Response to interpellation 2022/23:384 on resources and tools for the Swedish Enforcement Authority
Translated from Swedish by AI; the translation may contain errors. The Swedish text is the original.
Summary AI, written in advance
The debate concerns resources and tools for the Swedish Enforcement Authority (Kronofogden) as well as the management of household debts. M believes that the Swedish Enforcement Authority functions well and has the prerequisites to analyze unpaid debts 1 2. M argues that the government does not see a need for additional assignments since the authority already cooperates with other organizations 1. M emphasizes that the government supports vulnerable households through increased housing allowances 2 3 and that municipalities and regions have received 12 billion in state grants to prioritize debt counseling 3. M wants to narrow the gateways to over-indebtedness 3. S argues that households need urgent help as debts are increasing 4. S wants to be tougher on lending companies, introduce a debt register, and wants municipalities to receive more resources for consumer guidance 4 5. S criticizes the government's response as sluggish 6 7.
Written by AI in advance and may contain errors. The numbers lead to the speech a statement builds on; check against the text below.
Finansministern Elisabeth Svantesson (M)
Mr. Speaker! Ida Ekeroth Clausson has asked me if I consider that the Swedish Enforcement Authority (Kronofogden) has sufficient resources and tools to work with its mandate regarding over-indebtedness and, if that is not the case, if I intend to take any measures. Ida Ekeroth Clausson has also asked if I see a need to expand the Swedish Enforcement Authority's cooperation with other authorities so that the Swedish Enforcement Authority can better carry out its mandate regarding over-indebtedness and, if that is the case, if I intend to take any measures.
If a person does not pay their debts, the person who is to receive payment can turn to the Swedish Enforcement Authority (Kronofogdemyndigheten) to get help in collecting the debt. The Swedish Enforcement Authority's role as the executive authority that comes in last in the chain when a debt is not paid means that the authority has the conditions to follow and analyze the development of unpaid debts.
With its good knowledge of what types of debts end up with the Enforcement Authority and what circumstances lie behind them, the Enforcement Authority also has an important role in working preventatively against over-indebtedness. The authority does this in a good way today by highlighting and informing about what the debt development looks like regarding debts to be enforced by the authority.
The work presupposes cooperation with others, both authorities and organizations. Cooperation is needed to be able to increase knowledge in society about over-indebtedness and point out countermeasures that can be effective. It is most effective if any measures against over-indebtedness are implemented long before a debt reaches the Enforcement Authority, often already in the marketing of credits.
As I just mentioned, the Swedish Enforcement Authority (Kronofogdemyndigheten) cooperates with several other agencies, for example the Public Health Agency (Folkhälsomyndigheten) and the Gambling Authority (Spelinspektionen), as well as carries out information initiatives for different target groups. The Swedish Enforcement Authority has the competence to decide, based on its task, with whom and in what way cooperation shall be carried out to reach as many as possible with information about over-indebtedness. The Government therefore does not see any need at this time to give additional assignments to the Swedish Enforcement Authority regarding how or with whom the authority shall cooperate.
Regarding resources for the Swedish Enforcement Authority, the government will return to that in the autumn budget.
Ida Ekeroth Clausson (S)
Mr. Speaker! I thank the Minister for Finance for the answer.
I note that the Minister seems to be satisfied, this despite all the worrying reports of increased debts in society. Unfortunately, the reality is that it is becoming increasingly difficult for households to make their finances work. The households' resilience is beginning to run out after the long and tough winter. The buffers that were saved up during the good years are exhausted. Now, it is completely ordinary families who are borrowing to afford to pay the bills. For some, it goes so far that they have their electricity cut off because they cannot afford to pay the bill on time. In this situation, more and more are forced to take out payday loans or buy their goods on credit.
Households' total debt amount increased by several billion last year. At the beginning of the year, more cases of debt restructuring were received than ever before. It is clear that households need urgent help. Very many risk falling into difficult debt traps that it can take many years to get out of, and the cases to the Enforcement Authority are increasing. But it seems that the government and Sverigedemokraterna refuse to accept that reality looks like this.
There are many reports of unscrupulous lending companies that are ready to exploit the situation. Society must be able to protect people from the worst by tightening the conditions. In the current situation, credit companies can charge usurious interest rates of 42 percent without a completed credit assessment. Then it is up to the Enforcement Authority to collect the debts, and the credit companies can continue.
To address the high debts, a mix of measures is needed. We Social Democrats want to be tougher on the lending companies, and we need to introduce a debt register. A national register would ensure that those who are granted loans also have the possibility to pay.
It is difficult today to get a complete picture of individuals' debt burden because the Swedish credit registers do not cooperate. Therefore, it is possible to borrow money despite having high debts, which can lead to further over-indebtedness and serious economic problems. An investigation is underway that was commissioned by the previous S-led government in response to the fact that previous measures have not been sufficient. I look forward to reading the results of the investigation, at the latest by the end of the month.
The Minister for Finance says in his response that the most effective thing is that any measures against over-indebtedness are implemented long before a debt reaches the Enforcement Authority, often already in the marketing of credits. Here I wonder if the Minister for Finance has any concrete proposal on how this should be done.
Hanna Westerén (S)
Mr. Speaker! Many Swedish households are having an extremely difficult time today. Despite having a job to go to, there is very little left at the end of the month. Prices have gone up on almost everything, and the number of people in debt is increasing, just as my colleague Ida Ekeroth Clausson has just described.
In my constituency - I come from Gotland - every eleventh child lives in a household in debt. That is, just under a thousand children just at my home on Gotland. I believe we can all empathize - some of us may have been there - how it is to grow up in a household in debt.
Mr. Speaker! We know that our society begins and ends with the children. Therefore, I must regret this somewhat lame answer from Finance Minister Elisabeth Svantesson. We are living in a somewhat extreme time right now. That inflation, which the Finance Minister is working hard to combat, is nevertheless digging large holes in our wallets and driving more and more Swedes into debt traps.
To then answer as Finance Minister Elisabeth Svantesson does – that it is probably enough roughly like this – feels somewhat odd. Is there really not more to be done to reduce the over-indebtedness in a time that is enormously challenging for too many Swedish households?
Finansministern Elisabeth Svantesson (M)
Mr. Speaker! I would like to once again thank the interpellor, Ida Ekeroth Clausson, for an important question.
Perhaps this will partially become two parallel debates. But they are of course connected. We have discussed the Swedish Enforcement Authority (Kronofogdemyndigheten) earlier in the chamber. Different authorities have different roles. I have received an interpellation regarding specifically the Enforcement Authority (Kronofogden). Therefore, I have also answered regarding just that.
There are two parts to this. Right now, very many people are having a tough time. Not everyone feels the high inflation to the extent that they are pressured and have to turn over every krona. But very many households do. It is important to have said.
Working to combat inflation and support the most vulnerable households is an important issue that the government is now working on, among other things in the budget that we presented for this year but also in the supplementary budget.
Over-indebtedness - if we stay with the question that the interpellation is about anyway - is an enormous problem. A total of 100 billion kronor in consumer debts are held by debt collection companies, Mr. Speaker. It has more than doubled since 2008. During the last year, private individuals' debts to the Enforcement Authority also increased by 8 percentage points. It is tough for very many.
Many may think that they themselves will not end up in that situation. But we who have met people who are over-indebted know that anyone can be affected. It could be a disease or an accident. An incorrect decision made a long time ago can have catastrophic consequences. Therefore, it is important to highlight and talk about over-indebtedness. I appreciate that the interpellor does so.
The question itself was whether the Swedish Enforcement Authority needs other assignments. My point is that different organizations and different authorities have different roles here. But it is, just as the interpellator is pointing out, important that one cooperates and does it together. That is also something the Swedish Enforcement Authority does all the time. I believe the interpellator knows this, because the interpellator and the member sit on the oversight board for the Swedish Enforcement Authority.
When it comes to prevention and how one can prevent people from falling into over-indebtedness, the Over-indebtedness Inquiry will present its report in just a few weeks. It has examined the market for consumer credits and will propose several different measures to ensure that loans are not granted to consumers who do not have the financial means to pay them back. It is incredibly important that we get those proposals on the table and can work further with them.
The investigation has also analyzed how to provide those who are already trapped in over-indebtedness with better conditions to repay their debts and break the vicious spiral once and for all.
My view is that the authority functions well and that the main mandate it has functions well. It also does many different things together with others by having so much information that others benefit from and that others can use in the work of helping people not to get stuck in over-indebtedness.
Ida Ekeroth Clausson (S)
Mr. Speaker! The Minister for Finance is, of course, correct that the most effective approach is if measures against over-indebtedness are implemented at an early stage.
The municipalities are responsible by law to help people who have problems paying their debts. In recent weeks, I have visited a number of municipalities' debt counselors in my home district. Several of them I have spoken with testify that it is important to remove the shame. It is better to ask for help and not take out further loans to pay off debts that one can no longer pay. The feeling of taboo, shame, and guilt hinders instead of helps in a sensitive situation.
I therefore appreciate that the Minister for Finance said that anyone can end up in over-indebtedness.
A debt counselor I have been in contact with says that some borrowers try to achieve the impossible to make their finances work. They pay to avoid ending up with the Enforcement Authority and take out expensive loans to cover the first.
However, a new mapping from the Consumer Agency shows that the waiting time can be long for those who need the municipalities' support. The Consumer Agency's recommendation is that the waiting time should be at most four weeks. At most, however, one has to wait in Falköping, a full 24 weeks. The next longest waiting time is in Gullspång and in my home municipality Mariestad. There, one has to wait up to 20 weeks. That the waiting times are becoming long is not strange when the number of cases increases. In Mariestad alone, an increase of 33 percent has been seen since last year.
The Social Democrats wanted to invest 100 million kronor in the spring budget so that the municipalities could work more actively with consumer guidance. With an extra supplement, the municipalities could act more actively with consumer guidance and reach out to the most vulnerable consumers. But what did the government and the Sweden Democrats do? They voted down the proposal.
I therefore want to ask the minister how the government intends to support Sweden's municipalities so that they will have the opportunity to prioritize consumer guidance and debt counseling in this difficult economic situation.
Hanna Westerén (S)
Mr. Speaker! This is clarifying. I find it a bit surprising that the commitment to the issue apparently lies with the Minister for Finance. We shall hear that here today. Nevertheless, there is a lack of workshop in a very difficult situation.
I understand that the responsibility falls heavily on the Minister for Finance to combat inflation. That is completely given. But it also falls heavily on the Minister for Finance to otherwise protect Swedish households during the crisis.
Many Swedish households are in an incredibly difficult situation today. They are suffering. The Finance Minister and her government have consistently said no to things that would ease the situation for Swedish families with children, such as increased child allowance or free summer holiday activities for children.
Mr. Speaker! With that in mind, I think it would still be appropriate to at least engage a bit more so that fewer people end up in debt traps. But the answer will still be no or possibly maybe, despite 100 billion reasons to do more.
Finance Minister Svantesson himself mentions preventive measures to prevent more people from falling into debt traps. I truly welcome that the marketing of credits is being restricted. I then request, as does my colleague Ida Ekeroth Clausson, concrete proposals. Indebtedness is increasing. Then the pace to combat indebtedness should also increase by the same amount.
I also think that indebted parents have children who live in hardship. It falls heavily on the Minister for Finance to ensure that fewer children grow up in indebted households. I would like to hear a reflection from the Minister for Finance on that.
Finansministern Elisabeth Svantesson (M)
Mr. Speaker! There are many who are struggling and have very small margins. There are many who have to forgo summer holiday activities and other things because they cannot afford it.
That is why it was important that in our supplementary budget, which the Riksdag voted on yesterday, we both increased the reinforced housing allowance for families with children by 40 percent and extended it by half a year. It hits those who have the greatest need. 60 percent of them are single mothers. I believe that 10 or 11 percent are single fathers. They struggle the most. But many are having a tough time right now.
That is also why the most important thing we do is to fight inflation while simultaneously supporting households and the vulnerable, and also ensuring that, for example, the fuel price is lowered and the travel deduction is changed. All of this makes a difference for those who have small margins.
Back to the interpellation! I just want to confirm the interpellant's problem description. There are many who are struggling, and one should not have to go to the Swedish Enforcement Authority. It is, of course, best if one does not. Therefore, cooperation is important and that the Swedish Enforcement Authority has good information that it spreads to others.
I know that the interpellator knows that there are many tasks that the Enforcement Authority performs to disseminate information and facilitate for others to in turn disseminate information to children, students, and so on. This is, therefore, a task that is ongoing in many different areas - including policy areas - but which is also carried out by organizations other than the public ones, i.e., municipality and state.
I also share the view that the municipal budget and debt advisors are very important all over Sweden. Municipalities and regions have received 12 billion this year in general and targeted state grants, and I am convinced that many of them will prioritize the task because it is so important for the households in the municipality where they live.
Mr. Speaker! Otherwise, I think we need to make the entry gates to over-indebtedness narrower. I believe that Ida Ekeroth Clausson and I are in complete agreement that it should become harder to end up there. How can we do that, besides talking about economy and budget which is incredibly important? The interpellation is also about the way in.
I am very hopeful about the investigation that will be released in just one week. I know that they are working on concrete proposals and taking steps in the right direction so that one can actually prevent this type of indebtedness. It is also, of course, about, Mr. Speaker, helping those who have become trapped in this spiral to break free.
Ida Ekeroth Clausson (S)
Mr. Speaker! However well-intentioned the Minister for Finance may be in his commitment against over-indebtedness, it is a fact that the policy the government is pursuing has had the opposite effect. When the municipalities are now to handle the welfare crisis and still lack a decision from the government regarding financial supplements, the municipalities will be forced to save, and the risk is obvious that debt counseling will not be a high priority.
Summer has only just begun, and many are enjoying the sun and swimming but already have a lump in their stomachs regarding the weeks that lie ahead of us. Many will have a tough summer. It is about municipalities that do not have resources to invest in leisure activities and parents who cannot afford to go on vacation with their children and perhaps not even afford pocket money for an ice cream.
In Socialdemokraternas Sverige, we face difficult times together. We stick together, and we ensure that the gaps do not increase. But the government's political agenda and crisis management risk, on the contrary, increasing the division. The risk is also that these problems will increase when the consequences of inflation and the raised interest rates hit in full. Then it is actually not enough for the government to sit content and not provide information on the financing for either the enforcement authority or the welfare. More measures are needed.
In conclusion, I would like to wish the Speaker, the Minister for Finance, Hanna Westerén, and others who have listened to this debate a very pleasant summer.
Finansministern Elisabeth Svantesson (M)
Mr. Speaker! I am definitely not satisfied. I will not be satisfied until inflation is down to low levels. I will not be satisfied until we get a stable development regarding inflation and we see that the cost pressure on Swedish households, wage earners, pensioners and companies is eased.
It is a very difficult economic situation, and just as the interpellor describes it, it hits those with the smallest margins. There is a risk that they and others - more - are now getting stuck in over-indebtedness. We therefore need to work on many fronts, with authorities, budget, and other organizations, to hinder over-indebtedness and facilitate a sound personal economy.
I take the question very seriously, Mr. Speaker, and I know that there are many here in the chamber who do as well. I thank you for the debate and the discussion. We will return to the question with the proposals that the investigation is working on. The Government takes the question most seriously, and we will do everything in our power so that fewer will get stuck in this type of debt, for the one who has done so is certainly not free.
I also wish the chair, the interpellator, and the debater a very pleasant summer.
Source: The Swedish Parliament. The speeches come from the open data of the Riksdag, translated into English by AI, which may contain errors.