Student financial aid

Fredrik Malm (L)

Madam Speaker! We now have to debate the Education Committee's report on student financial aid.

When it comes to what we have historically succeeded in achieving in the field of education, Sweden is a fantastic country. We are a research nation. We have strong educational institutions that over the years have contributed enormously to development - not only in our own country but in the whole world - in the form of innovations, inventions and research that form the basis for great gains in both medicine as well as economy, industry, welfare and much more. We shall also continue to do that.

Today we are debating student support, Madam Speaker. If one looks at the education area in a broad sense, this is also about getting more young people to complete primary school and enter upper secondary school, having transition systems that work, getting more students to complete upper secondary school, getting more teachers who are qualified and authorized, and much more. The question of breadth and focus is of course connected – if one does not have a good breadth, it becomes difficult to achieve a truly sharp focus.

Madam Speaker! Education is also important from an ideological perspective. For me as a liberal, it is about the individual's freedom and opportunities to realize oneself. We also have a student support system that does not make a distinction between whether one is poor or rich and which gives the opportunity 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 are living in a time with a lot of disinformation, fake news and various strange perceptions that there is nothing that is true or false or right or wrong, but that it is largely entirely up to oneself how one judges things. But there is, of course, a substantial difference between what the scientific community comes to when they drill into issues and work out reports, climate panels, and vaccines against corona compared to what a person makes up in a few hours by googling around a bit and hanging out on YouTube. It is clear that there is a substantial difference between high-quality research and 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 full of tolerance, humanism and enlightenment, it presupposes – actually requires – that the population generally speaking is educated at a higher level or at least maintains a high basic level.

To get there, it requires students, Madam Speaker, and for students to want to study and be able to read a higher education - preferably within the allotted time, without too many interruptions and so on - it is required that they have reasonable economic conditions. That requires that we have a student support system that is generous and that stimulates people to study.

If we look at what our economy looks like in Sweden, we see that it is extremely important that we have qualified people who have had the strength to complete long, demanding educations and who can develop those parts of our industry that are leading in productivity, among other things. It is often a very research-intensive industry we are talking about here.

We shall continue to have a generous student support system, Madam Speaker. Our system is among the most generous in the world. Then we can discuss details, tweak the system and so on. We can discuss a great deal, but fundamentally there is broad support - thank goodness, I want to say - for the cornerstones upon which the Swedish student support system is based.

Our education system has been strengthened in recent years with the transition study support, Madam Speaker. It is to be fully expanded by 2026, and successively more and more resources are being allocated to this. In the election year 2026, when it is thus to be fully expanded, it will amount to a bit over 7 billion. We have many people in the workforce who need to transition and who now get the opportunity to do so. One receives 80 percent of the salary up to a certain level - four and a half base amounts, if I remember correctly - to be able to transition for a total of 44 weeks.

It is important that the transition study support functions in the best possible way. At the same time, this is a new reform, and there is always a risk that everything will not work perfectly from the start – which we have also seen. It is obvious that there have been teething problems, and the government is now making changes to rectify them.

The decision rate at CSN has increased continuously since the support was introduced, and today approximately 1,000 decisions are made per week. 200-300 new applications come in per week, and the existing applications from earlier continue to be processed. As the regulatory simplifications are implemented and CSN continues to launch system support, not least within IT, the pace will increase further.

This has been possible because the government, together with CSN and the labor market partners, has worked continuously with measures. CSN has received increased administrative grants, and they have also reprioritized internally. On April 1 this year, further regulatory simplifications also enter into force, which, for example, make it easier to change in one's application so that the pace of study can be adjusted without ending up at the back of the queue.

The rules for calculating the framework period, i.e., when one should start receiving support for the education, will also be changed, which facilitates things for both CSN and for the applicant. For the next application round, CSN will also have new IT systems in place for more automatic processing. The Government also intends to submit a bill to the Riksdag this autumn regarding further simplifications of rules that require more referral time and parliamentary processing.

In conclusion, Madam Speaker: For us parties in the government, the transition study support is a very important reform. We believe that it is important that all actors, both the politicians and the parties in the labor market, continue to jointly take responsibility for nurturing and developing this reform.

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

(Applause)

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

Niklas Sigvardsson (S)

Madam Speaker! It took quite a long time before I could figure out that it is a student support debate we are having, but in the end, the transition student support did come up. I intended to use my time to talk about just that and to ask a number of questions to Fredrik Malm as committee chairman and representative for one of the government parties, Madam Speaker.

Fredrik Malm pointed out in his speech that it should not matter whether one is poor or rich when it comes to the opportunity to participate in studies in this country. This is something we Social Democrats absolutely agree with. In Sweden, it should not matter whether one is poor or rich when it comes to the opportunity for studies. However, there is a problem here regarding the handling of the transition study support. Today, we have an average processing time of 170 days from the time an application is submitted until it can be processed. This means approximately five and a half calendar months.

Given how the application periods look, there is no reasonable chance that a student will find out whether they will receive support on the day they submit their application to their educational institution and regarding the transition study support. This means that it is highly likely that people who do not have financial muscles will not dare to start an education. How is a parent of small children, perhaps a single parent, supposed to dare to take the chance to study with the transition study support – even though they know that after the education they will be more adaptable and employable and that they will be able to accommodate the education over a long period?

That is why I want to ask a question to Fredrik Malm. In addition to the regulatory simplifications that came quite late – what is the government and the Liberals doing to ensure that more people receive a decision within a shorter time than 170 days?

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

Fredrik Malm (L)

Madam Speaker! Niklas Sigvardsson is completely right in the description and analysis of the problem. That is how it is.

It should nevertheless be said, Madam Speaker, that we on the government's side have implemented the reform exactly as the Riksdag decided it should be implemented. This was indicated in the bill Flexibility, adaptability and security in the labor market, which was developed by the previous Social Democratic government.

However, I will not place all the blame on the previous government, which prepared the bill that has also contributed to some of the teething problems. If one launches a reform that becomes quite complicated, which constitutes something of an odd bird in the Swedish educational architecture and which places great demands on the authority, it can of course lead to some problems at the beginning. I believe we should all be humble in the face of the fact that it can be so.

What the government has done to shorten processing times is to increase the administrative appropriations to CSN, so that the agency is now in a phase where it is recruiting an additional 70 employees. In addition to this, there is a mandate for CSN to develop proposals on how the processes can be simplified. A part of this is being carried out now. This is something that is regulated by ordinance, which means it can be implemented quickly.

Then there is something else, which has parliamentary implications and must be decided here. It takes a bit longer, and therefore a bill is announced for the autumn. In addition, CSN has worked with IT support and new digital and automated functions for faster processing. Our ambition is that processing times shall be shortened in the future.

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

Niklas Sigvardsson (S)

Madam Speaker! It is about prioritizing. If the government had wanted the reform to go even faster and even better when it saw that many more were applying and many more wanted to take the chance to transition, it could have allocated funds much earlier.

We Social Democrats showed that it was actually possible, both in the supplementary budget for 2023 and in the autumn budget most recently. We showed that it could have been possible to provide more funds faster so that the 70 case officers who may have just started at CSN could have been in place as early as last summer. Then they could have handled cases throughout the entire autumn.

It has been about the will of the government and the Liberals. You have not really wanted to go all the way. You have not wanted to allocate the resources that CSN requested as early as they were needed. Immediately when the support was introduced, it was seen that the number of applicants exploded. It is therefore about the government not having chosen to be as quick-footed as one needs to be. When a new system is launched and one sees that the demand is fantastically large, one must be able to provide funds so that people at least receive notice as to whether they are entitled to the support or not.

When we talk about regulatory simplifications: On November 14, CSN presented what the government had requested they should report. It took over two months before the government did anything with this and wanted to show what they would do. Both CSN and the parties wanted, just as CSN suggested, that the regulatory changes and the legislative changes that are now being postponed until the future should be implemented from July 1 of this year, and not from next year.

The government could have been much more agile here and pushed through both regulatory changes and legislative changes during the current calendar year, as both CSN and the parties have wanted. Why do the Liberals and the government not want to work at a fast pace when it comes to the regulatory simplifications?

(Applause)

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

Fredrik Malm (L)

Madam Speaker! I have been in this house for some time and have noted how the rhetoric works. The Social Democrats are now saying: This is taking far too long, and you are far too slow! But when we do something a bit faster, the Social Democrats come and say: Wait now – the referral period has been so short, there hasn't been time for the dialogue and everyone hasn't had a chance to speak! This applies, for example, in the debate on the new aid strategy. There, the rhetoric is different.

Regardless of what the government does, Niklas Sigvardsson will therefore submit an interpellation or request a reply and stand here and say that it is going far too slowly. And if he does not think that it is, he will say that it is going far too fast.

The truth is that the wheels of democracy do not always grind super fast. This means that an entry into force by the mid-year turn for some of the simplifications is not possible; instead, it will come a few months later, in the autumn. This is because the proposals must be reviewed by the Council on Legislation, be referred, and so on.

The government also has an ambition to involve the labor market partners in the dialogue, and that means that one cannot simply rush forward. We have nevertheless been quick, Madam Speaker, in being able to see the deficiencies and act to rectify them. There will be regulatory simplifications as early as April 1. CSN has already received increased support. They are in full swing with hiring new people, they will have a new IT support in place before the next application round, and so on.

I am, however, humble before this, and I believe many others are as well. Not everything works perfectly when one launches a large and extensive reform, and therefore we must now, during the process, handle this so that it will function better moving forward. I am completely convinced, Madam Speaker, that it also will do so.

(Applause)

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

Niklas Sigvardsson (S)

Madam Speaker! Initially, I want to say that I naturally stand behind all our reservations, but I only move for approval of reservation 1.

The Swedish student grant is a fantastic freedom reform that for decades has made it possible to pursue further studies at the level the applicant is at - regardless of whether it is about supplementing one's upper secondary school grades, studying further for a new profession via vocational adult education or vocational higher education, or studying a program at a university or college.

But it starts much earlier than that, when students start upper secondary school, leave the child allowance and instead receive study support. It gives people the opportunity to grow as individuals and the opportunity to educate themselves through the greater part of their lives.

A small but important part of the student support, which is addressed in the report, is the so-called driving license loan. With the budget bill for 2024, the possibility for young people and the unemployed to obtain their driving license via CSN loans disappeared. The driving license loan has been an important freedom reform for the more than 18,000 individuals who have succeeded in getting their driving license through the possibility of borrowing via CSN.

In the report that CSN published in the autumn, it was shown that the driver's license loan was incredibly important for many of those who applied for the support and who subsequently managed to get a job. For eight out of ten of those who managed to get a job, it was crucial that they had a driver's license. It was precisely this that was the reason they got jobs.

Now that unemployment is rising and is expected to rise further, the government should focus on presenting proposal after proposal that enable more people to get into work. Instead, the government chooses to remove the possibility of something as crucial as obtaining a driver's license. It is something that we Social Democrats consider to be counterproductive, and we want the possibility of driver's license loans to be reintroduced.

Madam Speaker! The latest addition to the Swedish student support system is the transition study support (omställningsstudiestödet). It was introduced with a first round of applications in the autumn of 2022 but has had a tough start regarding the number of people who have been able to receive the support. As of today, just over 60,000 people have applied for the support. This is far above the forecasts that were made. Nearly 75,000 applications have been submitted. Unfortunately, only just over 8,000 people have had their applications granted.

60,000 people in our country have thus dared to take the step for themselves and their surroundings to strengthen their position on the future labor market through education via the transition study support.

Unfortunately, the implementation has not been painless, if I am to put it mildly. People who applied in the first round of applications, over a year ago, are still waiting for a decision on whether they are even eligible for support or not. They should have started their education in January 2023, which is about 14 months ago. But this is not strange in itself because the average processing time during 2023 was 170 days.

We Social Democrats have, throughout the entire past year, pushed forward and tried to act constructively so that CSN, the agency that administers the support, should receive the money that is needed. But unfortunately, the SD government has dragged its feet throughout its entire government period and has not provided the funds that CSN and the parties have requested budget after budget. Imagine if all the case officers who are now on site had been on site already last summer. Then the average processing time would not have been 170 days.

The latest evidence that the government is dragging its feet concerns the regulatory simplifications that many of the right's representatives have spoken so warmly about over the past year. It has been said that they will solve the majority of the processing issues. CSN and the parties want the entry into force as early as possible. They have proposed the summer, but the government chooses to delay it further, which we heard in the exchange of remarks earlier.

It means that even more application rounds may be affected and risk being dragged out. Money that could have been paid out to students who want nothing more than to start studying will not be paid out. If the will had existed, one would now have the opportunity to show that the issue has the highest priority. It is clear that is not the case.

It is time for the SD government to start listening to the Social Democrats and give CSN the money they need, appoint a coordinator, give assignments to more agencies, ensure that they act proactively instead of reactively, and ensure that they continue to gather the broad support in this chamber that this reform deserves. The will exists for this support to become as good as possible. It is now time to act accordingly.

(Applause)

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

Marie-Louise Hänel Sandström (M)

Madam Speaker! Thank you for the speech, Niklas Sigvardsson!

It was raised that the driving license loan was removed on 1 January 2024. It was introduced in 2018. The utilization was quite small. The loan was reviewed on several occasions - 2019, 2020 and 2021 - to see if it was even in demand. There were, of course, some who took the loan.

The idea was that one could get a driver's license to more easily find work. But few applied, and of those who applied, about 40 percent obtained their driver's license. Some, therefore, applied for the loan but did not actually get the driver's license. Some did not even start their driver's license training. Therefore, the loan was removed.

I wonder why the member is asking about this. CSN has stated that it is no longer needed. It is CSN that makes the decision, and the member sits on CSN's oversight council. There we have received notification that it is not needed.

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

Niklas Sigvardsson (S)

Madam Speaker! I thank the member for the question.

CSN says, if we are to be honest, that the support would need to be redesigned if one wants it to work even better. That is actually how it should have been handled. One sees a support that fundamentally has a good purpose and which has actually led to 18,000 people having the opportunity to get a driver's license. But one also sees that it should work even better. Then the focus should rather lie on how we can tweak the system so that more people find out that it exists and can take part in the support and complete their studies.

Marie-Louise Hänel Sandström points out how many have managed to obtain their driver's licenses. For many of those who have stated that they have not managed it, it has been about the deadline but also about the money not being sufficient. It has been much more expensive to obtain a driver's license than what the loan they have had the opportunity to take out has covered. It is therefore not about the system not having functioned, but about the funds they have been able to access not being sufficient.

It becomes quite clear that if one wants a system where the purpose is very good - I did not hear Marie-Louise Hänel Sandström bring up anything else - one should instead consider how the support can be adjusted so that more people find out about it, can apply for it, and are given the opportunity to get a driver's license. One should not remove the support.

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

Marie-Louise Hänel Sandström (M)

Madam Speaker! Thank you for the answer, Niklas Sigvardsson!

Sometimes it is also about prioritizing. Sometimes systems are introduced that one believes will be good and are in demand, but which unfortunately do not work. This was started in 2018 and was reviewed in 2019, 2020, and 2021 to see if it could be done in a different way to increase demand. It did not happen that way.

One still waited until January 1, 2024, to remove it. It was carefully examined, and a different prioritization was made. I think that is correct. We have responsibility for the taxpayers' money and must ensure that the systems introduced function. This did not work.

(Applause)

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

Niklas Sigvardsson (S)

Madam Speaker! Just as I pointed out in my speech, it is now time to find proposal after proposal to ensure that more people get into work. Unemployment began to rise last year, and it is expected to rise further throughout 2024. Then we should consider many broad proposals to get people into work.

What is needed to get people into work? Well, it usually requires some type of education. In my home county, Jönköpings län, it states in almost every job advertisement that one needs to have a driver's license. Then we should ensure that broad proposals are submitted and tweak this system a bit to find a way to ensure that more people get the opportunity and are made aware that support to be able to get a driver's license exists.

In other parts of the country than in central Stockholm, there are few jobs for which it is not required to have a driver's license. Therefore, this support was needed. 18,000 individuals have actually been able to obtain a driver's license with the help of the support. It is important to point out.

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

Marie-Louise Hänel Sandström (M)

Madam Speaker! I would like to begin by moving to approve the committee's proposal in the report on expenditure area 7 Student Grants.

I have previously spoken here in the speaker's chair about what opportunities for education the Swedish student grant provides. I have also told that my family and I have been able to pursue our dream educations. Now three-quarters have completed their educations. The fourth, the youngest son, has completed half of his education at Chalmers. Without student support, it would not have been possible. He can also move away from home and have his own residence. It would not have worked without student support.

I am glad that our incredibly generous student support exists. It is, as has been said before, the most generous in the world. We shall be proud of it.

It is the Central Swedish Student Aid Board, CSN, that works with these issues. They say: We make studies possible! It is fantastic. They actually make studies possible.

CSN has a rather large mandate. One must, of course, administer student support in various forms. One must also be able to provide home equipment loans. CSN shall also provide information about what different types of student support exist.

CSN must also ensure that there are demands for repayment and that the loans are paid back. It is a large and important task. CSN has done a great deal of work with this, both in Sweden and abroad, and the repayment has increased. Up to 94 percent of the loans are paid back, which of course is good.

CSN shall also counteract grant fraud and ensure that the payments are completely correct. Unfortunately, there has been abuse in this area. Incorrect payments have been made. In those cases, CSN has been able to quickly ensure through various methods that they were stopped. It is an important task that CSN has.

CSN shall also follow the social and economic situations to see if the loan will be changed. This has happened with the transition study support.

One also has the task of ensuring that women and men receive equal conditions. This is analyzed so that it becomes the same for men as for women.

Madam Speaker! There are now 500,000 people in Sweden who receive student financial aid. That is very many. What then is the most important thing about the student financial aid, and what is it actually for? Well, it is to create conditions for the individual, regardless of origin and background, to develop. It should also ensure a high participation in studies and make it so that society develops and that Sweden grows as a nation. The Moderates see that the flexible student financial aid system makes it possible to study against the background of all these parameters. It is also fundamental for equal education.

The levels of student grants have been raised by 1,100 kronor from January 1st this year. It is an effect of the decision on the increased price base amount. The exemption limit has also been raised, which means that the student can work a little more on the side. One can earn up to 111,000 kronor during a half-year, and that gives one the opportunity to enter the labor market and try how it is to work, perhaps – hopefully – with what one is studying for.

We think it is very positive that this opportunity exists. We also see that one could raise the exemption limit because we think it is important that one gets the opportunity to work, even though studies are obviously most important.

We have spoken previously here about how studying has changed. Previously, one studied further directly after upper secondary school, but now people study at older ages, perhaps after they have started a family. Many will take several different educations. Therefore, the limit for when one can receive student support has been raised from 56 to 60 years. The phase-out in the right to borrow has been raised from 47 to 51 years. This is something that the Moderaterna have pushed for a long time, and we are very happy that it is so now.

Madam Speaker! As a complement to the current student support system, there is now the much-discussed transition study support. We have talked about this here before. There are several reasons why this was introduced. A changed labor market, increased life expectancy, and a raised retirement age create an increased need for transition and several further educations during working life. I am talking about lifelong learning.

Madam Speaker! The transition study support was introduced on October 1, 2022. That was when it could be applied for for the first time. There were an enormous number of applications. An incredible number applied. It took a long time to process the cases. We have discussed how this can be done better. The previous government had not planned for the influx of applicants. Therefore, there have been long waiting times.

It has been quite complex to manage the transition study support. It involves negotiations with parties and the fact that one must have had a job previously. It is also about being adaptable. There have been long waiting times due to a lot of manual handling.

The government obviously saw that there were concerns. On September 7, 2023, CSN was therefore given 3 billion to find ways to improve this and shorten processing times. CSN came up with proposals for changes, and several have begun to be used. On April 1, a major change will occur, and already from January 1, 2025, a legislative change will take effect which means that more can be automated. CSN is also using a new IT system to be able to make this much simpler.

It is also important to work together with the parties so that one knows when to apply. Many who apply may perhaps not be eligible for the transition study support, and in that case, it is important that instead of having to wait a long time, they quickly receive notice that they cannot apply for that specific grant. It is also a priority that this work does not affect the other study support. The majority still apply for the regular study support. A smaller proportion apply for transition study support.

In lifelong learning, competence development and transition are something we will have to get used to. We will see this in our professional lives moving forward. We will change jobs. We will take several courses. The Moderates think it is very important that there is an opportunity for this. We also consider it important to include that workplace injuries decrease with better education.

The transition study support and the regular study support provide opportunities for almost everyone in Sweden to study, and that is something I am very proud of and happy about.

(Applause)

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

Anders Alftberg (SD)

Madam Speaker! I would first like to move for approval of reservation 5.

As has been said many times before, we have every reason to feel proud of the student support system we have in our country. It gives the talented girl or boy the opportunity to continue their studies regardless of social background. It gives the single parent the opportunity to make a career change in the middle of life.

There is broad agreement among the parliamentary parties on safeguarding our Swedish, generous education system. Of course, we may have different opinions on the details; that is what this debate has shown. Some parts need to become more generous, other parts need to be tightened.

Madam Speaker! For long-term sustainable growth and development in all of Sweden, all parts of the country need to contribute and have the opportunity to contribute. Such development depends on people being able to live and reside in Sweden's countryside as well as companies being able to operate there. Sweden's growth and development depends on the values that exist and are produced in the countryside. Our Swedish countryside contributes with energy supply, raw materials and food supply - something that is even more important in these restless times.

Madam Speaker! Post-secondary education is becoming increasingly important in society. The need for competence is great, as is the demand, and will likely increase in the future. The supply of competence within both the public and private sectors is one of the greatest challenges for many smaller rural municipalities. In some places, this is already today to the highest degree a real challenge, especially regarding the welfare services that the municipality and county council are responsible for.

According to current law, there are no possibilities today to have student loans waived for persons who take employment in any specific part of the country or educate themselves for a certain profession. This is what the Sweden Democrats want to change.

A previous government addressed the issue of write-downs of student loans in the bill A Cohesive Policy for Sweden's Rural Areas - for a Sweden that holds together. In October 2019, the then government tasked Tillväxtverket with analyzing and proposing measures to facilitate the supply of skills in rural areas. The purpose of the assignment was to facilitate for companies and public employers to recruit the right skills and thereby contribute to a viable rural area.

In Tillväxtverket's report on the assignment in March 2020, the agency proposed a number of measures to address the problems surrounding skills supply in Sweden's countryside, including the write-off of student loans for those who live and work in precisely these municipal areas as a way to stimulate increased migration. Some proposals for write-offs did not come from previous governments. We regret this.

Madam Speaker! A primary pillar of a welfare state is to be able to provide its citizens with good and accessible care throughout the country. The supply of competence is an enormous problem within healthcare. This we are all aware of. In rural areas or in sparsely populated areas, it is often more difficult to recruit doctors and nurses, which undermines not only the quality of care but also patient safety.

Att attracting doctors to the countryside is not just a challenge for Sweden but for the whole world, at least the Western part. In rural areas in the USA, there is a system where doctors can commit to work for a number of years, after which they receive their student debts reduced as a bonus in one way or another. We Sverigedemokrater consider that system to be interesting and it should be investigated for Swedish conditions. One can also imagine applying a corresponding system to nurses so that they will want to seek out towns and places that are not as attractive right now.

Madam Speaker! As mentioned earlier, there is a great consensus on the foundations of our generous Swedish student support system. However, the focus has long been on having special solutions for different types of socioeconomic social groups, if I may put it that way. Perhaps it is even time instead to focus on more special solutions that prioritize the Swedish countryside and its population.

(Applause)

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

Lili André (KD)

Madam Speaker! I would like to begin by expressing my approval of the committee's proposal in the report on expenditure area 7 and by rejecting all motions.

Sweden has a truly generous student support system that we Christian Democrats are proud of. The tradition we have of the state providing support to people who want to study is important to preserve for future generations. That tradition has built Sweden strong and will continue to do so. We Christian Democrats want the student support system to continue to be one of the world's most generous.

The student grant, both the grant and the loan parts, is an important link in the work of being able to conduct a purposeful education policy. The student grant shall provide economic conditions for persons who want to start studying and contribute to that everyone who wants to can receive an education.

All parts of the student support, that is, student grants during upper secondary studies, grants to students with disabilities, apprentice compensations, and student aids with a grant and loan component, contribute in such a way as to level differences in economic circumstances for individuals and between groups in society.

Madam Speaker! We Christian Democrats are further positive towards the transition study support that has existed since the autumn of 2022. The purpose is to improve the conditions for adults to finance studies and facilitate skills development and transition in working life. A prerequisite for being granted transition study support is that the education strengthens the individual's future position on the labor market, taking into account the labor market's needs.

Madam Speaker! The transition study support is not granted for education of a hobby character. The Government has, among other things, against the background of the introduction of the new reform, tasked state universities and colleges with reviewing the educational offerings for lifelong learning and transition. A good point with the reform is that it is a way to stimulate an educational offering that is more flexible and directed towards those in employment who need to further their education or transition. Through the transition study support, transition and further education can be facilitated, and the demand for education can increase among those in employment.

What is positive is that there has been a great interest in the transition study support. But it has also, as we have heard here today, led to long processing times at CSN. We Kristdemokrater naturally want to rectify this. The government has tasked CSN with developing proposals for regulatory changes that can lead to shorter processing times and more automated processes, as well as contributed with more funds.

CSN's proposal was sent out for consultation in January. A memorandum within the Ministry of Education has produced proposals that also aim to facilitate what concerns the rules and which are proposed to enter into force in January 2025. Certain changes proposed in CSN's memorandum may enter into force earlier this year.

Madam Speaker! I want to further highlight the government's initiative to improve opportunities for further education for professionals with specialist competence, where the government specifically allocates funds for short courses for professionals. The purpose here is that the funds should be able to contribute to developing a particularly qualified educational offering that in the long run can be provided as commissioned training or credit-bearing higher education. Initially, the focus of the courses should be batteries, technology, and green transition.

Madam Speaker! It is important that the throughput of examinations is high in order to meet the competence supply in the labor market. We Christian Democrats see the importance of the student support leading to students improving their study planning.

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. In times of recession, as we are now seeing, there is a risk that long-term unemployment will become entrenched at a high level. In that case, education plays an important role in ensuring that more people get the chance to enter employment.

Since December 2023, the number of people registered at Arbetsförmedlingen has increased by approximately 5,000 people. For a long time, we have had the third highest unemployment rate within the EU. We thus continue to see high levels of unemployment, and particularly for long-term unemployment. At the same time, there are a number of industries that are in great need of trained personnel. To solve the matching problem, education and thus also student support have a completely decisive role to play.

Madam Speaker! I want to conclude by highlighting that we have a system that aims to level differences between individuals and between groups. It is something that 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.

With that, Madam Speaker, I move again for the approval of the committee's proposal in the report.

(Applause)

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Daniel Riazat (V)

Madam Speaker! This may be the shortest speech today. I have stepped in for a colleague who cannot be present. I wish to move for the approval of the Left Party's reservation number 2.

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Anders Ådahl (C)

Madam Speaker! Let me initially begin with a small educational effort aimed not least at those who are watching the debate. We are debating the student aid issue today. We do it to try to win votes on respective proposals. We in Centerpartiet naturally wish that Miljöpartister, Sverigedemokrater, Moderater, and so on vote for our proposals.

I also want to state that during the second year of the mandate in the Education Committee, we have something called a simplified motion procedure. This means that the parties have very few motions and few reservations. I move for approval of the only one submitted by the Centerpartiet in the section we are debating today.

At the same time, I must naturally point out that the Center Party has much more policy. We naturally stand behind all the policy we have regarding student grants. So, that has been said.

Madam Speaker! We in the Center Party want to see increased freedom for students in Sweden. We specifically highlight that, on one hand, we want to see a more flexible student support, and on the other hand, that as a student, one should have a job alongside their studies.

We are, of course, also a major supporter of the transition study support. It was even we who came up with that proposal. We have pushed it through together with a changed view on the labor market and increased flexibility so that Sweden can simply keep up with the times.

The labor market is in motion. Working life and life itself are changing, but the student support is designed for a somewhat more rigid labor market than what is the case today. Therefore, an update was needed with more flexibility and more adaptation to different circumstances.

The reason is simple. It is good that people want to invest in educating and educating themselves. It is good both for the individual and for society as a whole. Yes, it is reasonable to assert that Sweden's prosperity is actually entirely dependent on that. The Center Party therefore wants to encourage and facilitate for more people to study.

To increase throughput and get more people into work, we in Centerpartiet 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 who have a lower pace of study, for example, those who have attended adapted upper secondary school or those who are on part-time sick leave. It simply provides more opportunities for an education that leads to jobs, and that is good for Sweden.

Madam Speaker! During the covid-19 pandemic, an important change was made. The free limit was removed, which meant that students could carry borrowed student aid without having to feel restrictions in having a job on the side. But in the summer of 2022, the income test for student aid was reintroduced. The so-called free limit returned. The Center Party persists in its ambition to remove the so-called free limit for the loan part of student aid, i.e., the part that is to be paid back to the state.

The free amount limit means that there is a ceiling on how much students may earn to be entitled to student loans. When the income test has been reintroduced, it is less profitable for students to work. We think that is wrong. Hard work and effort should be rewarded. It gives students greater freedom to control their own lives and their choices.

Madam Speaker! It is clear that the shortage of skilled labor is less pronounced in the vicinity of locations where there is a college or a university. The skills shortage grows with the distance from these locations.

In light of the developments regarding the general shortage of skilled labor, incentives are needed so that more people with the right competence dare to move to the locations where they are needed. Therefore, we propose that a review be conducted on how student debts can be written off for those who move to work in rural municipalities. All of Sweden shall live. This proposal helps. Such a reform should apply to all occupational categories with a special eye on shortage occupations.

Madam Speaker! I move for approval of reservation 6.

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Camilla Hansén (MP)

Madam Speaker! Sweden has one of the world's most generous student grant systems. It is something that we must safeguard. It has led to the fact that we are also one of the world's most educated peoples. This is something we very much agree on across party lines, but we have different ideas on how an already strong student grant system should become even better. This is necessary when we are to handle the global megatrends that climate change, migration, digitalization, and changed demographics constitute.

Students invest their time and their money in Sweden's future. A strong student support system is an important way for us in Sweden to show that we are investing in the students here and now. Because it is not just about the future – it is also about daring to become a student, and it is about life when one is a student.

When we in Miljöpartiet joined the government, we pushed through an increase of the student grant by 300 kronor per month. We want to increase it again. Students are a group with small economic margins, and the economic stress affects many students negatively. Now, this is not a budget debate, but I still want to remind that we are the only party that puts these funds on the table.

An increase in student grants would create better conditions for more people to dare to pursue further education, and those who do so would fare slightly better financially. For example, single-student households belong to the group that is hit very hard by high inflation and cost increases. For them, 300 kronor a month would make a difference.

The committee's position emphasizes that the student grant was increased at the turn of the year, but the grant component of the student grant has long lagged behind price developments. The increase at the turn of the year was about a built-in indexation. What we mean is that a real increase of the grant component was needed. I know that more parties feel this way. We also want to raise the level of the student grant for students in upper secondary school by ensuring that level is protected with an indexation.

We have also spoken quite a bit about the transition study support in this debate. A changing labor market requires an education and labor market policy that gives people good opportunities to choose a new path in their careers in the middle of life.

The transition study support gives people a chance to educate themselves for their own sake and to strengthen their own position on the labor market. If I am to do an environmental party deep-dive into the transition study support and describe what is missing from the truly green reform that the free period once was, I can say that it has lost some in freedom and simplicity for the individual. The processing has become very complicated. But the transition study support is also something else and more complex. Therefore, agencies such as CSN need the conditions to carry out their mission.

Unlike the government, the Green Party makes no general savings on CSN. We also add the money that CSN requests to be able to improve the processing regarding the transition student support. We now know that there are current proposals for simplifications and improvements. It is important so that more people can transition their skills and be part of the sustainable societal construction.

I also want to say a few words about lifelong learning. It is not just about perhaps changing careers in the middle of life, but also about the fact that one may need to replenish knowledge throughout life. Professional life is placing ever greater demands on the ability to replenish knowledge.

That is why we, based on the report *Äldre har aldrig varit yngre*, want it to be easier to obtain student aid when one is older. As is pointed out in the report we are now debating, improvements have been made. The latest increase of the age limits for student aid entered into force in the autumn of 2021. At that time, the upper age limit for student aid was raised from 56 to 60 years, and the first step in the tapering of the extent of the student aid was raised from 47 to 51 years.

Student financial aid

These are important first steps, but we want to see that the age limits in the student grant system are progressively raised in line with the increases in the target age for retirement. We also want that it should be considered to make it possible to finance studies with student support on a part-time basis with a 25 percent study rate. Now, people can only receive student grants if they study at least half-time.

Madam Speaker! I move for approval of reservation 3, which concerns precisely age limits and study pace for obtaining student financial aid.

The deliberation was hereby concluded.

(Decisions were made under § 17.)

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