtain assistive devices. We are also very concerned that it must not risk becoming so that some cannot afford to acquire the assistive devices that are needed, for example that a parent cannot pay the cost for the assistive device that the child needs or that an elderly person cannot manage such an expense. Assistive devices must be seen as something as self-evident as access to healthcare as needed otherwise. Miljöpartiet's view is therefore that assistive devices should be included in the high-cost protection.

Support for persons with disabilities

The last thing I want to mention is the interpretation service. Today's interpretation service has shortcomings, especially regarding national equality. In March 2022, the 2020 interpretation service inquiry submitted its final report to the previous government. The proposals have been largely welcomed by organizations representing the affected groups. Miljöpartiet considers that the Swedish interpretation service needs to be improved for increased national equality and to enable people who are in need of interpretation to be active in the working life on equal terms. It is therefore important that the new government now continues to work with the proposals from the inquiry.

I support all our reservations but move for approval only of reservation 21.

The deliberation was hereby concluded.

(Decisions were made under § 15.)

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