Student financial aid

Fredrik Malm (L)

Mr. Speaker! Today we are to deal with the Education Committee's report 2022/23:UbU3 Student Support.

Sweden is a fantastic country, Mr. Speaker, if one looks at what we have achieved historically in the field of education. We are a research nation. We have strong educational institutions. Over the years, we have contributed immensely to development—not only in our own country but in the whole world—with innovations, inventions, and research that form the basis for major gains in medicine, economy, industry, welfare, and much more. And we shall continue to do so, Mr. Speaker.

This implies great challenges ahead in the entire education area. Today we are debating student support, but if one looks at the education area in a broad sense, it is also about getting more young people to complete their studies in primary school and get into upper secondary school, about having transition systems that work, about getting more students to complete upper secondary school, about more teachers becoming educated and qualified, and much more.

The question of breadth and focus are naturally connected. If you do not have a good breadth, it becomes difficult to achieve a truly sharp focus.

We have very proud origins in Sweden. And we have great challenges ahead of us but also enormous opportunities in the world we live in. Sweden is a modern country. We are already a generally very highly educated population, and we have a huge potential in our young generations.

Mr. Speaker! Education is also important from an ideological perspective. For me as a liberal, it is about the individual's liberation and freedom and, not least, about opportunities to realize oneself. We also, of course, have a student support system that does not make a distinction between whether one is poor or rich and which provides opportunities to break down social barriers. Not least, it contributes to creating the breadth that allows us to produce world-leading researchers within different disciplines.

Education and higher education are also very important for democracy. We see that we now live in a reality with a lot of disinformation, fake news, and strange perceptions that there is nothing that is true and false or right and wrong, but that it is entirely up to oneself how one judges things. But there is, of course, a substantial difference between what the entire scientific community comes to when they delve into questions and produce climate reports or vaccines against corona, compared to what a person makes up in a few hours by googling around a bit and searching around a bit on YouTube. It is clear that there is a substantial difference between what is high-quality research and what is humbug.

It is important for democracy that we have a strong education system and not least that we are an educated population. If we want a society with tolerance, humanism and enlightenment, it requires that the population is generally educated at a higher or at least at a basic level.

To do all this, Mr. Speaker, it requires students. And it is, of course, required that students have reasonable economic conditions so that they want to study, be able to read a higher education and complete that higher education, preferably within the time allotted without too many interruptions and so on. Then it is required that we have a student support system that is generous and that stimulates people so that they want to study and study.

It is extremely important for us in Sweden, if we look at how our economy looks, that we have qualified people who have had the stamina to read long, heavy educations and who can develop those parts of our industry that are leading in productivity and much more. It is very research-intensive industry, for example.

We shall continue to have a very generous student support system. It is among the most generous in the world. Then we can, of course, discuss some details in this and so on, but I believe there is broad support in Sweden generally for the cornerstones that our student support system is based on.

In conclusion, Mr. Speaker, a new, somewhat odd bird has entered the Swedish student support system, namely the transition study support (omställningsstudiestödet). We have not had such a system before. It is to be fully expanded by 2026. This is something that is very positive, because we have many people in our working life who may be a bit older or who have a great need for transition and who now get great opportunities for it. One receives 80 percent of the salary up to a certain level to be able to transition for a total of 44 weeks. Then one can perhaps get a job within the same industry but with a higher salary and more responsibility. One can perhaps change direction and so on.

It is important that we, moving forward, very closely from a political standpoint – from the Riksdag's standpoint and from the government's standpoint – follow the developments regarding the transition study support, so that we ensure it works in the best possible way. This shall also be done in dialogue with specific universities and colleges and, of course, with the labor organizations, which have a very important role in this.

With this, I move for approval of the committee's proposal in the report.

(Applause)

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

Niklas Sigvardsson (S)

Mr. Speaker! Member Fredrik Malm raises many very important issues that we can, of course, stand behind. Just as the member says, there is, fortunately, broad support for the education system and the student support system that we have in Sweden. We Social Democrats also want to be involved in developing it further and making it even better in the future – hopefully through broad agreements.

Fredrik Malm mentions in his speech with pleasure the opportunity for individuals to grow as human beings and that we shall enable journeys. We shall enable everyone to read a higher education or to just study at the educational level where they themselves will take steps. Later today, there is actually an opportunity to take a stand on this in connection with the Social Democrats' reservation to announce to the government that they should review the student support system and grant levels as a whole.

I sensed that Member Malm thinks that we have generous systems but that generous systems can be improved. What will the Liberals do in the government cooperation, and how will they work to strengthen students' opportunities to fare even better financially? We see that it is tough times for students in our entire country right now.

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

Fredrik Malm (L)

Mr. Speaker! Thank you, Niklas Sigvardsson, for the question! Niklas Sigvardsson reasons in a way that I think is wise. I believe there are many of us who can agree that we have a generous system today, but we must also be able to guarantee that students have the opportunity to study in the future.

It is also important for the throughput that students are not forced to spend a large part of their time on work on the side. During the pandemic, the exemption was removed, which was reasonable, but it is still the case that it can affect the throughput.

As a student, one can work extra, and that is very good. Very many do so, and we should not work against that. But it is important that we fundamentally have a student support system that makes it possible to complete an education, that we achieve a throughput in that education, and that students can also primarily focus on the specific education they are studying.

Now the student grant is being increased as the price base amount is increased. That is positive. Moving forward, we will have to see if there is room to make further reinforcements. I would view that positively.

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

Niklas Sigvardsson (S)

Mr. Speaker! It is positive that we can hopefully take steps regarding strengthening student support, for that is how I interpret the member's statement.

The second part I want to talk about is what Fredrik Malm concluded his speech with, namely the transition study support. It is, as mentioned, a very important system that has been established through major negotiations between the labor market parties. They have done a responsible job so that people can transition at all stages of life.

It is pleasing that Fredrik Malm thinks it is important to keep track of the implementation work. We in the committee have received the first reports via CSN this week, and information will be provided continuously so that it can be ensured that the transition study support is implemented according to the intention of the agreement.

From CSN, we are receiving signals that they may already during the current year need reinforcements in the amendment budgets to meet the current level of ambition and to be able to process all the applications that come in. A total of 27,000 have applied for this support, which is far more than anyone has prepared for, and therefore it is important that we here in the chamber and the government take initiatives to maintain the ambition that exists in all the preparatory works.

I would like to take the opportunity to ask Fredrik Malm, who is the chairman of the committee, what initiatives he intends to take towards the government so that the implementation and the level of ambition remain firm and so that CSN can manage to process all the applications that come in.

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

Fredrik Malm (L)

Mr. Speaker! The transition study support is, as has been said, very important. It is also important that it can function in an academic scientific environment in a way that ensures we get maximum benefit from the opportunities the system provides.

What I mean, Mr. Speaker, is that it is very important that we follow this carefully so that no displacements occur, for example, that a person who is 50 years old enters a training program and thereby pushes out a 20-year-old who wants to enter the university. This could be a risk if this system is not developed in a good way.

It is also important that there are educations that truly benefit the transition we want to achieve. It may not always work within the regular course offerings, and that is something that universities and colleges must look at. How can one make it work given that the transition study support is limited? That is reasonable. One cannot transition their entire life, it must instead be about a limited period of time.

There are also other parts. Not everyone covered by this support will study at a university or college. Some will enter vocational colleges and others, so it is something that is very important.

When it comes to the specific request for appropriations from the Central Student Aid Board for administrative appropriations, it is prepared in the usual order in the Government Offices and not least at the Ministry of Finance in dialogue with the Ministry of Education before our government bill or government amendment budget. We will have to wait and see what that specific resource allocation lands on in terms of amount.

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 we Social Democrats, of course, stand behind all our reservations in the report under discussion, but in order to gain time during the vote, I move for approval only of reservation 1.

The Swedish student support is one of the world's best student support systems. It may sound lofty and presumptuous to say so, but facts are facts. A major reason for this is that the three main goals of the student support system are broadly anchored and have great support in this chamber. It is about goals such as the system should act as a recruiter for both women and men and contribute to a high participation in education. It is also about that the student grants should act as equalizing between individuals and groups in the population and lead to increased social justice. Finally, the student support should also have a good effect on the economy of society over time.

It is, as said, pleasing that there is such a large support behind these goals. The goals are high-reaching, and the goals are binding. Despite the fact that we can say that we have one of the world's best student support systems, there are still things to be done.

I believe we have all seen, heard and read about students who are having a tough time in these times. It is about large rent increases, high inflation, increased food prices and increased prices in public transport. These are reports from Ystad and Malmö in the south to Luleå and Kiruna in the north.

Länsförsäkringar presented a report less than a month ago showing that only in 4 of the 29 student towns examined do students have the possibility of making their finances work on the 12,052 kronor that grants and loans represent during a four-week period. In Jönköping, where I come from, a student is calculated to go into debt by approximately 1,032 kronor a month, and then Jönköping was not even the worst in the class.

Against that reality, we need politicians to act. That is why the Social Democrats aim for the student grant to be strengthened. We believe that the grant portion needs to be raised significantly in order to work even better towards the main goals of the student grant system. As mentioned, it is about broadening recruitment so that it does not matter what social background one has when one wants to continue studying. It should also not matter whether relatives have the opportunity to chip in financial means at the end of the month for the finances to balance.

Therefore, the support needs to be strengthened for many different groups of students. Some groups that I want to highlight are the group of students who may have already started working and are going to their studies, students who have started starting a family, and students who have a disability. We need to do more there, and we believe that the government needs to act to strengthen these groups.

Another group that is extra vulnerable are people who become ill during the time they are studying. For students who already today have problems making the student finances work out and the pressure of succeeding in their studies becomes extra hard if they happen to get sick. Students who become ill during their period of study then become more stressed about both getting the study results to work out and getting the finances to work out. There, the possibility for part-time sick leave needs to become better.

The previous government began work based on the partial report Increased safety for students who fall ill. We Social Democrats believe that the government should table a proposal in the Riksdag that facilitates things for students who fall ill during their period of study. It must be possible to fall ill even as a student.

Mr. Speaker! One of all the supports that exist within the student support is the study start support. It is an important support that reaches a small group, but for that group, the support is absolutely crucial. It is a question of students who perhaps would never have started studying, learning languages, or come closer to the labor market. The support is accurate in terms of getting people into self-sufficiency and an opportunity to develop themselves, since an overwhelming majority of those who receive these supports have a foreign background.

We Social Democrats consider that even here a review needs to be made in order to, among other things, strengthen the attractiveness of the support so that more people enter employment. It is also about a review of the levels of support and how one can view the requirement of long-term unemployment.

The last area I intend to go through today concerns the transition study support. This transition reform is extremely important to make it possible for more people to participate in lifelong learning. The support strengthens people and strengthens our society. The support means that more people get financial opportunities to study late into life. We can already see how great the pressure is. Approximately 27,000 have applied for the support, and the first have already started studying.

It is important that this support is followed up by CSN so that it truly becomes as good as we want it to be and as the parties have negotiated. This also means that the government's reductions in the number of educational places will make it difficult for people to get into their studies. There we can only hope that the government and the Sverigedemokraterna come to their senses and ensure that there are study places.

The government also needs to keep an eye on who has their applications granted. It is important that those within professional groups and groups of people who do not have a long tradition of studying are also granted transition study support, so that they can strengthen their position on the labor market and provide themselves with skills throughout their lives. It is therefore pleasing that so many of the first granted applications go to students who have applied to universities of applied sciences, which provide a fast path into a new profession and working life. It is also interesting to see that most of the granted applications go to applicants for the nursing, healthcare administrator, and police programs. It shows that many want to be involved and contribute to our common welfare and our common society.

With this said, we Social Democrats hope that the government ensures that the implementation becomes as good as it can be and that the support becomes as good as we want it to be. Sweden's student support is good, and it shall continue to be good. But it can become even better.

(Applause)

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

Marie-Louise Hänel Sandström (M)

Mr. Speaker! When I mention CSN, that is, the Central Swedish National Board for Student Loans and Grants, for my surroundings, my relatives and my friends, there is always a reaction. CSN evokes a strong reaction. The slightly older ones, more of my age, get something dreamy in their eyes and think of the sweet years of study, which were actually possible thanks to the student support. The slightly younger ones can get something a bit dark in their eyes and think about the fact that it has to be paid back. So that is how it is, of course.

Our student support is one of the world's most generous, but it requires responsibility and provides opportunities. It must absolutely be paid back.

I am pleased that CSN works a lot with the repayments. In a few years, CSN has increased the amount of repayment; the repayments from those living abroad were previously at 70 percent and are now over 80 percent. Of those living in Sweden, it is almost 95 percent who pay back. Of course, everyone is to pay back, and CSN works a lot with this. The system implies that for others to receive loans, the first ones must pay back.

Every year, around half a million receive student support. Many are involved, and it is understood that it is a large apparatus. There are many different forms of student support. Now I am speaking primarily about the regular student support and the transition student support, which many have mentioned earlier.

Mr. Speaker! I am also pleased that it is becoming possible to receive student support at higher ages. On October 1, 2021, the upper age limit was raised at the Moderaternas initiative. From the limit previously being 56 years, one can now apply for student support up to the limit of 60 years. The phase-out in the right to borrow was raised from 47 to 51 years. Students are not as they were before.

The labor market is changing, life expectancy is increasing, and the retirement age is changing. It is important that we keep up with society, and the Moderaterna consider this to be important.

Mr. Speaker! As I have said before, Sweden has one of the world's most generous student support systems. In 2023, the level of student grants was increased. This was an effect of the price base amount being increased. We often hear that student grants are never increased, but they are.

The student grant provides opportunities for people in many different life situations. There are many different forms of loans. There is, for example, a driver's license loan, and there are also other generous loans for those who are at different places in life.

Now I have mostly spoken about the regular student support, but now there is the transition student support – which several have spoken about previously. The most important thing about the student support is that it should be recruiting for both women and men. We can see that it is. It should contribute to high participation in all different forms of education and level out differences in the population, both socially and regarding study habits. It should also have a good effect on study results and mean that one gets into work. The support reaches the goals. We Moderates love evaluation, and if the goals are not reached, something must be done.

I will now come to the retraining study support, which several have mentioned earlier. It has been possible to apply for since 1 October last year and has been paid out since 1 January. There has been an enormous interest. It was expected that there would be approx. 5,000 applications, but it was closer to 27,000 that applied. Such things often require manual handling, and I know that CSN is working incredibly much with this.

We were visited in the Education Committee this week by CSN, and we could see a great deal of commitment. The processing is manual, and it can be improved. But it is done so that the students can receive as much help as possible. It is also important to evaluate. As I said earlier, the Moderates love evaluation. A new system must also be evaluated so that it works well for the students. It must also be done for those who work with the support because their workload is great right now.

Mr. Speaker! The transition study support has been negotiated by various parties. Therefore, there are strict rules for how the support can be granted. It is not a support for those who are unemployed, but it is about transition. One must already be in work, and there are rules which mean that one can receive up to 80 percent of one's salary, up to a certain amount, for 44 weeks. The support exists to increase the flexibility for those who are on the labor market to keep their job or take other work within shortage occupations. Often, one may need to learn something new. Previously, one had a job, but now the work can change over time.

There is a specific transition organization that works with these issues. They have a lot to do right now, but we will learn more and more. It is positive that the transition study support has been introduced.

Society is changing and students are changing. Many want to study abroad, and many want to study their dream education, which perhaps was not the education they started when they were younger. One might be studying while simultaneously having children and a family. Things change all the time. We Moderates want the student support to change with society and with the demands that exist. The transition student support also exists to improve the circumstances surrounding the labor market's needs.

With a longer working life, one will make career changes, but it is also important to be trained in one's work to avoid, for example, work-related injuries and to improve oneself, do more good for society and retain one's job.

With the Swedish student support system, one of the most generous in the world, and with the transition study support, more will begin studies in various forms and obtain a good working life. The Moderaterna consider this to be extremely positive.

I vote in favor of the proposal in the report.

(Applause)

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

Niklas Sigvardsson (S)

Mr. Speaker! I want to hook onto what the member spoke about regarding the transition study support and shortage occupations, which she raised. I hope it was just a misstatement and that I misinterpreted the member, but I still want to get this clarified. One of the major discussions regarding the implementation of the transition study support has been whether it should only be given to students who seek out shortage occupations or who strengthen their position towards shortage occupations.

This is something that the parties - Svenskt Näringsliv, LO and PTK - jointly oppose because the intention of the agreement is that it should strengthen the individual's position in the labor market. It should also be forward-looking and something that strengthens the individual moving forward and thus not just be about seeking out shortage occupations.

There is a passage stating that one should indeed take the labor market's needs into account, but it is nevertheless very important that it does not just become a support for people who are seeking jobs in shortage occupations. It is also important that applications from people who already work in a shortage occupation are not rejected, because even people who are currently in a shortage occupation may need to strengthen their position to continue within that shortage occupation or further develop themselves and move to another occupation.

I hope, therefore, that it is not the Moderaternas intention that the transition student support should only go to people who are seeking employment in shortage occupations.

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

Marie-Louise Hänel Sandström (M)

Mr. Speaker! Thank you, Member Sigvardsson, for the question!

The transition study support is very important both to be able to keep one's job and to meet the labor market's needs. Therefore, there are many strict rules, which we think is good. It is incredibly many who have applied, but not everyone will perhaps receive transition study support.

One cannot say that it is only for shortage occupations, but the most important thing is that it is about being able to keep one's job but also to see what needs exist in the labor market. That one should be employable over a longer period is, in fact, what is most important.

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Niklas Sigvardsson (S)

Mr. Speaker! I did not become one hundred percent calm, but a little calmer nonetheless. Among the most important things right now is the implementation, and it is here that the parties feel concern regarding how it goes for those in shortage occupations who are applying for transition study support. I respect that we have to see how authorities and review boards interpret the legislation and the agreement that exists, but that is where the greatest concern lies right now among the parties.

In the transition study support, the parties are perhaps the most important actors, for it was through tough negotiations between Svenskt näringsliv, PTK and LO that this support was reached - which is now one of the world's best - in cooperation with the state. The state covers with a lot of money in these funds, which we will scale up.

We are not proceeding with full strength now, but when the support is fully built out around 2026, around 40,000 will be able to be covered by it, which is pleasing. It is fantastic that we are now making it possible to transition in the middle of life. We have a good student support system, but just the transition has perhaps been one of the problematic parts, and here we are really taking a decisive step regarding that.

This is something that we Social Democrats will really follow up on to ensure that the government is doing the right thing regarding the implementation of the transition student support. This applies both in terms of shortage occupations and what I asked a question about earlier to Member of Parliament Malm, namely the amendment request that CSN submitted just to be able to maintain the ambition. We would have preferred to see that, in cooperation with CSN, one could have adjusted how we can speed up the process and move faster forward, but CSN claims that they need more funds solely to maintain the ambition. How do the Moderates view that, and how will the Moderates act in the budget negotiations that will take place here during the spring?

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Marie-Louise Hänel Sandström (M)

Mr. Speaker! Thank you, Member Sigvardsson, for further questions!

The most important thing is that it is the parties who negotiate, but when one has received such a large demand, one must obviously make a selection - it is not just a matter of filling up. Then comes the part, as the member says, about filling up until 2026, but we must therefore have some kind of selection. I can probably say that if one is in a shortage occupation, it is not the highest priority. But above all, it is the parties who are to negotiate on this.

I know that CSN has demanded more money, and I cannot answer now whether they will receive it.

But the most important thing is that we must look at the system that has been introduced and evaluate whether it is the right people who are receiving the transition study support and whether it is this budget that applies or not. We have, therefore, not taken a position on the request entirely yet.

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Anders Alftberg (SD)

Mr. Speaker! I would first like to move for approval of reservation 9 in the report.

As previously stated, we have every reason to feel proud of the student support system we have in our country. There is, for the most part, a great consensus among us parliamentary parties that we want to safeguard the generous Swedish student support system. It is true that we have different opinions on the details; some parts need to become more generous, and other parts need to be tightened.

The goal of our student support can also be divided into three parts: One is to give the individual person, regardless of social background, an opportunity to create a future for themselves, to enable the lifelong learning that it is sometimes also called. The second is to secure a good economic development, and the third is to strengthen a competence supply for our country.

The last thing has certainly faltered, not least when it comes to competence supply within the welfare sector. One of the welfare state's primary pillars is to be able to provide its citizens with accessible and good care throughout the country. The competence supply is an enormous problem within healthcare - we all know this and want to do something about it.

In the countryside or in sparsely populated areas, it is often even more difficult to recruit doctors and nurses, which risks undermining both the quality of care and patient safety. Attracting doctors to the countryside is not only a challenge for us here in Sweden but in the entire industrial world.

In rural areas in the USA, there is a system where doctors can commit to work for a number of years, after which they have their student debts reduced. We Sweden Democrats think the system is interesting and should be investigated for Swedish conditions. One can also imagine applying a corresponding system to nurses, so that they will want to seek out less attractive locations or rural areas.

Mr. Speaker! Solving the competence supply within healthcare requires a broad palette of measures, and if we mean the words "all of Sweden shall live" seriously, we should also review the possibility of reducing student debts for doctors and nurses in the countryside.

(Applause)

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Niklas Sigvardsson (S)

Mr. Speaker! I thought I would take the opportunity to also speak here about the transition study support and its implementation. The Sweden Democrats are a large part, if not the largest part, of the government base, even though they do not sit in the government. They therefore have, I assume, very great power over the budgets that are placed here on the chamber's table.

That is why I want to know what position the Sweden Democrats will take in the debate on the implementation of the transition study support. How will the Sweden Democrats ensure that the ambition is maintained in the implementation of the transition study support so that what the parties have negotiated is what will apply?

As has been said, it is very important that it is the parties' intentions, the intentions in the preparatory works and legislation, that become applicable. Therefore, it is also extra important that we follow up and ensure that it becomes so. There, the Sverigedemokraterna have a very clear role as a coalition partner to the government, and perhaps as the one that steers in many issues - I don't know, it is probably different in different types of issues. How will Sverigedemokraterna act in their negotiations with the government to ensure the level of ambition in the introduction of the transition study support?

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Anders Alftberg (SD)

Mr. Speaker! Thank you, member, for the question! Generally speaking, this is something we need to discuss among the Tidö parties, and we will have to come back to it. There are many different considerations that must be taken into account, as we must view this as a whole. This concerns, among other things, the dimensioning and the difficulty of having system support to be able to handle documents.

This is a complex issue that we will continuously discuss among the Tidö parties moving forward.

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Niklas Sigvardsson (S)

Mr. Speaker! It is, therefore, an open question how the government will proceed since the Sweden Democrats have such a large influence over this government. We simply have to see what happens, is the answer.

To return to the question of what the transition study support should look like when it concerns shortage occupations or non-shortage occupations, I still think it can be quite interesting to know the Sweden Democrats' position. It should not be something that is hidden in a negotiation, but the Sweden Democrats should themselves be able to stand for an opinion.

The parties' concern regarding this is, as said, great. They raise it in discussions; it concerns representatives from both Svenskt Näringsliv, PTK, and LO. It is therefore not just coming from one side or the other, but the parties have a common concern about how the implementation is proceeding. We have been able to follow this on debate pages in both January and February, where they have written this together.

We are therefore seeing a united front and a concern from the parties' side, and in that regard, I think it is quite interesting to hear the Sweden Democrats' opinion regarding the intentions in the agreement that forms the basis for the transition student support.

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Anders Alftberg (SD)

Mr. Speaker! Thank you, member, for the question! As previously stated, this is a complex issue. The dimensioning will in the future determine what we need to prioritize when it comes to the target group; these two are therefore linked. I have no other answer just today.

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Mathias Bengtsson (KD)

Mr. Speaker! Education is important both for the individual and for Sweden as a country. Education gives people the opportunity to realize their dreams and to contribute to the building of society in a new way. Education increases the opportunities for a better income, better health, and increased quality of life. At the same time, education also contributes to development, economic growth, and innovation.

Student financial aid enables students of all ages to make an investment in both their own and Sweden's future by pursuing further education. Student financial aid gives everyone who wants to start studying, regardless of background, the necessary economic conditions to do so, and that is exactly how it should be. It should be ambition and not finances that determines whether one can jump into the education they have dreamed of for a long time.

Therefore, the Swedish student support system shall continue to be one of the world's most generous. All parts of the student support, namely student grants during high school, grants to students with disabilities, apprenticeship compensation, and student aid with a grant component and a loan component, shall collectively contribute to leveling differences in economic circumstances between individuals and between groups in society.

Mr. Speaker! A competitive business sector presupposes people with the right education. It is important that the student support system contributes to ensuring that the business sector is supplied with the competence it needs.

When a recession is now expected and there is a risk that long-term unemployment will remain at high levels, education plays an important role in ensuring that more people enter employment. We already see high unemployment today, while on the other hand, we have numerous industries that are in great need of trained personnel. To solve the matching problem, student support has an important role to play in breaking down barriers for people to complement previous studies or study further at a higher level.

A labor market in constant change requires that people can pursue further education throughout their lives. Companies and entrepreneurs adapt their offerings to the market and create new innovative services and offers. When the market and companies change, the workforce also needs to keep up. In that case, retraining study opportunities are important so that those who want to change paths during their careers get the opportunity to do so.

Mr. Speaker! Studies can be the key to work and livelihood and to moving from exclusion to community. It can be the key for both individuals and Sweden as a nation to grow with knowledge.

Sweden has many problems that we need to manage. In order to overcome them and to continue building the good society, the student support system is important. We must take care of that.

With this, I vote in favor of the committee's proposal in the report.

(Applause)

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Niklas Sigvardsson (S)

Mr. Speaker! Here too, I want to talk about the transition study support, as we have now heard all the government parties and also the support party Sverigedemokraterna. Precisely the transition study support is perhaps the hottest issue in the field of study support right now, given that it concerns new implementation and we really want this transition opportunity to become as good as it possibly can be. It is not actually to be difficult that I want to ask questions, but it is because I want this to become as good as it possibly can be.

It is therefore interesting to hear how the Christian Democrats view the debate on how we view the intentions in the agreement - whether the party agreement entered into between Svenskt Näringsliv, LO, and PTK will also be followed up and how the Christian Democrats view this. This concerns above all the part that deals with how we should adapt the support for those who are in shortage occupations and are to move to a shortage occupation or perhaps another occupation. It is, after all - here the legislation is clear - about the fact that the individual owns the right to apply for what they consider they need to strengthen their position, in consultation with a transition organization.

I therefore want to hear how the Christian Democrats view the intentions of the agreement and how the Christian Democrats will work both in the government and in the committee to ensure that the intention of the agreement and the legislation is implemented.

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Mathias Bengtsson (KD)

Mr. Speaker! Thank you, Niklas Sigvardsson, for the question! It is an important issue that the member highlights. It is important that we follow this and continue to work so that it becomes as good as possible; I believe everyone agrees on that. But as I have touched upon earlier, this is an ongoing process, and there are no clear black-and-white answers to give today.

But if one is to reason a bit about this, the transition study support exists to facilitate transition through education in the middle of working life. It came, as we were touching upon, as a consequence of the parties' agreement, and it needs to be managed in the best way, in cooperation with the parties who concluded the agreement, naturally.

Then there needs to be a regulatory framework regarding this. Many applications are made, and some kind of selection needs to be made. CSN is responsible for the exercise of authority and makes the assessment.

From your perspective, an important part of the transition study support is that it is used for education that matches the labor market's demand and to address the matching issues that exist in the labor market. It needs to be able to counteract skill shortages and strengthen the business sector's competitiveness. This is an important part that I think we should take with us as we follow this issue moving forward.

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Niklas Sigvardsson (S)

Mr. Speaker! Now I have heard all the representatives of the government parties standing and talking about this issue. It is a bit too scattered for me to feel completely calm and secure that the representatives of the government and the government parties will work actively with this, especially when it comes to adjusting how heavily the labor market's needs and shortage occupation competence should weigh. How do we know what will be shortage occupations in the future? We have a good grip on it, but where competence is lacking is something that can swing quite quickly. Therefore, we need the transition study support.

Students and colleges are actually very good at finding a match, because students want to get a job, and they usually seek out educations that lead to jobs, because that is what they want. They do not want to end up in unemployment after they have spent three, four, or five years on an education, and they are usually good at finding their own match. It is the same with colleges and universities – they want to match as well as possible.

That is why it is important to find the principles for where to go. It also states in the party agreement that if very many apply and one follows the guidelines and parts that exist in the legislation, it is the first-come, first-served principle that applies. Then one looks at the applications as they come in, and then they are granted in order. If the money runs out, then it is finished. It is in this way that this has been negotiated.

It is very important that we provide education for shortage occupations, but then perhaps the transition study support should not be the only thing taking on that responsibility. That responsibility was part of the negotiation regarding flexibility and transition, which was intended to specifically secure workers' rights and the possibility to transition in a changing time. To compromise on this and shift even this part in favor of the companies, I, as a social democrat, do not feel quite secure with.

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Mathias Bengtsson (KD)

Mr. Speaker! Thank you, member, for the reasoning on this! It is an important issue. It is a new support that we are implementing during this year.

As always with new support, one needs to follow how the agency's exercise turns out, in this case from CSN, and one needs to follow how the implementation and dimensioning will be. Then, of course, one must constantly refine, manage, and adjust this in the best way based on that. We will continue to follow this from the government's and the Christian Democrats' side.

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Samuel Gonzalez Westling (V)

Mr. Speaker! Under very strange circumstances, trade unions were forced into a process during the previous parliamentary term to reform LAS, the Employment Protection Act. In practice, the threat was: Agree to deteriorations, otherwise we will make even greater deteriorations.

Responsible for the whole of it was the Center Party, which made it a requirement to let the government through. The parties that now make up the government, however, rejoiced greatly and gloated over the misfortune that was nearly imminent.

The result of the negotiations was a significant deterioration of the employment protection for the workers. The employers, however, emerged practically unscathed through the process. Only one party protested against the entire handling, and that was Vänsterpartiet. Great effort was put in by both the government and the employers' organizations to make the whole thing appear as a completely normal process. It is not without reason that one recalls an old well-known refrain: "Side by side, together they help each other. The state and capital, two wolves pious as lambs."

The employment protection was loosened, but so that the employees would not be left completely empty-handed, the state decided to provide funding. The result was the transition study support. It is a reform that is admittedly good in itself but which has almost zero relation to the negotiations that took place between the parties on the Swedish labor market. It aims for people to be able to retrain, but it is not directly linked to those who are threatened by or have been hit by unemployment. The employers do not even need to finance a small part of the reform.

It can therefore be stated that the LAS negotiations cost the employees a great deal of security and the employers nothing. Instead, it is the students, old and new – in many cases the employees themselves – who in the end are to pay for the party through increased student loan interest rates.

This is so vulgar that it is difficult to find words for it. Yesterday, the tax on excess profits for the electricity companies was debated. A great fuss was made by the government parties about the fact that one cannot make retroactive decisions. Admittedly, this is completely incorrect because EU regulations apply as law and it therefore was not a question of any retroactivity, but that is another debate that we shall not delve into further here. But the principle is correct in substance. The government obviously considers that principle important to uphold when it comes to big capital, but when it comes to ordinary people, that obstacle obviously does not exist.

The conditions for hundreds of thousands of people are changing so that they will now be involved in financing the deterioration of the Employment Protection Act. "The state and capital, they are in the same boat, but it is not they who are rowing, it is those who row until they sweat."

Vänsterpartiet considers that the transition study support is a good reform in itself, but the financing should be the employers' responsibility, at least in some part. In that way, it would ultimately not be only the employees who paid the price for the deteriorations in LAS. At the same time, the interest rates on student loans should return to the model that applied before 2023.

I move for approval of reservation 4.

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Anders Ådahl (C)

Mr. Speaker! Student support is what we are debating here today. We received an introduction from the committee chairman Fredrik Malm, an exposé on Swedish education and the standards that exist, as well as the importance of a generous student grant system and higher education. It is pleasing that the entire chamber actually stands behind such an order here in this country where we honor and understand the value of education.

There are two aspects. One is education. We must be able to vaccinate ourselves against humbug and fake news and understand the value of science in relation to fake news and googling on the internet. The other is that we have an education level in Sweden that is high and allows us to meet a changing working life, where we can move higher and higher up and create more and more value in our products and services. On that, we are in agreement.

Let me here in the chamber today highlight two liberal aspects of the student grants, both of which aim to strengthen the students' situation, so that more can study and be given reasonable conditions to be students. It is partly about a more flexible student support, and partly about a greater freedom to have a job alongside studies as a student.

The labor market is in motion. Students today are of all ages and come from different kinds of backgrounds and study under different circumstances. Working life is changing. Life is changing, but student support has not quite kept up with the development.

Centerpartiet wants to see a modernization of the student grant, so that the reality today's students face is better handled by a reformed student grant system with more flexibility and more adaptation to different circumstances.

It is good that people want to invest in educating and educating themselves, both for the individual and for society as a whole. Centerpartiet wants to encourage and facilitate for more people to study.

Our first freedom reform for student grants concerns flexibility for student support. To increase throughput and get more people into work, we in Centerpartiet, as said, want a more flexible student grant system, a system that rewards students who complete their studies ahead of schedule but is also adapted for those with a slower pace of study, for example, people who have attended adapted upper secondary school or are on part-time sick leave. It gives more people the opportunity for an education that ultimately leads to jobs.

Full-time studies must be compatible with family life. This gives reason to strengthen student grants. Single parents are a vulnerable student group financially, and furthermore, those who only have a high school education are in the clear majority among single mothers. It cannot be right that we have a student grant system that disadvantages single mothers and women.

The possibilities for the payment of supplementary grants for parents who are studying need to be investigated for a modern, equal situation. It is liberal policy.

Our second freedom reform for student grants concerns the so-called "fribelopp" (free allowance). During the covid-19 pandemic, an important change was made. The fribelopp limit was removed, which meant that students could carry borrowed student grants without having to feel restrictions when it came to having a job alongside their studies. But in the summer of 2022, the income test for student grants was reintroduced, and the fribelopp limit returned. Centerpartiet proposes that the so-called fribelopp should be abolished for the loan part of student grants. This therefore does not apply to the grant part but to the part that is to be paid back to the state.

We previously listened to the Social Democrats who reported that it is tougher times for students, so why not abolish the free amount limit so that more can work on the side and have better finances?

The free amount limit means that there is a ceiling on how much students may earn to be entitled to student loans. A unanimous Riksdag temporarily abolished the free amount to encourage more students to work during the pandemic months, not least because personnel were needed within health and social care as well as the restaurant and tourism industries.

Now that the income test has been reintroduced, it is less profitable for students to work extra. It is therefore reasonable to abolish the income test for the loan part of the student grant and in this way strengthen students' freedom to decide for themselves over their finances. Studying and simultaneously having a job on the side can for many be deeply developing, and furthermore, we get more hours worked in the country which strengthens our welfare. It is liberal policy.

Mr. Speaker! I vote in favor of reservation 6 regarding the exemption limit.

I have presented two proposals with liberal policies that build strength in the whole country, in every educational institution, and in every study nook. We in Sweden are in great need of competence in many of the areas of the labor market, and we must have a student grant system that prioritizes the students' situation and place in life. Not everyone is equal. We do not live under any kind of common norm, but we are different and have different circumstances. Let us develop the student grant system so that it strengthens both the individual student and Sweden as a whole.

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Camilla Hansén (MP)

Mr. Speaker! Just before Christmas, we debated the state budget here in the chamber, and also the budget for student support. At that time, Miljöpartiet was the only party that put money on the table for the students to increase the student grant. Now we are debating the members' motions from the general motion period, and what can be done with one's ideas regarding the students' opportunity for a good life as a student depends somewhat on whether one put money on the table or not when we discussed the budget.

For Miljöpartiet, the students are in focus, and I want to begin by highlighting the students' economic situation here and now, after a long period of inflation and increased prices.

Already last spring it was noted that single students are a group that is caught in a squeeze when it comes to the economy as it has developed in and with the war of aggression in Ukraine. It is a group that also receives very little attention.

We have heard about students who have moved back home to their parents, who have interrupted their studies, or perhaps have had to share housing in a way they had not planned for in order to afford it when prices rose and no initiatives were made that suited the students. There were proposals concerning giving money in hand to those who owned a car, but if you are a younger student, that is perhaps exactly what you do not do.

Now the student loan has been increased, as has been pointed out, through the customary adjustment, but this does not provide more money in hand for a group that has a very small economy. What we want to see is a real increase of the student grant.

Enough about budget issues - now it is the motion report that is to be debated. I want to raise a few issues that Miljöpartiet considers particularly important. It concerns the security for students during illness and the importance of implementing the transition study support in the best possible way.

Sweden's students invest many years of their lives so that our country can continue to be a prominent knowledge nation. Each of them lays the foundation to be able to contribute their competence as teachers, nurses, engineers, economists, chemists or researchers, to give others the opportunity for higher qualified studies further ahead and innovation power in Sweden. Higher education is no longer something that is few granted but something that many can take part in, and one does this at different points in life. We also see how the student support is developing to match this.

It is therefore problematic that students' social safety net is perceived as insecure. Students cannot afford to get sick, and they risk falling through the social safety net. There are investigations being prepared at the Government Offices, and the proposals need to be presented so that we can review and debate them here in the Riksdag.

Mr. Speaker! I would like to move for approval of reservation 7, which means precisely that students' conditions in the event of illness shall be improved. It is the Green Party's opinion that the protection needs to be more similar to the protection that exists for employees.

Mr. Speaker! The Green Party has for years championed the issue that people should be able to develop their competence several times in life through studies, also later in life. The initiative that was implemented many years ago – the green sabbatical – is perhaps familiar. There, one had the opportunity to educate oneself or start a company, and at that time, one actually got to choose to do exactly what one wanted. During that time, one was replaced by someone who was unemployed and acted in one's position. The sabbatical substitution was something that gave momentum to many people's careers at that time, but it is quite a long time ago.

In the January Agreement, the idea of a reform that would provide the opportunity for development for one's own sake, in the middle of working life, returned. It was called development time. But this was slaughtered by a majority in the previous Riksdag. Now we are here, and it has become a reality that we have a transition study support so that one can, in the middle of life, gain knowledge, educate oneself, and develop in order to stand stronger on the labor market.

We now see how the support is being implemented. It was obviously very much anticipated, as CSN is being flooded with applications and is having difficulty handling them all. CSN needs to be given the opportunity to do this in the best way. It is about processing at a high pace but also about developing good system support to manage the transition study support so that we can follow up on it in a good way, as several have mentioned previously.

Student support

It is also important that the government safeguards the reform's objectives and follows up on what happens at the higher education institutions and with other educational coordinators, and what the consequence will be for the students, both students with transition study support and other students. This is something I look forward to following. It is a reform that we in Miljöpartiet are proud of and which gives many the opportunity to develop in the middle of life.

The deliberation was hereby concluded.

(Decisions were made under § 11.)

Preschool

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