Response to interpellation 2022/23:391 on the government's vision for persons with disabilities

Statsrådet Camilla Waltersson Grönvall (M)

Mr. Speaker! Eva Lindh has asked the Minister for Social Affairs what the government's vision for persons with disabilities looks like for this mandate period.

The work within the government is distributed in such a way that it is I who shall answer the interpellation.

Persons with disabilities shall be able to be fully included in society without being subjected to discrimination. Integrating the perspective of disability rights into more policy and social areas remains a focus for the government.

The government's disability policy is based on Sweden's international commitments on human rights, including the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and is part of the work towards a more equal society where people's different backgrounds or circumstances shall not determine the possibility of participation in society.

The national goal for disability policy is to, with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities as a starting point, achieve equality in living conditions and full participation for persons with disabilities in a society based on diversity. The goal shall contribute to increased equality and to ensuring that the children's rights perspective is taken into account.

In order to reach the national goal, the implementation of the disability policy shall be directed towards

the principle of universal design

existing deficiencies in accessibility

individual supports and solutions for the individual's independence

to prevent and counteract discrimination.

The purpose is that these areas shall together contribute to an accessible and equal society for all people regardless of functional ability. Responsible actors are thus given guidance in their activities to achieve the national goal within the disability policy.

Individual supports and solutions are a priority area for the government's disability policy and constitute a complement to general accessibility in society. The government's assessment is that the individual supports provided to persons with disabilities in the form of interventions according to the Act on Support and Service for Some Persons with Disabilities, LSS, and the Social Services Act contribute to achieving the goals of the disability policy.

Regarding the provision of personal assistance within LSS, the Principal Responsibility Inquiry presented in March 2023 proposals for a state-wide overall responsibility in its report A state principal responsibility for personal assistance - equality, long-term perspective and quality (SOU 2023:9). The report has been subject to consultation and is being further prepared within the Government Offices. The objective, according to the Tidö Agreement, is a state-wide overall responsibility for personal assistance within the framework of LSS.

The Government decided in 2021 the Strategy for systematic follow-up of the disability policy during the period 2021-2031. The strategy implies that the follow-up of the disability policy shall be carried out by 29 strategic agencies and that the Agency for Participation, MFD, shall provide these agencies with support in the follow-up work. The purpose of the strategy is to follow up the disability policy based on the national goal. Thus, we obtain, among other things, a basis for how the disability policy should be improved. The assessment is that a new national action plan for the disability policy, based on, among other things, results from the follow-up, should be able to be decided at the midpoint of the strategy period, i.e., 2026.

The Swedish social model is largely based on municipalities and regions being responsible for welfare and for accessibility and participation in the local community. The municipalities' and regions' ways of undertaking the work of implementing disability policy are therefore crucial for whether the national goal is to be achieved. MFD and the county administrative boards have therefore received a mandate from the government to support municipalities and regions in implementing their disability policy plans and strategies.

The strategy emphasizes the sector-specific management of the authorities which forms the basis for the implementation of disability policy and which is based on the so-called responsibility and financing principle. The principle primarily means that every sector in society is responsible for ensuring that disability policy is implemented.

It is the responsibility of the entire society to ensure that people are not excluded and that everyone's skills are taken into account.

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

Eva Lindh (S)

Mr. Speaker! People with disabilities should be able to be fully involved in all parts of life. That is something most can agree on. The Government notes in its budget bill that the living conditions for people with disabilities continue to be worse than for the rest of the population.

When looking at the policy regarding persons with disabilities, it is important, just as the minister has also emphasized, that it is not individual policy areas it is about, but rather it is about a breadth of investments and initiatives that are needed to reach the goal that one should be able to be fully participating in all parts of life. It is also for that reason that we have asked this question, as broad as it actually is. We want to know how the government views and what visions exist for the policy for persons with disabilities.

Let me also provide some background on why we are concerned and why many have turned to me and said that they wonder what became of the beautiful words. People believed that there would be a lot more initiatives and that more would be invested. This was what was promised regarding the policy for people with disabilities.

Let me raise a few points. The SD-led government's policy will mean that people with disabilities will continue to be dependent on relatives or be forced to seek financial assistance from social services.

The investigation into increasing and strengthening the sickness and activity allowance was scrapped. Furthermore, the gap is now being widened by lowering the job tax deduction for everyone, including pensioners, except for this group. The so-called "funkisskatt" (disability tax) is therefore increasing. All of this means that one gets worse economic conditions. Our view is that one does not become healthier by becoming poorer.

When it comes to LSS, many had views. There are areas for improvement regarding the LSS legislation. Now, in any case, I have not heard anything more than what the minister mentions here, but we need to clarify the legislation so that we can truly see that it can be the freedom reform that it is intended to be.

The support to the study associations is decreasing by a third. Also, the resources to the folk high schools are decreasing. We believe we know - with certainty, in fact - that it will affect this group. Many receive education from the study associations and from the folk high schools in order to be able to move forward into work and livelihood.

Then it concerns the school. Children with disabilities often suffer in school. Unfortunately, we know that. When the school does not meet the needs of students who have disabilities, it naturally affects both mental health and school results.

Approximately 15 percent of students leave primary school without eligibility for upper secondary school. Many of them are persons with disabilities. In that case, the school needs more resources, not fewer. What we see is that there will be insufficient resources for welfare as a whole going forward.

I will provide more examples. But now I thank you for the answer, Minister, and for the fact that we can actually have this debate and get a bit clearer on what the vision for people with disabilities is moving forward.

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

Jim Svensk Larm (S)

Mr. Speaker! I would like to begin by thanking Member Eva Lindh, who is posing this important interpellation. The interpellation has a broad question that truly deserves to be discussed: What is the government's vision for persons with disabilities during this mandate period?

That everyone should feel included in society is important. But what is meant by being included in society? It is something that differs depending on who answers. Therefore, the opportunities to be included on one's own terms need to be large. Regardless of whether it concerns participation in the labor market, in leisure time, in democracy, or whatever it may be, the opportunities need to be there. It is also for that reason that this broad question is important to discuss.

But what visions does the government have for people with disabilities? Based on the response from the Minister, I make the analysis that their vision is not quite fully comprehensive and that the issue has not really been discussed in breadth within the Government Offices. It is a broad issue. I had hoped that the preparation would also be done broadly. I had hoped that the Minister's answer would contain a bit more about how we are to get this group into work, for example, that Arbetsförmedlingen should work more adaptively according to the individual's needs or that social enterprises have an important role when it comes to getting this group into work. Even a sentence about that everyone who can contribute should contribute would have made me happy, but I did not hear anything such in the Minister's answer.

Mr. Speaker! For us Social Democrats, it is a self-evident matter that everyone who can work shall work, but on the way there, support is required from outside based on the individual's circumstances and needs.

During the year I have served in the Riksdag, I have met many disability organizations that raise the issues for their members. I have organized seminars here in the Riksdag with good examples of how work is done in other parts of the country than where I live to get people into work. Several times I have heard that there are people who want to participate in working life but who are not given the opportunity. To be in a social context and contribute to society is something that many desire. This applies regardless of whether it is one hour per day or if it is eight hours per day. It is about 100 percent of the person's ability. But then a more individually adapted support was needed, and resources were needed for municipalities, regions, and authorities so that the support could be adapted.

One issue that the Minister touched upon was the discrimination of persons with disabilities, and it is an immensely important area. In the Discrimination Ombudsman's report for the recent years, we see that precisely discrimination of persons with disabilities has skyrocketed. It stands out. The number of reports has increased, and it is a continuing upward trend. It is deeply worrying. The trend needs to be broken, and something needs to be done now.

Mr. Speaker! Perhaps the Minister chose not to speak about the government's vision for this group when it comes to the labor market policy because there was not quite enough time. The Minister used practically all of his speaking time in the first contribution. I hope that something in the second contribution can address this. How are we to get this group into work?

Can the Minister explain a bit about the government's visions regarding getting people with disabilities into work? I do not expect very much at a detailed level since this falls under another Minister, but I hope there is something that can be mentioned regarding the visions for these people.

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

Jessica Rodén (S)

Mr. Speaker! People with disabilities have the right to live independently and to participate in social life on the same terms as we others. Individual measures for people with disabilities shall be of good quality and compensate for the difficulties and obstacles that the disability entails.

Slowly, the cashless society is expanding. At the same time, those people who do not manage in the cashless society are pushed aside. People who do not have the opportunities or prerequisites to independently handle digital payments or debit cards are being marginalized.

Imagine not being able to take a bus, use a public toilet, buy a cup of coffee, or perhaps buy your life-saving medicine at the pharmacy! Those who need society the most are shut out from it.

E-identification and BankID are today a matter of course for most people. These digital services have become a prerequisite for being able to manage one's everyday financial affairs. But for individuals with disabilities, the digitized society is many times very difficult to access.

Healthcare, authorities, and banks have moved more and more functions to be handled digitally. For those who may have a legal guardian (god man) responsible for the person's legal and financial affairs, the situation becomes even more complicated. Banks do not issue bank-id to persons who cannot sign themselves. A legal guardian may also not use their principal's identification, and debit cards cannot be used if the individual themselves cannot enter their code.

Mr. Speaker! Digital services need to be designed so that everyone can use them, but at the same time, there need to be opportunities to use cash. It cannot be the intention that people with disabilities should find it harder to participate in social life while the majority of the population can benefit from the many advantages of digitalization. Therefore, I ask, Mr. Speaker: What measures will the government take to ensure that individuals with disabilities are not discriminated against in the cashless society?

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Karin Sundin (S)

Mr. Speaker! I want to begin by saying that it is positive that Minister Camilla Waltersson Grönvall is clear that the government's disability policy is part of the work for an equal society where people's different backgrounds or circumstances should not determine the possibility of participation in society.

Equality is a glowing vision of a society where everyone has equal value and should be treated equally, with respect and with the opportunity for privacy. Equality is also an important starting point for welfare policy.

Society's welfare rests, just as Member Jim Svensk Larm just stated, on the fact that everyone who can work also works. There is much left to do so that more people with disabilities can gain access to the labor market and the right conditions to work to the best of their ability.

But we must also talk about those who actually cannot work. How equal is our society really for those people who are covered by the disability policy? There are people with such significant disabilities that it is impossible for them to work. Those are the people whom Försäkringskassan assesses as unable to be available to the labor market.

An important aspect highlighted in the interpellation by Eva Lindh is that there should be a reasonable sickness and activity compensation for those who cannot work. The sickness and activity compensation is not reasonable today. People who live on that compensation are today to a large extent living in poverty, because the compensation levels are far below all wage levels. These gaps have increased over decades.

A 30-year-old who has a disability that means he or she has never worked receives today a sickness compensation of 12,163 kronor per month before tax. That is approximately one-twelfth of a government minister's salary and one-sixth of a member of parliament's salary. 12,163 kronor per month before tax means that there are many people with disabilities who are older than 30 years who are financially dependent on their parents. They can never afford to buy anything other than the absolute cheapest and most necessary. One might leave the Church of Sweden and other associations, or perhaps never be able to join an association and participate in a community because one cannot afford to be a member. It is not reasonable. We must, of course, have a sickness compensation that can be relied upon and lived on.

To address the growing gap between wage levels and the levels of sickness and activity compensation, the then Social Democratic government commissioned an inquiry into a more purposefully calculated sickness and activity compensation that would examine whether or how the compensation could be linked to wage development. The goal was to strengthen the finances for persons who, due to a disability, cannot have wage employment. But among the first things the Moderates and Christian Democrats did when they entered the Ministry of Social Affairs was to scrap that inquiry. Many of us wonder why. How in the world is that compatible with the beautiful words about an equal society?

Therefore, Mr. Speaker, I would like to take the opportunity to ask the Minister what she considers to be a reasonable sickness and activity compensation for those who, due to a disability, cannot work for wages.

(Applause)

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

Statsrådet Camilla Waltersson Grönvall (M)

Mr. Speaker! I thank you for these contributions. I am very pleased that there is such a glowing commitment to a glowing vision, I believe was the word, when it comes to being able to have equality and gender equality in disability policy. I am glad to see that it is precisely four Social Democratic members who have this commitment, and let me say: I do not doubt that that commitment is genuine.

I have been here in the Riksdag since 2010. I noted that during the last eight years, I have met organization after organization for people with disabilities that has described what concern these last two mandates have brought regarding how these vulnerable groups have been treated. Believe me - I have met many who have been victims of the last two mandates' handling of people with disabilities.

With that said, we must look forward. We shall do everything we can so that these people receive a much more stable, predictable, and secure situation. It is about being included. It is about getting the opportunity to go to school. It is about getting a job. I can fully agree with all the parts mentioned here. That is also why I have a continuous dialogue with all our functional organizations. I meet them on a regular basis, and I also participate in the various forums that they invite me to. In those, these parts are raised.

I want to start by saying a big thank you to the Swedish Association of the Deaf, the Association of the Hearing Impaired, and the Association of the Deaf-Blind in Sweden, with whom we are currently in a dialogue regarding the latest interpretation services investigation. We have had two investigations that, for various reasons, have not led to any result. In September 2022, just a few weeks before we took office, we received the compilation of the various referral responses from the 2020 interpretation services investigation. We are currently processing that within the Government Offices, and the first proposal is also in the budget.

It is about a way in, and I have, in close dialogue with the mentioned organizations, stated that it is an important first step in the Interpretation Services Inquiry. One should therefore not need to have contact with so many different agencies, but instead should be able to have a way in. With the 41 million that are placed in the budget, we transfer this responsibility to our regions.

This is an important part, and I must say that I am very strongly touched, not least by the young people I meet who want to enter the labor market and work. Therefore, I am extra happy when the member just highlights that everyone who wants and can work shall also be allowed to do so.

This is, therefore, an important part, and I also want to say that I and Minister for Employment Johan Pehrson are engaged in an intensive dialogue with these organizations about how we can, among other things, get Arbetsförmedlingen to become an even more important actor in that work.

Time goes by so fast. I realize that I will have to return with more answers in the next post.

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Eva Lindh (S)

Mr. Speaker! There are more of us who have as much as we want to say that time is running out.

When the then opposition, which now sits in the government, was out on this issue, I believe that very beautiful things were said that a good number of the people in the disability organizations actually believed in. I think that explains some of the disappointment many feel. We do not need to hit each other over the head. I know that many felt concerned even before, but one had expected so much more.

It is absolutely great with the interpretation service, but when I sat here myself and listened to the government statement - which was quite long - there was only one thing in it that concerns people with disabilities, and that was the interpretation service. Many are happy, but one had higher expectations, perhaps also because there were many beautiful words before the election. Now you are in a position where you say that you have the opportunity to carry out things because you have a majority in the Riksdag, the Council of State, and then these words must be fulfilled.

Where are these things? When one examines point by point what policies the government is implementing in this area, there are no improvements for people with disabilities, but rather deteriorations. We have demonstrated this when it comes to economy, conditions in school, education, and opportunities for work. It is naturally very sad and distressing for the people who are affected, because we know that there are very many who truly want to contribute to society.

When I worked, I met incredibly many who said that they just wanted the opportunity to enter the workforce. I know that it is a great sorrow for these people. Society does not benefit from it either. These are people who can participate and contribute to society - a lot of competence that we would need to get involved.

Point by point, it is therefore deteriorations, and that is why we want this overall debate.

Another question that I did not have time to mention earlier concerns the right to housing. People want to move and have their own home. It is not just about building group housing or service housing, but it is also about people getting their own apartment so they can move out from home and create an independent life for themselves. Now we see that housing construction is grinding to a halt. We also know from experience that those who end up at the back of the queue when it comes to, for example, housing, but also many other things, are people who have difficulties and who perhaps also do not have a strong economy.

Furthermore, we have the question of care and health. Many spend a lot of time within the healthcare system and need a lot of support. Now, there are also insufficient resources. How is it to be strengthened?

Then I want to mention one thing that concerns me and which is something we have seen for a longer period, namely the supply of skills. It is not just a question of education to get a job, as Jim Svensk Larm pointed out, but it is about educating people who can work with support. If they are not there, the insecurity will be great for many of the people we are talking about now, and that is highly worrying.

(Applause)

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Jim Svensk Larm (S)

Mr. Speaker! I was pleased by the Minister's description of the dialogue between the disability rights organizations and the Ministry of Employment. It is extremely important. Regardless of how it has been previously, the organizations continue to express concern over the lack of content in the government's statement, which we could hear just now, and that the budget has not quite shown that one has a grip on the whole. The Minister mentioned the Interpretation Services Inquiry. I believe it will help many, but even more is needed.

When one looks at the government's list of bills, one sees that there is not much else. For the Ministry of Employment, it is empty. There is not a single bill. Now, it is not the only department working to get people with disabilities into work, but more must be done from several different places.

The government sometimes says that things should be redone from the ground up, but it apparently seems to only be about introducing an unfair disability tax. At its core, people who cannot work are to be punished. But I still want to send a few points with the Minister to the Government Offices regarding how we believe more people with disabilities could enter the workforce.

Individual efforts must be made based on the needs. The time it takes to produce the correct coding in the Arbetsförmedlingen's system must be shortened so that the correct intervention can be obtained. Authorities, municipalities, regions, and social enterprises must work together so that everyone gets the opportunity to enter the labor market.

I want to take to heart what the Minister has said about looking forward to provide stable conditions. That sounds good.

(Applause)

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Jessica Rodén (S)

Mr. Speaker! Abstract payments become an insurmountable problem for those who cannot handle that which is abstract but who need the concrete, who need the cash. People who cannot handle the cashless society are pushed aside, and people who are in need of increased independence are instead given even poorer opportunities for independence. Yes, those who are already invisible become even more invisible.

The investigation, which was tasked with reviewing the payment market and taking a position on how it should look in the future, concludes that the state should primarily help more people enter the digital payment market. The phasing out of cash has gone far, but if cash is to be able to be used in, for example, a crisis, we must also be able to use it in a normal situation.

While a cashless society can offer many advantages, we must be aware of the challenges and obstacles it can create for persons with disabilities. Therefore, active work is required to ensure that everyone has the prerequisites to be fully included in our society.

(Applause)

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Karin Sundin (S)

Mr. Speaker! The Minister did not manage to reach any conclusion regarding the most impoverished members of society with disabilities. Let me then elaborate on this somewhat.

Right now, ahead of 2023 and 2024, the sickness and activity compensation is being increased by quite a few percent, because the compensations are calculated based on the price base amount and thus follow the inflation development. It is a decent development right now for those who receive sickness and activity compensation.

But a couple of years of higher increases in no way means that one will catch up with the large gap that the development of recent decades has entailed. It has not been good during the many years when inflation has been low and real wage increases have been good. During that time, the sickness and activity allowance lagged behind. We heard Finance Minister Elisabeth Svantesson stand at the rostrum yesterday and talk about how fighting inflation is the government's overarching goal. When the government—if the government—gets a stop on the inflation fire, the gap between wages and sickness benefits will likely begin to grow again.

The Sweden Democrats, the Moderates, the Christian Democrats and the Liberals are parties that have all said they want to develop disability policy. But what is happening now is a decommissioning and dismantling. Instead of improving the conditions for persons with disabilities, one chooses to perpetuate the poverty that many of these persons live in. It is undignified and inhumane for a welfare society. It is not dignified that those who most need society's support should live in poverty for an entire life. Sweden can do better than that.

Mr. Speaker! Therefore, I believe that the government should immediately reopen the investigation into how the sickness and activity compensation can be linked to wage development so that a decent development can also be achieved in economic terms throughout life.

(Applause)

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Statsrådet Camilla Waltersson Grönvall (M)

Mr. Speaker! I thank you for several engaged contributions. They make me wish that the House's rules for interpellations were different so that I would receive as much time for each individual question.

Just as has been said here, the budget was presented yesterday against the background of an extremely difficult economic situation. Inflation is our great enemy, and if we do not get it under control, we will also not have money for the welfare of the future.

In this environment, a budget is nevertheless presented which has as a priority, in addition to combating inflation, to also support households and safeguard welfare. 16 billion kronor are added to municipalities and regions, which is - let me make a comparison - in parity with the investments made during the pandemic years. We are doing what both Social Democratic and Moderate municipal councilors and regional councilors have requested, namely presenting proposals for larger general state grants so that the assessments that need to be made based on local and regional conditions can also be made.

I would particularly like to address Jessica Rodén, who I believe raises important issues regarding digitalization. I am the responsible minister for these issues, but all ministers in a government are responsible for issues concerning disabilities from their own area of competence. This means that Johan Pehrson is responsible when it comes to the labor market, Lotta Edholm is responsible when it comes to school issues, and Erik Slottner is responsible when it comes to digitalization.

All the different ministers who are linked to the issues are now meeting the funkis delegation, where the issue is on the agenda, in turn. I also know that Erik Slottner has a focus on the delegation and that this is included among the issues in the national strategy being developed.

The government sees these issues, and it is important that they are included. One should take advantage of the possibilities of digitalization - they exist too! - and at the same time see the difficulties that must be managed to achieve increased inclusion.

I am also thinking about the parts that our authorities are responsible for. The Government has laid out a number of assignments. The Agency for Participation, together with the County Administrative Board, has a responsibility to ensure that the correct support is given to the municipalities and regions. The National Board of Health and Welfare has received an important assignment to support the relatives who struggle greatly with many situations. SCB has an assignment to produce statistics so that we will know how things look to a greater extent than we do today.

All the different efforts that we are making right now - I absolutely must not forget Försäkringskassan, because they naturally have an incredibly important mission to follow up on these reforms - we do so so that we can know what we should do to move forward.

In this, we now have the principal employer investigation that we pushed very strongly in opposition and which I received in March. It takes up much of the focus right now, because it is a major reform aimed at ensuring that people do not continue to fall through the cracks in the way that has been reality.

We are very pleased that the Social Democrats, as the last party in this Riksdag, state that they are positive. It provides an opportunity to have a broad reform that we move forward with when it comes to building a state ownership, a reform that is in very high demand.

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Eva Lindh (S)

Mr. Speaker! First, I would like to express some thanks.

Thank you for the passion and the commitment! It pleases me, and I feel it too. It is an issue that many of us are truly engaged in. I thank you for that.

I also thank the Minister for trying to answer all the questions so that it does not become "this is not my area of responsibility; this is not my area of responsibility." We were a bit worried about that because we think, as I began with and as the Minister touched upon, that we cannot view issues concerning persons with disabilities as individual sectors. We must see it as a whole because there are so many different policy areas that affect the everyday life that one lives in.

Then I shall take up some things that I do not agree with.

Politics is about will, but it is also about doing and implementing the politics one wants. Then it is often a matter of priorities. I think that this budget – we will, of course, return with our own budget alternative – needs to prioritize. While managing inflation, one can make investments. They must be allocated to people who need society's support, and persons with disabilities are a group who need support to be able to have a more independent life and a better life with higher quality.

So it is about a lot, but ultimately it is actually about human rights. We must therefore return to it. I hope that we will see improvements in the area moving forward, but I thank you for the debate.

(Applause)

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Statsrådet Camilla Waltersson Grönvall (M)

Mr. Speaker! Thank you very much, members - Eva Lindh, for initiating this interpellation debate, and the rest of you for participating in it from different aspects!

It is difficult to cover all areas in the limited number of minutes we have at our disposal. I am well aware that there may be questions that I have not fully answered.

There are more cabinet ministers involved in this, and I am sure that it will lead to more interpellations in more areas. I want to say that I look forward to that discussion because for our government it is an extremely important issue that all people feel included and have the prerequisites to be included, that they can exercise their democratic rights and that the development of society constantly takes into account that people have different prerequisites. They can look very different.

With that said, I see the interpellation not only as an interpellation but also as a dialogue on how we can build these important parts forward. It is naturally important to integrate the perspective of functional rights into more policy and social areas. It is also what the government builds on and what I, as the responsible minister, build on, that we do this. The responsibility lies clearly with the respective ministers that, in their respective policy areas, they also build so that people can have the self-evident participation in our society that we all desire and shall implement.

The interpellations debate was hereby concluded.

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