Response to interpellation 2022/23:323 on increased funds for welfare
Translated from Swedish by AI; the translation may contain errors. The Swedish text is the original.
Summary AI, written in advance
KD argues that the government prioritizes fighting inflation and order in public finances 1. KD emphasizes that a third of the reform space is allocated to the municipal sector through state grants 1 2 and that municipalities and regions must work innovatively with digitalization to lower costs 1 2. KD argues that the state cannot compensate for every economic slump 2 and that a sharp increase in public consumption is inflation-driving 2. S argues that the government is nonchalant as more resources are needed for welfare and crime prevention 3. S believes that the government prioritizes tax cuts over investments 3 and that it is arrogant to suggest efficiency when the staff are on their knees 4. S argues that the government is paralyzed in action 5.
Written by AI in advance and may contain errors. The numbers lead to the speech a statement builds on; check against the text below.
Statsrådet Erik Slottner (KD)
Madam Speaker! Mattias Vepsä has asked the Minister for Finance if the Minister will take any further measures to avoid Stockholm and other municipalities needing to cut back on, among other things, schools, community development, and crime prevention work.
Mattias Vepsä has also asked whether Sweden's municipalities can expect increased funds in the autumn budget so that schools and children can be prioritized. The work within the government is distributed in such a way that it is I who shall answer the interpellation.
We find ourselves in an uncertain situation with war in our immediate vicinity, a strained situation in the energy markets in Europe, and the highest inflation in Sweden in over 30 years. The finances of households, companies, and the municipal sector are being pressured hard. In a normal recession when inflation falls, a natural stabilizing policy measure for the government would have been an expansive fiscal policy to increase demand in the economy. Now we have a completely different situation with a declining economy and high inflation. It is important not to pursue a policy that risks increasing inflation and making things more difficult for the municipal sector and other parts of society.
Order and order in the public finances is a priority task for the government. In view of the economic situation and the high inflation, the direction for the budget for 2023 is slightly contractionary. In the budget, approximately one third of the reform space is allocated to the municipal sector. The general government grant is permanently increased by 6 billion kronor from 2023. Furthermore, around 6 billion kronor are allocated in targeted government grants, including 3.5 billion kronor to health and elderly care, including reinforced care and increased care capacity, and to strengthened civil defense, as well as approximately 1.5 billion kronor to the school.
The government is not passive. Given the difficult economic situation that Sweden finds itself in, combating inflation must be a central priority for the overall economic policy. The government intends to combat inflation and support vulnerable households, re-establish the work principle, and implement structural reforms for higher growth. In addition, the government intends to continue to act in several areas to solve Sweden's long-term societal problems, including by taking measures to achieve increased security and a better school, healthcare, and care.
I am aware that municipalities and regions, despite the funds currently being provided, face an economically challenging period. A combination of measures will be needed to safeguard and strengthen the welfare. More money will not solve all the problems that the municipal sector faces. Municipalities and regions need to continue to work innovatively and develop operations according to new conditions, among other things by taking advantage of the possibilities of digitalization. The state has a responsibility to provide the best possible conditions for this.
The Government is closely following the developments in municipalities and regions and will return in the budget bill for 2024 with an assessment of the need for reinforcements of the resources to the municipal sector for 2024 and onwards.
Mattias Vepsä (S)
Madam Speaker! Thank you, Minister, for the answer!
The background to why I and the Social Democrats in Stockholm have chosen to pose this question is that we see, hear, and understand the reality that many people in Sweden are now facing. It is skyrocketing food prices and high energy costs, and it is becoming more expensive to live and reside in our country. It is also becoming more expensive for the country's municipalities and regions to manage the welfare mandate they have.
The Minister says in his answer that more money will not solve all the problems we face. I can agree that to some extent one can streamline various operations and do other things – work magic and perhaps use some saved money – to meet this crisis. But it is a rather nonchalant stance to say that when the costs in our welfare are increasing, when voices are being raised, when 17 of 21 regions say they are running at a deficit and when the rest have a zero result. More and more municipalities in the country are screaming and raising their voices, and it is across party lines, and they point out that the money is not enough.
Then we hear here in the chamber of the Riksdag that one can do something else. The government does not intend to provide funds. At the same time, we know that this is no news. All of last year was about how inflation increased and how the crisis came closer and closer. I do not know under which stone the government representatives hid during all of last year, because it feels like this came as a surprise for the government and for the Sverigedemokraterna.
In the autumn budget, a choice was made. I want to say to everyone here in the chamber, everyone watching the debate, and everyone following Swedish politics that the choice was about which group in our society should be protected against rising costs, and it was the high-income earners. There were 13 billion to lower the tax for them. At the same time, Sweden's municipalities and regions warned that the deficits were growing and that more resources were required. It was therefore about 20-30 billion.
In my world, a choice has been made. It is not that we stand here today in the chamber and discuss dream scenarios. There is a real scenario, and it is the choices that the government made last autumn together with the Sverigedemokraterna.
In the answer, it is also pointed out that one could have more innovative and exciting ways to meet the cost crisis in order to facilitate.
My question is very much about the school. How are we to ensure that it is not the children and the teachers in the school, that is, our future, who should bear the costs of inflation and be affected by this crisis?
I believe that the vast majority see that there is talk that this inflation is hopefully temporary. We must do everything we can to combat it. But the question is who should bear the costs. In that case, it is the children in school that the government focuses on. What we see in Stockholm is, in fact, that the school's situation is extremely strained.
The Minister says in his response that one could take advantage of the possibilities of digitalization. The same government warned in December that digitalization has gone too far. We could have a seminar on the pros and cons of digitalization, right? Or we could also state that more money is required.
The question to the Minister, to the government, and to the Sweden Democrats is: Will there be an announcement, or must the municipalities now fire teachers and issue notices that more adults cannot go to work this autumn? It is the children who will bear this cost.
Alexandra Völker (S)
Madam Speaker! My home municipality, Sundbyberg here in Stockholm County, is by far the country's smallest municipality in terms of area, but it is also the most densely populated municipality. For a long time, Sundbyberg municipality has been one of the municipalities that has taken the absolute greatest responsibility for housing construction and for ensuring that people actually have somewhere to live and feel safe. We in Sundbyberg municipality have taken responsibility for more people getting a home, but we have also constantly taken responsibility for welfare – that there should be schools, preschools, and elderly care. It is costly, and it is challenging. But it is also completely necessary if the Stockholm region is to grow as required.
With today's inflation, this has become even tougher. We see cost increases of 10 percent when it comes to rented objects. We see that food prices have increased by an average of 20 percent. We all understand what consequences this has for schools, preschools, and elderly care.
We are many, an entire generation, who grew up and had our entire schooling shaped by the 90s crisis. We also know what it does to students' education. Now the government must really act so that this does not affect today's youth and today's welfare.
But it is not only the welfare itself that is affected, but it is also the housing construction which is also a part of the welfare - the possibility of having somewhere to live. We see now that the price increases within the construction sector are approximately 15.6 percent between December 2021 and December 2022.
As late as today, reports with figures from SCB, Statistiska centralbyrån, were received, showing that housing construction is at its lowest in ten years. If one compares the first quarter of this year with the first quarter of last year, there has been a decrease of 50 percent. This has enormous consequences, not least just in the Stockholm region where many want to live but where the space to live is limited. The consequences of that will be appalling with enormous overcrowding and social vulnerability.
The question of supporting municipalities and supporting welfare is enormously important. The government talks about taking responsibility for inflation and not being cost-driving. But it is still a fact that one chose to put 13 billion kronor into private individuals' wallets, which could go directly to consumption, instead of actually supporting municipalities and regions.
Annika Strandhäll (S)
Madam Speaker! I will, of course, continue on the theme that has followed Minister Slottner this afternoon. We probably have one of the most difficult situations ever for the finances of the municipalities and regions. We are talking about gigantic deficits that will lead to painful cuts.
SKR's chief economist says: We are going from the best result ever to probably the worst, in just two years.
Virtually all regions across Sweden are being hit hard. 17 of 21 are budgeting with a deficit. Some regions speak of cuts equivalent to a larger hospital for a balanced budget, this following a pandemic where a large proportion of care has been forced to be postponed. There is a healthcare debt that is being paid off. There is a shortage of competence across the entire country. And those who work in healthcare and elderly care also have the highest rates of sick leave already today.
In this situation, we can state that the SD-supported government shows a frightening paralysis of action, passivity, and a lack of creativity in the midst of a burning crisis, where everyone who knows anything about the operations of the municipalities and regions is sounding the alarm.
In Region Stockholm, where we are now finally in power after 16 years, we are in the process of shifting direction. But it is clear that this also hits hard there.
The most embarrassing thing, Minister Slottner, is that the government cannot even manage to provide a preliminary decision to municipalities and regions, which means that their planning conditions are completely shattered. And probably, if you were to provide a decision this autumn, they will be forced into difficult cuts that will hit hard against those who need care. In this situation, the Swedish government cannot even manage to deliver a decision. Yes, a decision we received from Finance Minister Elisabeth Svantesson. It was that she announces potential upcoming tax cuts in this situation this autumn. It is a frightening prioritization in this situation.
On the other hand, it was tax cuts that also characterized the autumn budget the government presented in the economic crisis we now find ourselves in - tax cuts for high-income earners. It became a substantial amount of money in the pocket for Sweden's Prime Minister, for Minister Slottner, for Jimmie Åkesson, and for the other ministers in the Swedish government. That is the prioritization the government chooses to make instead of making an announcement that would allow us to manage healthcare, school, and elderly care.
I wonder exactly what grade the Swedish people will give this government - or well, you can only see that by looking at the latest opinion polls and how the confidence in the sitting, SD-led government looks.
Statsrådet Erik Slottner (KD)
Madam Speaker! I must once again correct a member who says that the government is SD-led, because the government is not SD-led. It consists of the Moderates, the Christian Democrats and the Liberals.
I intend to provide that factual clarification every time a Social Democrat says that the government is SD-led, because they are speaking falsely. It is a factual error. But if we are to continue with such [statements], I intend to say that the government during the previous mandate period was V- and C-led, because it was dependent on their support. This government has a cooperation agreement with the Sweden Democrats. This does not mean that they are part of the government or that we are led by the Sweden Democrats, but rather that this is a cooperation government.
We naturally see the seriousness of the economic situation in municipalities and regions. We are a government that safeguards the welfare. I have myself had responsibility for precisely elderly care and security issues in the city of Stockholm, and I know how important the welfare is. I did a lot of work to strengthen the quality within elderly care. For me, this is a very important issue.
That is why the government allocated so much of the reform space we had before 2023 to the municipal sector specifically. One third of the reform space went towards strengthening welfare in municipalities and regions, partly through an increase in the general state grants, and partly through increases in a number of targeted state grants.
I believe, however, that it is very dangerous if one gives the signal to municipalities and regions that the state will compensate every time the economy falters. There must be a pressure on municipalities and regions, just as on companies and private households, to work with efficiencies, prioritizations, and smarter ways of working when the economy falters.
Digitalization is a very important part. I am also the minister responsible for digitalization. A calculation shows that there is a savings potential of 140 billion kronor just by using AI within public administration. When I was the elderly care councillor in Stockholm, we did not have digital monitoring during the nights, we did not have digital food purchases, and we did not have automated assistance assessments. I can list a lot of other digital tools that could have lowered our costs significantly if we had had them.
The decision regarding the municipal sector is coming. It will come in the autumn budget. It will be presented sometime in August or September, and then the decision will be made on how much the state grants will potentially be increased next year. We in the government have, in fact, said that we will return with proposals for increased state grants if we see that the municipal sector is in need of it.
There is some new economic theory from the Social Democrats that public consumption would not drive inflation. But it is clear that a sharp increase in public consumption is also inflation-driving. Inflation-driving policy is, in the long run, the absolute greatest threat to the municipal sector, because we see that it is in many ways precisely the high inflation that drives the cost developments in the municipalities and regions. We also know that raised interest rates hit the municipal core activities directly because many municipalities are heavily indebted.
Conducting an anti-inflation policy is therefore the single most important factor for the municipalities' economy moving forward, but we also help through increased state grants. We have shown this for this year, and we will return with a decision on how we view that matter for next year.
Mattias Vepsä (S)
Madam Speaker! I thank the Minister for an interesting first round in this debate.
I had the opportunity to sit down and prepare for the first debate on approximately the same theme. I note that the Minister becomes upset when we Social Democrats talk about the reality as we see it, that is, that the Sweden Democrats are running the government. We might get stuck a bit there, but I think the Minister has repeated this almost as many times as the Sweden Democrats' party leader Jimmie Åkesson has threatened to bring down the government – and it has only been six months. We shall see; history will show which of us is right in this.
Based on my question, we have talked quite a bit about school and welfare and healthcare here in Region Stockholm, but the welfare and society's commitments are by far much larger. I also mention crime prevention. In my daily work, I am a member of the Justice Committee, and we know how important the welfare activities are in order to be able to break the new recruitment to the criminal gangs.
During the summer, a new law comes into force that gives the municipalities an increased responsibility for crime prevention work. Many municipalities say that even this is good, but that it would also require more resources to solve these issues. Add to that more and more voices beyond those we have raised, namely healthcare, school, and elderly care - we can list the women's shelters, cultural activities, leisure activities, and now crime prevention.
I still think it is nonchalant of the government to say in the chamber of the Riksdag that money is not everything, Madam Speaker. It is a bit like turning a blind eye, turning a deaf ear, and not acting, even though everyone outside the chamber understands that more resources were needed. Above all, a choice was needed where high-income earners were not protected with 13 billion. That is how it is.
I also thought about this, that it is important to send signals. We are not going to save the welfare, and we are not going to see the children. We are not going to understand how tough it will become in the care if we receive large strike demands this autumn and many, in the worst case, perhaps eventually lose their jobs - because the government does not want to send the signal that the municipalities and regions should be able to get some extra resources during this crisis, which is like none we have really seen before. It is a quite unique crisis situation.
I would therefore like to remind the Minister that just a few weeks ago, it went perfectly well to send signals to wage earners, property owners, and many other groups. That was done when you referred proposals for enormously large tax cuts ahead of the autumn budget. Well, damn it – excuse me, Madam Speaker, even though I do not know if "damn it" is a swear word – it is therefore possible to send signals. Isn't it? It is possible to send signals.
I haven't calculated this, but between the thumb and the forefinger, it is proposals for tax cuts of 20-30 billion that you have referred - under scorching inflation. You can certainly send signals to the Swedish people about which direction you want for the policy! And in my world, this is bourgeois politics. It is right-wing politics. It is once again large tax cuts before investments in welfare.
A question I also asked in my interpellation is whether the government intends to take initiative to turn the profit machine in the welfare sector. At the same time as we in Stockholm are now ensuring that the school receives money, the corporations in the school are making enormous profit withdrawals. When we invest money during this crisis, the profits in the school continue to increase. Will the government take initiative to ensure that we also stop that leakage from our welfare sector?
Alexandra Völker (S)
Madam Speaker! Thank you, Minister, for the answer! I think I shall get in touch with my colleagues in Sundbyberg and tell them that Minister Slottner advises them to streamline and digitalize the operations. That is good advice. I actually almost do not know whether to laugh or cry when I hear it.
Does the minister, who is responsible for municipalities and regions, believe that the municipalities are not engaging in efficiency and digitalization? If there is something we do, it is to turn every krona over to ensure that every krona that the taxpayers contribute goes where the money is used in the absolute best way. This was probably the most arrogant thing I have heard in the debate today.
We see a shortage of teachers, preschool staff, bus drivers, doctors and so on. All around the welfare sector, the staff are on their knees. There are municipal politicians all over the regions and in the municipalities who are working hard to make this work, so that the students are not affected and so that the elderly in the nursing homes are not affected. It is the people who are affected, and it is the government that has the opportunity to step in and provide support.
The Minister said that they are prepared to provide funding if a signal regarding the need is received. If there is anything that the regions and municipalities are clear about, it is that the needs are gigantic, so I can therefore almost interpret this as a positive answer.
In conclusion, I would like to ask the Minister whether it is considered that private consumption is better than public consumption. One still chose to put the money on private consumption - with a tax cut - rather than on public consumption.
Annika Strandhäll (S)
Madam Speaker! I must agree with Alexandra Völker. The hair on my arms stood up a bit when Minister Slottner began talking about that there is potential for further savings and that digitalization in some way, in this crisis-like situation, would be a way forward to facilitate things for municipalities and regions.
Minister Slottner stood at the rostrum and said that the government naturally has the possibility to provide funds if it turns out that the needs truly exist. I do not know if it is the case that we have a government that is completely deaf, because at least I have since early in the autumn heard the cries and warning signals from our municipalities and regions.
SKR's chief economist has stated on repeated occasions that the fact that they received no notification in the spring budget leads to that the municipalities must now prepare for the fact that no money will come. They will therefore now have to make various types of cuts. It will be about services that are not appointed and about other savings that will affect ordinary people all around the country.
It is a frightening situation we have. At the same time as Sweden is in an acute crisis, the country has a paralyzed government that is being steered from the backseat by the Sverigedemokraterna.
Source: The Swedish Parliament. The speeches come from the open data of the Riksdag, translated into English by AI, which may contain errors.