Student financial aid

Fredrik Malm (L)

Mr. Speaker! At this late hour, we shall debate expenditure area 15, which concerns student support. It is about crowns and cents, interest rates and loan rules, but I will also focus on why this issue is so crucial.

For the Liberals, education is about every individual gaining power over their own life and Sweden becoming a leading knowledge nation.

The labor market is in constant change, which means that more people will need to educate themselves throughout their lives. This naturally also requires that those who want or need to study have the opportunity to finance their studies. It is ambition, not money, that should determine whether one wants and can continue studying. Student grants are fundamental for an equal higher education that gives everyone, regardless of background, the opportunity to continue studying. That is why we are proud of the system Sweden has today. It provides a basic security for those who have talent, not just for those who have money.

The Liberals see great advantages in generous terms and rules for student grants. Knowledge and education presuppose that the individual can study, and in many cases, it is thanks to the student grants that this becomes possible for the individual.

The Swedish student support system is and shall be one of the world's most generous. A well-balanced student support system creates conditions for both individuals and Sweden as a nation to grow with knowledge. The student support is also the foundation for an equitable education that gives everyone, regardless of background, the opportunity to study.

Mr. Speaker! As a result of the deliberations and negotiations held between unions and employers, we will receive a transition study support from 2023. It complements the regular study support and finances studies that can strengthen adults' future position on the labor market, taking into account the labor market's needs. It provides an opportunity for tens of thousands to, through an income loss principle, receive 80 percent of their salary to be able to study a training program of up to 44 weeks in order to retrain.

In view of the introduction of the new student support, the Government considers it reasonable to introduce a new model for calculating the interest on student loans. The proposed model is reasonable, and the interest surcharge will also be stable over time and is therefore more predictable for the individual.

For those who would rather extend their repayment period than increase their monthly cost, such an opportunity is provided. It is entirely in the spirit of a flexible education system that puts the individual at the center.

Mr. Speaker! The new system means that Sweden will continue to have one of the world's most generous student grants, which is good, and that the collective of borrowers stands jointly and severally for the student grant costs.

The student loan continues even after this to be the most favorable loan that can be obtained. In times of increased interest rates, the interest on the CSN loan is raised significantly less than many other interest rates. It is important so that everyone can afford to educate themselves and so that it pays to educate oneself.

It is positive that more borrowers can now request to have their repayment period changed and repay the loan in accordance with the provisions that apply to student loans taken after 31 December 2021.

As a consequence of the interest surcharge, it is also according to the committee positive that as many borrowers as possible should be able to choose how the increased cost shall be taken out.

Mr. Speaker! We in the Liberals believe in education. We also believe in fair opportunities for all people, regardless of background, to receive an education. That is why we are investing heavily in education in the budget bill and in the committee report, despite expensive times and despite the risk of a recession.

Sweden shall be a prominent knowledge nation, where higher education, research, and innovation are conducted with high quality. It contributes to societal development and competitiveness. It is precisely about the difference between competing with low wages and competing with the latest products and services. We Liberals choose the latter.

Sweden's conditions to compete on an international market, where education, knowledge and human capital are crucial components, are good. We have a relatively well-educated population. We have a high-tech industry. We have a higher education system that is both expanded and easily accessible, and we are historically very good at innovation in Sweden.

This is the result of our Swedish tradition of investing in both culture and a good education. A well-functioning school system in combination with higher education characterized by quality is obviously crucial for this.

Sweden faces great challenges. In that case, we must do our utmost to build a robust knowledge nation where everyone has the opportunity to take educational journeys. That we safeguard one of the world's most generous student grant systems is also an important part of this.

With this, I thank you for the floor and wish everyone a Merry Christmas.

(Applause)

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

Niklas Sigvardsson (S)

Mr. Speaker! Thank you, Member Fredrik Malm, for a speech that can largely be agreed with! The perception of the importance of the transition study support is obviously shared by our parties. Despite the fact that the parties were initially worried during the autumn about quotes regarding twisting the transition study support, it now seems there are funds in the budget.

It is very important that there are also places for all those who want to study with transition study support. As late as last week, there were over 22,000 individuals who had applied for the support. Therefore, we think it is a bit strange that one lowers the ambition and reduces the number of places that those persons who are eligible for transition study support can take. When there is great competition with large cohorts of young people, this seems very strange.

My simple question is: Where are all the students who are to study with the transition study support supposed to fit - in our universities, colleges, universities of applied sciences and other adult educations?

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

Fredrik Malm (L)

Mr. Speaker! It is very important issues that the Social Democrats are raising. The trick here is not to create displacement effects, that is to say, that a person in their 40s wants to retrain and thus takes a place, so to speak, from a 20-year-old. At the same time, it is the case that the regular educations, as they are designed, designed and planned at our educational institutions, do not necessarily really suit a somewhat shorter retraining.

This is something that we will need to follow closely moving forward. It will probably take some time. It is not possible to get the new system to fit perfectly in zero time. I believe that it will partly be a search from many educational institutions. One also needs to be able to formulate these educations moving forward in a dialogue with industries and others. But the government is following this very closely. I know that the Social Democrats are also, of course, very engaged in this, as are the labor organizations.

When fully expanded, there should be twice as many places. I hope that it will happen as quickly as possible.

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

Niklas Sigvardsson (S)

Mr. Speaker! I must admit that I am not entirely satisfied with the answer that Member Malm gives here.

It is quite clear that we are now receiving more applicants. Just this year, 22,000 have applied so far, and it will be more in the coming years. Fully expanded, we are up at appropriation levels of around 9 billion. Then we need massive investments also in educational places.

That is why it feels a bit strange to read in the government's budget that one is actually cutting 85 million in the higher education and university sector, that one is cutting 1.23 billion in adult education, and that one is cutting 104 million in the universities of applied sciences. Then we are just up to approximately 1.4 billion. If we add the cuts of 492 million in adult education to that, we are up to over 1.8 billion in cuts and approximately 30,000 places.

Here we have a rather large job to do if we want everyone in the cohorts that are coming to be able to get a place to study and also want people to be able to develop their skills in the middle of life through the transition study support.

The government and the government's representatives are obliged to give us and everyone who is waiting at home for a decision an answer. The 22,000 who have applied for this during the months they have been able to do so and all the new young people who are to study during coming periods are actually waiting for the answer. How will this affect their opportunities to study?

I believe that all parties in the government base owe us an answer. Where are all the students - both those with transition study support and the others - supposed to go when, hopefully, more people want to continue their studies?

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

Fredrik Malm (L)

Mr. Speaker! It is absolutely correct, as Niklas Sigvardsson points out, that this system will be expensive. It is so. It is two parties that have agreed on something, and then the bill is settled over significantly more. That is how it is. It will be an expensive system. Furthermore, all education in Sweden is quite expensive, especially if it is to maintain high quality. Then it becomes even more expensive.

One problem, however, is that we have many educations in Sweden, partly within the vocational education sector, where places remain empty. This applies, for example, to vocational adult education and upper secondary school. Educations are being created that are either not sufficiently attractive or where, in various ways, a goal fulfillment is not achieved.

I believe it will make a big difference if we increase the efficiency, so that the educational places are filled.

Mr. Speaker! I do not share the description that this government would make large cuts in the education area. We do not do that. One can, however, see that during the pandemic some temporary investments were made which have since been phased out. But in total, we invest an enormous amount in education. We also increase this a little more in this budget.

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

Niklas Sigvardsson (S)

Mr. Speaker! I want to begin by pointing out that I have no motion in this debate, but I stand behind the special statement from the Social Democrats which is in the committee report.

The student support system is a crucial part of the Swedish welfare model. The system, where one has the opportunity to form and educate oneself throughout life under good conditions, is a sign of freedom. The system makes it possible for dreams to come true. The young woman and the young man who move out of home get the chance to take steps toward the profession they have always dreamed of. It is about the mother or the father who, after 20 years in the same job, feels: I cannot do this for another 20 years. The Swedish student grant system plays a decisive role in people's longing for freedom.

It is therefore pleasing to see that the government has chosen to continue with the Social Democratic student grant policy in its budget proposal. Initiatives that the previous Social Democratic government implemented remain, and they will enable thousands of people to complete their educational journey.

It is about raised age limits for student grants, increased grant amounts, and better conditions for KPU students, i.e., students who are studying a shorter pedagogical education to become subject teachers. It is also about the possibility of taking out a driving license loan to make oneself more employable.

We Social Democrats, however, are not satisfied until everyone has the same opportunity for education. We want more people to have the opportunity for education and lifelong learning. The step to begin an education and take out a student loan can be perceived as different sizes for different people. Unfortunately, social class and background still play far too large a role regarding education. A generous and flexible student support system has a central role in breaking these patterns.

Our starting point is therefore that it should be possible to secure one's livelihood during the period of study without income from work or help from relatives. We are positive that those who want and can work during the period of study should also do so. But for several groups of students, it is not possible to combine studies with work. It can involve such great efforts that both studies and family life suffer. This can apply to groups such as students with children, students with disabilities, students who become ill during the period of study, and students with a large proportion of scheduled time.

Mr. Speaker! One of the initiatives that, extra joyfully, remains in the budget is the study start support. It is an important support to reach groups who would probably otherwise never have come into contact with the education system and thereby closer to the labor market. The support is also spot-on for reaching self-sufficiency and strengthened integration, as an overwhelming majority who use this support have a foreign background.

We Social Democrats therefore consider that a review will need to be carried out to increase the attractiveness of the support so that more people can enter employment. Such a review should include both the levels of the support as well as the requirement for previous long-term unemployment, however, on the condition that it shall also in the future be people with a great need for education who are far from the labor market who are to receive the support.

The truly major decision that we are debating here today is, however, the enabling and implementation of the transition study support. It is about further positioning ourselves as the world's best student loan system, and it represents an opportunity for people in the middle of life to choose to invest in transition or skills development without having to feel anxiety about how the bills will be paid, this because the transition study support means that most can continue their studies with up to 80 percent of their previous salary for one year.

This transition reform is extremely important to enable even more people to have access to lifelong learning, something that strengthens both individuals and our society. It makes it economically possible for more people to study later in life, and we can already see an enormous demand for this support. At the end of last week, over 22,000 had applied for this. Therefore, we must signal that we have the readiness to increase the funds as early as the next budget year. We also need to review how quickly we can reach the next level.

This also means that the government's cuts to educational places will make it even more difficult for people to enter an education. We can only hope that the government and the Sweden Democrats come to their senses and ensure that more people get the opportunity to study by increasing the number of places in all adult educations.

The government will also need to keep an eye on who is granted their applications. It is important that even professional groups where there has previously been no tradition of study can be granted transition study support, so that they too can develop and in that way strengthen their position on the labor market.

In conclusion, Mr. Speaker, I would like to return to my introduction. The student grant is and will be an extremely important part of the Swedish welfare model moving forward. It contributes to people's life journeys and the realization of dreams. We must ensure that more people get the opportunity to fulfill just their dream and their longing for freedom.

(Applause)

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

Anders Alftberg (SD)

Mr. Speaker! I would like to take this opportunity to move for approval of the proposal in the Education Committee's report regarding expenditure area 15 Student Grants.

Mr. Speaker! We have every reason to feel proud of the student support system that we have in Sweden. It has now been more than 100 years since, in 1919, for the first time, "interest-free loans for facilitating study opportunities for gifted but poor pupils at public educational institutions" were paid out.

Much has happened since that time. Today, thanks to our student support system, we have one of the world's most well-educated populations. Nearly 50 percent have a post-secondary education. This can be compared with the OECD countries, which today stand at approximately one third. We must ensure quality; quantity should not precede quality.

Mr. Speaker! It is good that our country has a generous student support system. It gives the individual the opportunity to develop their full potential, it promotes economic development, and it strengthens our competitiveness on the international arena.

But with a generous system also come risks. Incorrect payments and grant fraud are constantly a problem that we must manage. In CSN's annual report 2021, we can note that the incorrect payments amounted to 727 million kronor, which was an increase of 99 million. It is serious. It must be said in honesty that many of the incorrect payments are honest errors where students have simply made a mistake. But we must still see that organized crime is increasingly eating its way into our grant systems, and so it is also with our student support. Much has been done, but more will need to be done. Otherwise, we risk undermining the trust and confidence in our student support system, which has served us so well.

Mr. Speaker! I look forward to the upcoming parliamentary term and to, together with all parties, across party lines, continuing to develop and refine our student support system.

I would therefore like to thank the Chamber Secretariat and the committee's staff for the past year and wish them a Merry Christmas!

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Niklas Sigvardsson (S)

Mr. Speaker! Thank you for the speech, member! It is pleasing to see that the Sweden Democrats have changed their opinion regarding the study start support, which gives thousands of people here in the country the opportunity to study, even though they are very far from both previous educational background and the labor market.

For that is what the support provides. Just in the last year, that is 2021, it is estimated that over 4,000 people who otherwise would never have come into contact with the education system had their education made possible thanks to the study start support, this despite the turbulence that prevailed during the previous budget debate on the support.

Therefore, it is pleasing to see that you have now changed your mind and stand behind the study start support as well. I wonder if we could take further steps, just as I raised in my speech, to review the levels so that more people can participate in the study start support in the future.

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Anders Alftberg (SD)

Mr. Speaker! It is no secret what our position has been on the issue. It should be said in the name of honesty that this is a compromise. We do not intend to make any promises here today, but we will, together with our coalition partners and the government, discuss the future development of our education systems.

I cannot promise anything here today.

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Niklas Sigvardsson (S)

Mr. Speaker! It is, as said, pleasing that you have taken the first step and accept that part of the report and the submitted budget proposal. The millions invested in those people who are furthest from the labor market mean that they also get to take part in the education system.

Just as I said in my speech, it is about achieving self-sufficiency and getting the opportunity to educate oneself. It will create opportunities for successful integration. That, if anything, is what the Sverigedemokraterna should be satisfied with.

I understand to some extent that you cannot provide any commitments today, but it is pleasing to see that you can take some first steps so that the student start support (studiestartsstödet) remains, and that the student start support may be developed further. In that part, we are more than happy to be part of the new government basis and negotiate to strengthen the position of the education system and student support also for those groups who receive a share of the student start support.

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Anders Alftberg (SD)

Mr. Speaker! The greatest contribution we can make regarding integration and ensuring that people receive an education is that we save the Swedish primary school so that more become eligible from the start for upper secondary school. Here, the Social Democrats have truly shown during their years that they are not capable. But with a new government, the future will look bright even for those with a foreign background.

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Anders Ådahl (C)

Mr. Speaker! Students today are of all ages. The labor market is in motion. New types of jobs are emerging, and industries are changing shape. Internal combustion engines are being replaced by electric motors. We need new engineers. The healthcare sector is changing at a breakneck pace. Digitalization is sweeping across the country and changing the entire labor market.

Young people are needed. Older people are needed. Labor migration is needed. Everyone is needed on the Swedish labor market. At the same time, we are getting older and older, and our demographic distribution is leaning increasingly towards higher ages.

Working life is changing, but student support has not kept pace with the development. The Centre Party wants to see a modernization of student support so that the reality today's students face is better handled by a reformed student support system with more flexibility and more adapted to different circumstances.

Sweden needs more hours worked, not least to secure the financing of the welfare system. Working life must be extended at both ends. Young Swedes enter the labor market late and go into retirement far too early. Compared to a majority of other OECD countries, Swedish students begin post-secondary studies later and also spend more time in studies. Furthermore, the connection between education and working life is poor in many places, and the matching on the Swedish labor market is unfortunately one of the worst in the OECD. It is, frankly, worrying facts.

It is good that people want to invest in educating and educating themselves, both for the individual and for society as a whole. The Centre Party wants to encourage and facilitate for more people to study. To increase throughput and get more people into work, the Centre Party wants a more flexible student support system that rewards students who complete their studies before the set time but is also adapted for those with a slower pace of study, for example for those who have attended adapted upper secondary school or are on part-time sick leave. It provides more opportunities for an education that leads to jobs.

Flexibility is also needed for career changes at higher ages. Therefore, it is good that the upper age limit for the right to student aid has been raised from 56 to 60 years. This facilitates further education and retraining at higher ages, which is an important part of lifelong learning.

The transition study support means that employees will receive significantly improved opportunities to study and transition throughout an entire working life. It is positive that it has now been introduced. The Centre Party worked, as is known, very hard during the last parliamentary term for a modernized labor market. Transition opportunities in the labor market were and are one of the most important factors for meeting a modern working life.

The new law on transition study support entered into force on 30 June 2022. The law means that a new, public and parallel study support was introduced. The purpose is to improve the conditions for adults to finance studies and thereby strengthen their future position on the labor market. The support is intended to strengthen the individual's position on the labor market as well as to contribute to securing the competence supply of society and the business sector.

Centerpartiet wants it to be thoroughly investigated how those who want to study with the transition study support can also be granted a study place. Is it colleges and universities that should bear the responsibility? Who should bear the responsibility, and how should it be financed? These questions need to be investigated.

Centerpartiet further proposes that the so-called free allowance be abolished for the loan portion of the student grant. The income test for student grants for this part is unnecessarily administratively burdensome and reduces incentives to work. It is a liberal position that the student themselves should take responsibility for the balance between work and studies.

In addition to the reforms proposed by the government, the Centre Party believes that the so-called free limit for the loan portion of student aid should be abolished. For that reason, it is proposed that appropriation 1:4 be increased by 10 million kronor for the year 2023.

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Marie-Louise Hänel Sandström (M)

Mr. Speaker! I am pleased to be able to say that I vote in favor of the committee's proposal for a decision for the entire expenditure area 15. It feels very good to say that. This also includes the proposal for an amendment to the Student Aid Act and also a reformed interest rate on student loans. This will enter into force as early as January 1, 2023.

We have now debated different educations, last night and tonight. We have talked about how important education is for the individual, society, the nation and the future. But one must also be able to finance one's studies.

Mr. Speaker! Just as several have said earlier, we have a unique student support system in Sweden, and we can be very proud of it. Many in my surroundings have, of course, made use of this, and it has made it possible to study. One can study at several levels; upper secondary level, post-secondary level, college level and university level. Student support makes studies possible.

Mr. Speaker! A study from 2020 shows that three-quarters of those studying at university have enough income to get by. A majority can even save money every month. Both of my sons are now taking out student loans, but they haven't really seen the study because they find it difficult to make the money last. The idea, of course, is that it should be enough and that the support should be adapted to different situations in life.

Mr. Speaker! The goal of the student grant is that it should have a recruiting effect on both women and men to pursue higher studies. It should lead to higher participation in education. It should also level differences in the population and among different groups so that people with different social status should be able to study.

The current student support system has been in effect since 2021. Previously, it was mostly adapted for younger students, but after several changes, including those driven by Moderaterna, the support has been adapted for older ages, for studying multiple times, and for those with a family.

Mr. Speaker! Now a supplement to the regular student support system is coming. On 1 January 2023, the transition study support is established. And since 1 October, it has been possible to apply for the support. There has been a huge interest. More than 20,000 have applied. This requires manual handling because the applicants have different circumstances and backgrounds. I know that the Central Student Support Board is working a lot with these applications so that the manual handling functions and the decisions are correct.

Many will not receive their notification as early as January 1, but one can, of course, receive it retroactively. One can also have the regular student support system for as long as, so one should not feel worried about one's student support.

The transition study support is a unique system that has been negotiated to provide increased flexibility for studies at many points in life. Now that there are major transitions both within technology and in many professions, many actually must take an additional education. It can also be the case that one must study again in order to be able to keep one's job.

There is a specific transition organization that must issue a statement before a decision can be made regarding this support. When the transition study support is received, the interest on the student loan will also be reviewed.

Mr. Speaker! We Moderates like evaluations and goal fulfillment. Therefore, I am happy to be able to say that there is a high level of goal fulfillment on three important criteria: the recruiting effect of student support, the equalizing effect of student support, and the effect of student support on the economy.

We hope that this will increase further now with the transition study support, which gives even more opportunities to study. For example, we see that many more want to study abroad. Many more want to be able to study more programs at colleges and universities. Many also want to do it at an advanced age, which we of course think is very positive.

When it comes to the economy of the society, we see that more people are entering employment and can manage their own financing.

But one also has to pay back their student loan. It is something important that, unfortunately, one has to work quite a bit with. When I myself had paid back my entire loan, which took some time, I received an email from CSN where it said: Thank you for paying back! Now you have made studies possible for more people.

It is of course a matter that one should pay back the loan one has taken, but quite a few measures are taken at the Central Student Aid Board to make this actually work.

Now the regular study system will be partially redesigned. One gets another opportunity. The interest will be changed, but one can also get it as a joint loan when it is time to pay back. Then it will become easier to have the problems solved that exist if one has loans taken before 1988 and loans taken before 2021. They will be equalized so that it becomes easier to see what the loan looks like.

Now one has an interest rate of 0.0 percent. With the new system, it will be raised to 0.59 percent, which will be approximately 60 kronor a month. It will be a change, but it is intended to finance the transition student support, which previously has been financed with state funds. This will become part of the financing.

Now that our student support system will be reviewed a bit and with the transition study support, I know that more people will enter studies and that more will be given the opportunity to finance their studies.

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Niklas Sigvardsson (S)

Mr. Speaker! Member Fredrik Malm received the question earlier. Now I think that the largest party in the sitting government and the second largest party in the government support should also be given the chance to speak about all those who are now applying for the transition student support.

It is fantastic that we have found a support that the parties have fought for and that we are now contributing our part to, and fortunately, many want to apply. Therefore, we need to have the readiness to increase the pace of the grants, but we also need to have somewhere for all students to go – those who are waiting in upper secondary school or have their gap year and want in, but also all those who have worked and need to strengthen their position on the labor market.

The same question is therefore directed to Member Hänel Sandström. Where are all the students supposed to go with the budget that is now being hammered through?

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Marie-Louise Hänel Sandström (M)

Mr. Speaker! Thank you, the member, for the questions! It is good that we can take them in several rounds here so that we can clarify.

What we see from the Moderates' side is that greater demands will be placed on universities and colleges to have more flexible education. Shorter educations, more targeted educations, and educations that are adapted to the needs of the labor market will be required. We intend for this to be done together with the labor market and the business sector to see what the needs actually are. The municipalities will also be involved in this.

We will find locations. We will ensure that it becomes more adapted and not like today, when the educations are sometimes almost too old by the time one has completed them. This must be something that happens actively with the business sector given the large demands that are being placed now when it concerns, for example, battery factories and electrification, such things as we have not had previously and which require much more, and more flexibility.

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Niklas Sigvardsson (S)

Mr. Speaker! We are in complete agreement that new times require new knowledge and that we should be able to educate ourselves throughout our lives. Lifelong learning is very important for the Social Democrats and has always been. One should be able to study throughout one's life.

It is pleasing that we, together with the parties and the policy, have succeeded in finding a system so that more people can study even at a more mature age, if I may put it that way. But therefore, it becomes strange now.

Universities and colleges have worked frantically all autumn to find courses that could be included. I believe that will be presented in January, so we are sitting on pins and needles waiting to see what the university and college sector comes up with. There, we must be very active in order to, together with the parties, find a good model for which courses and which educational packages should be implemented.

That is why it is strange that the higher education and university sector, in the second instance, receives the moderate budget proposal, which involves 85 million less for the higher education and university sector, more than 1.2 billion less in adult education grants, and 104 million less in vocational higher education grants. That alone is 1.4 billion. Then one removes almost half a billion from adult education. At that point, one is up to over 1.8 billion less in money for the education sector that is targeted towards the adult part, i.e., the group that is to receive the transition study support.

All the 22,000 who apply and those who are granted it, where are they to go? Where will they be able to study around in our country?

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Marie-Louise Hänel Sandström (M)

Mr. Speaker! Sometimes it has been the case that from the Social Democratic side, one has thought that if one just increases the number of places, everything will be solved. We have seen that this has been tested several times, but it has not always worked. One must also have places that are filled and places that have high quality. We look at that when we make a redistribution of the finances to ensure that they are also good places.

We will, of course, resolve this. We have this transition organization, which also makes an assessment of what kind of needs one has. That is why it takes much longer for the student support board with these applications, because it is done manually. What kind of needs one has, what background one has, and what is it that one needs to receive?

Places will be available, and we will work much more with both the business community and municipalities and, of course, universities and colleges, so that Member Niklas Sigvardsson can feel reassured. All 22,000, or whatever it may become – perhaps more will apply before the year ends – will be given places to study.

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Anders Ådahl (C)

Mr. Speaker! Thank you, Member, for the presentation!

We in the chamber have, during the evening, debated student support. It is gratifying to hear that there is a fairly large consensus across party lines regarding how important student support is for our students, young people, and now also in all ages. One should be able to transition in a working life; there is no doubt that all parties share that view.

I would like to ask two questions about what was conspicuously absent from the member's speech.

I missed a bit of ideas. How do the Moderaterna want to develop the student support moving forward? The member explained what it looks like right now, which laws are coming into force and so on, but there were no ideas on how the student support could be developed.

The second question is, just as in the previous exchange, about the number of study places and who should bear the responsibility. Colleges and universities in Sweden are extremely strained under their three main tasks: research, education, and utilization. Assignment after assignment is piled into the arms of their teachers and researchers. Do the Moderaterna mean that it is this sector and these authorities, colleges and universities, that should bear the burden - or the possibility, if one wishes - to provide more for transition studies?

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Marie-Louise Hänel Sandström (M)

Mr. Speaker! Thank you very much, Member Anders Ådahl, for the questions!

The Moderates think it is very good that the student support system is being developed. The latest reform was, as mentioned, made in 2001. It was actually quite a long time ago.

Much has been done during that time. The Moderates, for example, have pushed for student support to apply to older ages, that one should have more study weeks, and that one should have the opportunity to study even if one has an education from before. That is what we have worked on until now, one could say.

Now the new transition student support will arrive on January 1, and it will be developed until 2026, when it is intended to be in operation on a full scale. One must, of course, follow how it develops, what additional needs we will have, and how much more the support needs to be adapted. We spoke earlier about how many now have families, for example. They may need help with, for instance, driver's licenses or furniture, so the support will have to be adapted according to the students who apply for it. I believe we will see more and more adaptations in the future.

I also believe that we will certainly work much more when it comes to the number of educational places, also with the business sector and the municipality - we will have to work on this together. I have, for example, had a lot of contact with Northvolt, which is seeking an enormous amount of competence right now. They are eager to be involved and help so that the right competence is obtained. They also want to help to get good educations, which are adapted for people with previous education and people who may work at the same time as they study. I believe that we will have to use not only universities and colleges but also both the municipality and the business sector much more, so that we get a collaboration around this. It is because there is a lot in society that needs to be changed.

I know that there is a great shortage even in, for example, the restaurant sector and healthcare. Even there, people want to see other ways of financing. We spoke earlier about the teacher shortage. We also need to supplement with pedagogical training, and there are several companies that work with this when it comes to, for example, the shorter courses.

We will therefore need to train many to address the deficiencies we have, and we will need help doing that in different ways.

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Anders Ådahl (C)

Mr. Speaker! I note that the member chose to answer one of the questions, even if it perhaps was not quite an answer but rather a number of problem or development areas that the member sees ahead. Question one was, therefore: Do the Moderaterna have any ideas for reforming the student support system? It is not that much that has been presented in the budget, namely.

Question two was about who should bear the responsibility for accommodating all these students of all ages who are now in a transition situation and will move from one profession to another. Is it colleges and universities that should bear this burden? How is this to be financed? At colleges and universities, as I said, people have an incredibly lot to do and work long days. Do you think they can manage additional work, and how do you, in that case, want to finance this?

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Marie-Louise Hänel Sandström (M)

Mr. Speaker! Thank you very much, Anders Ådahl, for further questions, some of which I think I have answered to some extent. But I will continue, of course.

When it comes to ideas, I started by saying that I think it is we in the Moderaterna who have led this to how it looks today. We have, therefore, had many ideas on how the student support system can be developed, and it will also be developed in line with society's needs.

The Moderates have many thoughts, but now we are introducing this large transition student support - we might start with that before we come with further reforms of the student support. That which we have had previously, which has existed since about a hundred years ago, will of course be changed. It concerns, for example, the interest levels and also how one can pay back in different ways. There are therefore many plans for change, but right now the transition student support must probably take its form. We will have to return to what we can do further.

But the Moderates have led the development when it comes to how student support is adapted to individuals. In that regard, we pushed the previous government. Now it is we who are the government, and we will, of course, come forward with further proposals.

When it comes to responsibility, I also thought that I answered the question. I understand that colleges and universities cannot take everything. We will demand more flexibility from both society and the business sector when it comes to jointly designing educations and arranging study places. It will not always take place only at colleges and universities but can also, of course, take place within adult education and the university college, for example.

There are, therefore, many different possibilities when it comes to arranging these places. The important thing is that we see what the needs are and that one can get help in solving this so that one can make oneself employable and can keep up with the development and the transition.

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Camilla Hansén (MP)

Good evening, Mr. Speaker! We are debating student financial aid. In Miljöpartiet, we went to the election on the basis that everyone should be included when Sweden transitions. This also applies to everyone who studies at all levels. They are incredibly important resources for Sweden and Sweden's future. It is about all of our opportunities to educate ourselves when we need it throughout life. This investment in knowledge is a future factor and a future opportunity for Sweden.

It is actually fantastic that we are standing here and talking about the transition study support, which is based on the Green Party's classic sabbatical reform. It gave people the opportunity to develop and to be free from work for studies or to start companies - at that time, actually for whatever one thought one needed. It was a bit more liberal back then.

Even though it was lowered by the opposition during the previous term, we now have a transition study support that gives people the right to be free for the education they need to be strengthened in the labor market. This was something that Miljöpartiet brought into the January agreement. Sometimes one has to use the shoehorn a bit more to get anywhere, and it might not become exactly what one dreamed of from the beginning. But now we are here, and we will follow with excitement how this develops. We haven't really seen it happen yet.

Student grants are something that enables studies and that levels out unfair conditions and thereby contributes to increased social justice. But we still know that there are many thousands who, for various reasons, choose not to pursue higher education. The possibility of student grants and student loans, with the various supplements that have been added, is important so that more people will nevertheless dare to take that step.

We in Miljöpartiet want that people should be able to study at a college or university regardless of where in society or the country they come from. It should be easier to take the step to study further by improving students' housing situation and economic security. Those who choose to study further must also be able to manage financially.

But it is about more than just getting by. It is about being able to rely on one's livelihood - about security. We know that students' mental ill-health and stress are high, and the risk is that the focus does not land where it should for a student - on their studies - but instead on taking on more shifts at a part-time job, worrying about increased food costs, as during this year, and worrying about where to live when the second, third, fourth, or fifth-hand contract expires again.

When Miljöpartiet was in government, we pushed through together an increase of the student grant by 300 kronor and ensured that students with special reasons can take sick leave on a part-time basis. This is an important part of students' economic and social security. We want to continue working so that students are covered by unemployment insurance and health insurance on the same terms as those in professional employment. Students need to have the same right to sick leave and rehabilitation as everyone else.

The investments we make in the entire education system and regarding student loans are collective investments, not just in each individual but in our society. It is about the opportunity for knowledge and development - something we need for Sweden's future.

Students are a group with small economic margins. It can be different situations depending on where one is in life. An increase in student grants creates better conditions for more people to choose to pursue further education and feel that they can manage financially.

The grant portion of the student support has lagged behind price developments, and single-student households have been identified as the worst affected by the high inflation. Already this spring, Miljöpartiet proposed that the student grant should be increased by 300 kronor and furthermore that it should be paid out during the summer. We saw, namely, that the students had that need. And it is quite a few people. We are actually the only party that puts these funds on the table in the budget.

We see students who work more to afford their studies. We see students who move in together or perhaps move back home to mom and dad because they cannot afford the rent. We see students who take a leave of study or perhaps do not accept a place of study because they worry about whether the student grant will be enough.

Since the Riksdag, in its first decision on the budget frameworks, gave the budget policy a completely different direction than the one we in Miljöpartiet stand for, I abstain from taking a position in this debate and instead submit a special statement.

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Samuel Gonzalez Westling (V)

Mr. Speaker! Due to various circumstances, the Left Party's special statement could not be added to the records during the committee meeting. I will therefore state it in the Chamber instead.

The Left Party's proposal regarding the state budget is in the party motion A fair path through the crisis - The Left Party's budget motion for 2023. In that motion, there is also a proposal for a framework for expenditure area 15. I shall now explain what the Left Party's budget alternative entails.

Knowledge is a democratic right. Broadened recruitment to higher education is therefore an important objective. One of the most important prerequisites for making knowledge and education accessible to more people is a student support system that provides social and economic security for all students. Student loans are an important reason why the social disparity in recruitment to higher education has decreased. At the same time, individuals from homes unfamiliar with studies are less inclined to take out loans and begin studying. I therefore believe that the loan terms should be reviewed and changed to bridge the obstacles they may represent.

The student support system has been changed several times over the years, which has resulted in the economic risk being shifted from the state to the individual in several stages. In January 2023, further steps are taken in that direction, as the interest rate on student loans is raised, partly to finance new and older credit losses on student loans.

It is wrong to let the loan collective finance a new student loan. Vänsterpartiet therefore rejects the government's proposal for a new interest model. Vänsterpartiet believes instead that the model that applies to student loans taken before 1989 should apply to all student loans. For this reason, it is proposed in Vänsterpartiet's budget motion for expenditure area 15 partly that the appropriation for the state's expenditures for student loan interest be reduced by 477 million kronor in 2023, and partly that an appropriation for credit losses is reintroduced as a new appropriation. For this purpose, 1.97 billion kronor are allocated in 2023, of which 50 million kronor are allocated to the write-off of student loans for basic school courses at komvux.

Furthermore, the study start support should be expanded so that more people get the opportunity to study and receive the support. In relation to the government's proposal, Vänsterpartiet allocates an additional 300 million kronor to the study start support. In conclusion, Vänsterpartiet believes that a larger part of the student grant should consist of study grants and that the proportion of loans should decrease. In the long run, the goal should be that a pure study grant without loans should exist.

In summary, in the Left Party's budget alternative, 797 million kronor are allocated more than the government has proposed within expenditure area 15 for the purposes described in the report.

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Mathias Bengtsson (KD)

Mr. Speaker! A record number of people are receiving student support today. The Swedish student support system is and shall continue to be one of the world's most generous. As so many other speakers have stated from this rostrum this evening, Mr. Speaker, student support is fundamental for equal education. It makes it possible for pretty much anyone, regardless of the family's educational background or finances, to study and educate themselves toward something they have dreamed of for a long time and which can lead to work and livelihood.

We have a system that aims to level differences between individuals and between groups. It is something we should be proud of in Sweden. A well-balanced student support system creates conditions for both individuals and Sweden as a nation to grow with knowledge. Flexible and well-adjusted amount levels remove obstacles for people to complement previous studies or study further at a higher level.

Mr. Speaker! It is important that the student support system contributes to ensuring that the business sector is supplied with the competence it needs. A competitive business sector presupposes that people have the right education. When a recession is now expected and there is a risk that long-term unemployment will become entrenched at a high level, education plays an important role in ensuring that more people get the chance to enter employment. We already see high unemployment today, while a number of industries are in great need of trained staff. To solve the matching problem, education and thus also the student support has a completely decisive role to play.

Mr. Speaker! It is also important that there are opportunities for transition. It is clear that there should be security at the individual workplace, but the development in society forces us to let the workforce keep up. When companies and entrepreneurs adapt their offerings to the market and create new innovative services and offerings, and when the market and the companies change, the workforce also needs to keep up and change at the same pace. In that case, the opportunities for transition studies are important, so that those who want to change paths during their careers are given the opportunity to do so.

Mr. Speaker! All parts of the student support, such as student grants during upper secondary studies, grants to students with disabilities, apprentice compensations, and student loans with a grant and loan component, contribute to leveling differences in the economic conditions between individuals and between groups. The Christian Democrats' assessment in general is that many parts of the student loan system are well-adapted.

Mr. Speaker! I vote in favor of the proposal in the committee's report.

The deliberation was hereby concluded.

(A decision was to be taken on 21 December.)

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