Response to interpellation 2023/24:109 on the Social Insurance Agency's administrative grant
Translated from Swedish by AI; the translation may contain errors. The Swedish text is the original.
Summary AI, written in advance
M argues that Försäkringskassan receives a supplement of 300 million kronor to cover the government's reforms 1 2. M emphasizes that the agency acts responsibly through a necessary savings program to achieve a balanced budget 1 2 and that the government's decision to lift secrecy and promote digitalization saves money 3. M argues that the government is addressing Försäkringskassan's finances to achieve a balanced budget 4. S argues that the government only grants 16 percent of the requested amount, which is stingy and risks affecting processing times 5 6 7. S argues that cuts lead to inefficiency and negatively affect the service level 8.
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 Anna Tenje (M)
Mr. Speaker! I have been asked what reasons underlie the decision regarding the budget for Försäkringskassan and whether I have conducted an analysis of the possibilities for Försäkringskassan to carry out its mandate with the proposed administrative appropriation.
The government tests the agencies' funding needs every year in connection with the budget work. Normally, an agency is provided with funds that are linked to the government's reforms. In the 2024 budget, the appropriation to Försäkringskassan increases by almost 300 million kronor, up to 9.6 billion kronor next year compared to just under 9.3 billion kronor for 2023. This supplement is intended to cover the government's reforms in the area and assist Försäkringskassan in the agency's important work.
The background to the tough economic situation is that Försäkringskassan, in the agency's expenditure forecast in May 2023, showed a significant deficit. Försäkringskassan's management therefore decided at the beginning of the summer on a savings program in order to eventually reach a balanced budget.
Försäkringskassan is now actively working to prioritize and redistribute resources, implement simplifications in processing, and test new and more efficient methods of work. The savings program that has now been initiated in Försäkringskassan is necessary to achieve a balanced budget. Försäkringskassan is acting responsibly in a tough situation. Anything else would have been deeply irresponsible and, in the long run, would have affected those who are dependent on an efficient and well-functioning Försäkringskassan.
I have a close dialogue with the agency's management and follow the operations closely. I have full confidence that Försäkringskassan is taking the necessary measures to balance the finances while simultaneously handling its core mission and protecting individuals.
Åsa Eriksson (S)
Mr. Speaker! It is nice to be here again; it is the third time in less than a year that we are debating the lack of administrative appropriations to Försäkringskassan, as I see it.
The social insurances exist for everyone in our society and should be there when we need them. They are an important part of the public security systems and are of great importance both for individuals and for the economy of the society. For many people, the compensation from Försäkringskassan is completely life-saving.
Mr. Speaker! When the Director-General of Försäkringskassan was at the Social Insurance Committee a couple of weeks ago, he reported on the effects of the cuts that the SD-led government is now making in the administrative grants to Försäkringskassan in the budget forecast for 2024. He showed there that Försäkringskassan has been deprived of 619 million kronor in administrative grants and the most important items to fulfill its mission in a good way.
For this, they have received 99 million kronor in the government's proposal. That is, 16 percent of what Försäkringskassan considers is needed for them to be able to carry out the assignment that we here in the Swedish Riksdag have said they should perform. 16 percent of the requested appropriations - that means that 84 percent of what they had intended and planned to do next year must now be cut.
Mr. Speaker! This is not a new problem. As we have said, we have debated this twice previously during the last twelve-month period. During the summer, we received reports that Försäkringskassan had been forced to lay off temporary staff because the agency did not have the money or had not received the administrative appropriations they had requested and which the Minister in the debate in December flagged they might receive in the economic autumn budget bill. But they did not come, as it turns out.
This means that the agency has spent a lot of time recruiting and training staff who are then laid off. It can be called nothing other than stingy. It is in no way due to Försäkringskassan acting less well, but rather that they have not received the appropriations they expected from the government. Competence is difficult to find. It costs money to recruit. It costs a lot of money to train new staff. Stingy was the word!
Mr. Speaker! The answer we have received from the Minister does not correspond with reality. I also have great confidence in the staff at Försäkringskassan. They do a great job. But what are they supposed to do when they do not receive the funds they need to carry out the assignments that we here in the Riksdag have said they should carry out?
I want to ask Minister Anna Tenje what she considers to be the core mandate of the Social Insurance Agency that must be protected. And what parts of the agency's activities are not the core mandate and should therefore be deprioritized now that 84 percent of the requested funds are being cut from the budget?
Niklas Sigvardsson (S)
Mr. Speaker! I thank Åsa Eriksson for raising this issue and the Minister for the answer so that we can debate this important matter. It is an area that I normally have not seen debated as I sit on the Education Committee.
There is, however, an area that has been very topical in the Education Committee over the past year and which concerns the Försäkringskassan's area, especially Försäkringskassan's administrative grant, which we are debating today, and it concerns the implementation of the transition study support.
Försäkringskassan has a very important role in the implementation of the transition study support, and it is about establishing SGI for those who apply. Without the establishment of SGI, CSN and other authorities will not proceed with the processing that is needed. Försäkringskassan's important work and the money that Försäkringskassan receives under its administrative grant are therefore very much needed.
In the last year alone, more than 45,000 individual persons have applied for transition study support in over 70,000 different applications. This means that it has received an extreme response that has become much larger than we could have imagined and what all forecasts said. This has caused Försäkringskassan, CSN, Skatteverket, and a number of agencies to experience greater problems in the implementation.
Försäkringskassan has, both in its budget request last autumn ahead of the 2023 budget and in this year's budget request for the 2024 budget year, requested more funds than the government provides, so that individuals are not affected. This is just one example of the important work that Försäkringskassan's staff carries out and which is risked by the stinginess it entails not to provide additional funds.
If one reads Försäkringskassan's budget request, one sees that they state quite clearly what it could mean if they do not receive more funds and personnel resources to be able to process cases. In their response, they write that without additional funds, they will need to prioritize down SGI investigations linked to other benefits, which leads to longer processing times within both sickness benefit and parental benefit. They also wrote that it would be very worrying if CSN made incorrect payments due to the lack of funding for the implementation.
I think it is important to look at the broad perspective but also to dive into the details to see what this actually means, because it affects the entire Swedish labor market. This is part of the main agreement that the labor market parties concluded, and therefore it is important that the entire government, with all its areas of responsibility, chooses to stand up for this.
I choose to take this debate today to highlight that it is not only the Education Committee or CSN that have responsibility for this, but it is many agencies that have an important role, including Försäkringskassan.
My question is therefore: What consequence analysis is carried out in the dialogues that the Minister has, and what will it be in the future regarding Försäkringskassan's part in the transition study support? Shall we continue to have a processing time of up to two or three months to determine SGI, when many thousands of people are waiting for an answer?
Statsrådet Anna Tenje (M)
Mr. Speaker! In the budget bill for 2024, the government provides Försäkringskassan with funds for several different reforms. Among others, it can be mentioned that Försäkringskassan receives funds to handle impulses from and cooperation with the new payment authority. That will be 87 million kronor for 2024.
Funds are also generally allocated to work on processing times and caseload balances within Försäkringskassan, as well as additional funds for the previous decision on the administration of the transition study support, which Member Niklas Sigvardsson was touching upon, but also for strengthened assistance and the establishment jobs.
Alongside these supplements, a customary price and wage adjustment takes place. Taken together, this means that the appropriation to Försäkringskassan increases by 300 million, from 9.3 to 9.6 billion kronor. It is therefore not 84 percent that will be cut from any budget, but rather it will be a supplement of 300 million.
For me and the government, order and discipline in the finances and among the authorities is the highest priority, and I intend to do what I can to ensure that it is so moving forward. But as we all know, resources are not unlimited. Inflation affects both regions and municipalities, and not least, it affects households and companies. Naturally, it also affects our authorities, and when the cost increases become larger, requirements to manage these will likewise also increase.
Försäkringskassan is now actively working to prioritize and redistribute resources, implement simplifications of the processing, and test new and more efficient methods of work. The savings program that has now been initiated by Försäkringskassan's management is necessary to get a budget into balance. Another decision would be to simply let it be as it is and let the inefficiency and imbalance in the economy continue.
We need an efficient and well-functioning social insurance system in the future as well. However, I want to emphasize that in the dialogue with the authorities, I have been very keen that the measures now being taken should, to the smallest extent possible, affect the individual or the authorities' staff.
Åsa Eriksson (S)
Mr. Speaker! It is good that I printed out the images from when the Director General was in the Committee on Social Insurance recently, because it is very clear there. He presented the items and increases in the administrative appropriation that had been demanded from the government: 619,100,000. One received 99 million kronor, regardless of what the Minister tries to say here.
We have inflation, and costs are rising, for example for wages and other things. In that case, it is not enough to just increase, one must also receive compensation for the costs one has and the improvements one needs to make.
I have an example. The government supplemented 99 million of the 619 million that had been requested, but only the IT operations cost will increase by 100 million kronor next year, Försäkringskassan notes. And presto, the 99 million were consumed.
I mean that if Försäkringskassan is to be able to deliver what we here expect them to do – to all people who apply for assistance allowance for their children, who apply for parental leave, and who apply for sickness benefit, housing allowance, or whatever it is – they must have the right conditions to be able to do this. But unfortunately, this is not what the government provides. It is with great concern that we see the sickness rates at Försäkringskassan increasing because the staff is stressed and pressured. So we cannot have that.
Mr. Speaker! What Member Sigvardsson clarified regarding the calculation of SGI and the transition study support also means that the entire important agreement between the labor market parties and the important transition we must make is at risk. These are important matters, and there must be resources to do the work that is required.
Furthermore, Mr. Speaker, we often talk about welfare crime, which has been on the agenda in the media over the past week and which drains the state of amounts of billions every year. The National Audit Office estimates that we already had a state waste of 15 billion kronor in 2021. It really is not pocket change. It is money that would do great good in our operations, and I know the Minister shares that view. But how are the case officers at Försäkringskassan going to manage to curb fraud and errors when there are fewer and fewer people who are expected to do more and more? That equation does not add up.
This is actually serious. One must understand that if our security systems are to function as intended, as we expect them to do, an authority must also have reasonable resources to perform the work. The government can no longer bury its head in the sand, grant 16 percent of the requested administrative funds, and hope that the authority will solve it somehow in a miraculous way. If one is in a position of government, one must take responsibility. This also applies to this SD-led government.
Therefore, I ask the Minister once again: What does the Minister mean by the core mission of Försäkringskassan that, according to the Minister, should be protected, and what part of their activities is it that should be deprioritized when Försäkringskassan does not receive the appropriations they claim they need?
Niklas Sigvardsson (S)
Mr. Speaker! I thank you for the previous answer.
It is good that the government continues to work according to plan when it comes to the transition study support, which I choose to focus my speech on. The problem is only that reality sometimes changes, and when reality changes, politics also needs to be on alert and be able to act based on the new reality. We have seen it during the pandemic, we have seen it when there is inflation, and we see it today with the security policy threat that exists today.
When it comes to the transition study support and the massive pressure, it is fantastic that so many people want to transition, educate themselves, and create a better future and a better position on the Swedish labor market. Then all departments within all expenditure areas must be prepared to step up.
The impact is increasing according to the planned increase that occurred at the launch. But one needs to be quick-footed when applications for this support come in at a rapid pace. One needs to then increase the staffing so that people at least receive an answer. Regardless of whether the answer from the authorities is positive or negative, those who apply for this support must be able to expect an answer within a reasonable time. That is why Försäkringskassan, in its budget request for the upcoming three-year period, considers that they need 60 million kronor more than what was previously calculated.
Then we end up in this situation where money is very important. When it concerns such a decisive reform as the main agreement on the Swedish labor market and it involves 60 million kronor for Försäkringskassan and 50 million kronor for CSN - that is what the authorities in Sweden demand - then the government needs to step up, and then all ministers in the government need to step up.
Therefore, I ask the question: What is Minister Tenje doing to ensure that the government's and the state's commitment regarding the main agreement is actually fulfilled?
Statsrådet Anna Tenje (M)
Mr. Speaker! Part of the budget process we have in Sweden is based on the authorities requesting funds for coming fiscal years and the government then presenting a budget proposal that takes into account the financial situation, various priorities that are made, the world around us, and a number of other factors. The authority can then sometimes request funds for self-initiated measures that involve costs, while the government primarily allocates funds for exactly those tasks that the new assignments entail and the reforms that we have decided on. The previous government made exactly the same type of assessments, so this is no news that has been introduced by this government. The wish list can sometimes literally be longer than what one actually receives.
Försäkringskassan has also highlighted certain reforms that were decided during the previous mandate period and which have been underfunded. The interpellator previously mentioned a PowerPoint presentation that the Director General gave at the Social Insurance Committee's meeting. There, one can clearly and distinctly read about previous reforms that have been underfunded. This includes, among other things, the reform regarding the transition study support, which member Niklas Sigvardsson mentioned, but also strengthened assistance.
That the previous government underfunded Försäkringskassan by hundreds of millions is also fundamentally the reason why we are standing here today and having this discussion. The deficit that Försäkringskassan reported in May for the current year did not arise in the first three months, but it is something that has built up over a long period as various proposals and reforms have been decided. Furthermore, we have inflation and other cost increases in addition to this.
Now I and this government will take action on this and try to put Försäkringskassan on the right course again. The goal is crystal clear, namely that we shall move towards a balanced budget and that there shall be order and clarity in the agencies' finances. And the agencies are working, as mentioned, very hard to ensure that measures are taken to the smallest extent possible and do not affect the individual or the agencies' staff.
Åsa Eriksson (S)
Mr. Speaker! I thank the Minister for the answer. It is very strange that if one considers that things have been underfunded and costs are increasing, then one cuts even further. It is a logic that does not add up for me in any case.
I want to mention one thing that the Director General said when he was in the Social Insurance Committee. I asked what effects the insufficient level of appropriations will have. He said that everything is affected, and that is understandable. But he primarily brought up an example that I think is quite telling regarding what I mentioned earlier about it being penny-pinching to try to save on administrative appropriations. He meant that one effect these cuts have is that there will be longer response times on telephone service. Many people who contact Försäkringskassan do so via telephone. In October, the waiting time had increased from just under 10 minutes to 27 minutes. That is unfortunate in itself. But it also has the effect that the case officers who answer in this telephone service are forced to have longer telephone calls because they must start the calls by calming down angry people before they can get to the matter. That makes it even more inefficient when one cuts back on the service level. It is therefore penny-pinching not to give Försäkringskassan the appropriations they need to carry out the various activities and commitments that we here in the Swedish Riksdag have decided that they actually shall carry out.
We already knew this summer that a family who applied for assistance allowance for their children were told that they should prepare to wait six months for a decision. All the retired case officers who had been brought in extra to help have also been dismissed. Therefore, I fear that the situation today is even worse.
Therefore, I ask: What is Försäkringskassan supposed to stop doing, according to the Minister?
Statsrådet Anna Tenje (M)
Mr. Speaker! I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for a good debate and the interest that has been aroused from everyone here in the chamber. This is an issue that I would gladly and with great commitment discuss and debate many more times. This is, in fact, very important.
Member of the Government Åsa Eriksson concluded her speech by asking what Försäkringskassan should stop doing. One thing that one as a case officer at Pensionsmyndigheten or Försäkringskassan can definitely stop doing is to, as one has done until now when this government makes various changes, sit in long telephone queues to the Skattemyndigheten to obtain various pieces of information in order to be able to process a case.
This government has, in fact, made many wise decisions. But a very wise decision is that it is now lifting the secrecy between different agencies and ensuring that the agencies can cooperate in a significantly better way and also promoting digitalization to get information faster, easier, and more smoothly. This means that the case officers at Försäkringskassan and Pensionsmyndigheten do not have to sit in a telephone queue to Skattemyndigheten every morning and wait, not for 27 minutes but perhaps 45 minutes, to be able to account for five cases, then hang up and thereafter pick up the phone again and sit in a new telephone queue to Skattemyndigheten.
This is just one of the many new and good ways of working that we from this government are enabling, which will be able to save a lot of money and a lot of human suffering and, above all, ensure that case officers can utilize their resources and their time in a significantly smarter way and help the individual.
With this said, I naturally follow Försäkringskassan's work regarding the economic situation and the economic position very closely. I look forward to following this discussion and debate but, above all, Försäkringskassan's work moving forward.
Source: The Swedish Parliament. The speeches come from the open data of the Riksdag, translated into English by AI, which may contain errors.