Response to interpellation 2023/24:110 on the municipalities' role within labor market policy
Translated from Swedish by AI; the translation may contain errors. The Swedish text is the original.
Summary AI, written in advance
1 L argues that the state has the primary responsibility for labor market policy through Arbetsförmedlingen, which shall cooperate with municipalities 1. L emphasizes that municipalities have an important role through adult education and social services, but that regulations can limit their opportunities as providers 1. L wants to maximize taxpayers' money and ensure high quality when municipalities want to receive money from Arbetsförmedlingen to create empowerment and freedom through education or work 2. 3 S argues that municipalities are a central resource for integration and that it is inconceivable that Arbetsförmedlingen rejects their efforts 3. S argues that municipalities should be able to act as providers of services 3.
Written by AI in advance and may contain errors. The numbers lead to the speech a statement builds on; check against the text below.
Arbetsmarknads- och integrationsministern Johan Pehrson (L)
Madam Speaker! Serkan Köse has asked me how I intend to clarify the municipalities' role within the labor market policy.
The State, through Arbetsförmedlingen, is responsible for ensuring that the labor market policy functions throughout the country. Arbetsförmedlingen has at its disposal a range of labor market policy measures carried out by providers, municipalities, employers, and non-profit actors, or under the agency's own management, as well as measures carried out in collaboration.
Arbetsförmedlingen shall strive to take advantage of the qualities that a diversity of providers can contribute to the labor market policy activities. It appears from Arbetsförmedlingen's instructions that the authority shall cooperate with municipalities. This is about providing individual job seekers with purposeful support and, on an overall level, facilitating planning, coordination, and design of support to job seekers. Furthermore, Arbetsförmedlingen shall cooperate with a number of actors for various purposes, including skills supply and work-oriented rehabilitation.
The municipalities have an important role within the labor market policy and carry out measures and activities that in various ways facilitate job seekers' entry into the labor market, for example, municipal adult education and social services. In the labor market policy area, the municipalities may also, after agreement with Arbetsförmedlingen, organize activities for participants in labor market policy measures. Agreements on activities for participants in labor market policy measures may include compensation from Arbetsförmedlingen to the municipality.
According to the procurement regulations, there are no obstacles for municipalities to participate in Arbetsförmedlingen's procurements or as suppliers in choice systems. However, there may be other regulations and conditions that in practice prevent municipalities from being suppliers to Arbetsförmedlingen, for example, municipal or competition legislation. It is the authority that is responsible for its procurements and for ensuring that suppliers meet the conditions.
The municipalities' possibilities to provide services to Arbetsförmedlingen in exchange for compensation within the framework of an agreement can also be limited by rules on state aid and competition legislation. Furthermore, Arbetsförmedlingen's possibilities to cooperate with municipalities are limited by the fact that agreements entered into after procurement must be followed.
The legal conditions for municipalities as providers of services for Arbetsförmedlingen have been investigated in a government commission, and certain clarifications have been made in the legislation.
Furthermore, Arbetsförmedlingen has assessed in a position paper that there may be limitations regarding the possibility of reaching financial agreements with municipalities. This is partly because, for example, rules on state aid need to be followed, and partly because such agreements must not compete with services that have been procured.
Both municipalities and civil society actors can contribute in important ways in the implementation of the labor market policy, not least for job seekers with complex needs for support. Cooperation between Arbetsförmedlingen and these actors must therefore function well. I will follow this closely. I want to emphasize that it is Arbetsförmedlingen as the responsible authority that must assess what is possible and appropriate based on current legislation.
Serkan Köse (S)
Madam Speaker! Thank you, Minister, for the answer!
In step with the rapid pace of digitalization, structural transformations in the business sector and the emerging green industrial revolution, we have an increasing skills shortage in our country, which means that the Swedish labor market faces a rapid transformation. At the same time, the gap between available jobs and the skills of the workforce is growing, a situation exacerbated by the pandemic.
These challenges require an active and forward-looking labor market policy, a priority that unfortunately seems to be lacking with Johan Pehrson and the Tidö parties.
Madam Speaker! The role of the municipalities is becoming increasingly important in this context. With their local expertise, they are a central resource for the integration and inclusion of those who are far from the labor market. It is inconceivable that Arbetsförmedlingen, despite this, rejects the municipalities' labor market policy initiatives and instead plans to use procured services for work training and reinforced work training. We believe that municipalities and non-profit organizations have great potential to help more people enter the labor market.
Madam Speaker! On 21 November 2019, the Social Democratic-led government initiated an investigation to clarify the legal conditions for the municipalities' possibility to act as providers of labor market services for Arbetsförmedlingen.
The investigation states that municipalities can and should be providers of labor market services for Arbetsförmedlingen in accordance with current legislation such as LOU and LOV.
This assessment was supported by Arbetsförmedlingen in its statement to the government. Nevertheless, we now see a paradoxical situation where Arbetsförmedlingen questions the municipalities' possibilities to offer these services for compensation despite the procurement legislation not being seen as an obstacle.
It is not about the municipalities competing with independent actors, but about the municipalities complementing them and Arbetsförmedlingen where independent actors are not present. A cooperation where the municipalities can collaborate effectively with state agencies to improve the situation for job seekers, I believe, is crucial, Madam Speaker.
It should be ensured that Arbetsförmedlingen and the municipalities have a common objective and that the municipalities can utilize their potential as a resource in Arbetsförmedlingen. We need to remove the uncertainty surrounding the municipalities' role and ensure that they can contribute to effective matching.
In view of this, I ask you, Minister Johan Pehrson: What is your answer to Sveriges Kommuner och Regioner regarding the municipalities' role in labor market policy? Will the municipalities be given the opportunity to offer interventions for those who are furthest from the labor market, and will they receive financial compensation from Arbetsförmedlingen for this work?
Arbetsmarknads- och integrationsministern Johan Pehrson (L)
Madam Speaker! This is difficult. There are very many people who, for various reasons, stand far from the labor market. It can be young people who have had a bad start in life. It can be people who, in adulthood, have been struck by misfortune or mental illness or ended up in problems with substance abuse. For various reasons, they are a part of the care system.
The municipalities are responsible for their citizens, no one else. On the other hand, the state is responsible for the labor market policy. For over 20 years, a cooperation has been ongoing between municipalities but also regions and Arbetsförmedlingen to best ensure that no citizens fall through the cracks, but also that no citizens should be affected by double work because one does not know what the other actor is doing.
One is registered with Arbetsförmedlingen only when one is available to the labor market. It is no use trying to mediate a job to someone who is not available to the labor market. But this is a borderline, a gray zone that is difficult to handle. These are people who, for various reasons, have been affected by not having much self-determination. They do not quite have the strength to do what otherwise leads to self-determination, that is to say, to obtain an education and go to a job. Then one can change jobs – if one does not think the first job is the best job, one can make enormous leaps, so to speak, during one's professional life to get where one wants or dreams of.
We have our eyes on this from the government's side. We are aware of this situation, where Sveriges Kommuner och Regioner are clear that they feel they should be able to do a bit more. We also have a dialogue with Arbetsförmedlingen to see how this can be made more efficient.
However, it must be remembered that this is part of what we talked about in the previous interpellation debate – that Statskontoret should scrutinize whether Arbetsförmedlingen is sufficiently efficient. It has agreements with almost all municipalities in Sweden, and that is a good start. That was not the case when I took office, but now we have pushed for it. Now one begins to see that there are established channels.
Then, as is often the case in a collaboration, both parties think that the other should do more. I have respect for that, but now we are going to drive this forward.
We have from the government's side the large project which is about how we shall get more to move from benefits, vulnerability and lack of empowerment to work and empowerment. It is a freedom reform, if we succeed with this, which is enormous for the individuals and an enormous strength for Sweden as a whole.
But it will take a little while to investigate all of this in order to strengthen the incentives for work and self-sufficiency when we are to reform the social security support. It is benefit ceilings. We have also recently issued directives that the situation between the municipalities and the Public Employment Service must be optimized. I promise Serkan Köse that this issue will be addressed according to the additional directives that I or we presented the other day.
Serkan Köse (S)
Madam Speaker! Thank you, Minister, for the answer!
Again: Arbetsförmedlingens cooperation with the municipalities is crucial for more people to get work, which is also clearly stated in the agency's regulation.
The agency's mandate is not limited to only mediating jobs but also includes ensuring effective cooperation with municipalities to improve support for job seekers.
The previous Social Democratic government's regulatory letter for 2022 emphasized the importance of this cooperation and that a strategic and operational collaboration is crucial to guarantee high-quality support measures. Arbetsförmedlingen's operational plan for 2023 underlines the importance of agreements with the municipalities, especially for those who are far from the labor market and those in socioeconomically vulnerable areas.
By August 2023, Arbetsförmedlingen had entered into agreements with 279 municipalities, which marks a significant step forward. Let me state that this is a result of the decommissioned Delegation for young people and newcomers to work and nothing else. The new cooperation model has created stronger and more predictable cooperation routines.
Madam Speaker! The Government must now clarify the municipalities' role as providers of labor market policy services. The investigation on municipalities' involvement, which I mentioned in my previous intervention, has established that municipalities can act as providers under current rules but pointed out the need for certain regulatory changes. The referral bodies, including Arbetsförmedlingen, have welcomed this possibility on the condition that equal treatment according to procurement law principles is maintained.
Sveriges Kommuner och Regioner and TCO have also given their views. SKR proposes an investigation into the municipalities' possibilities to take on a coordinating and equipping mandate.
This shows that the municipalities should be a powerful actor within the labor market policy. Their work in cooperation with Arbetsförmedlingen has shown progress, but it is vital that this work continues to be developed and that we see real improvements in people's lives as a result of this work.
Madam Speaker! I ask the Minister again: How does the government intend to continue to support and develop the cooperation between Arbetsförmedlingen and the municipalities in order to further strengthen the labor market's function and to provide better support to those who are far from work?
Arbetsmarknads- och integrationsministern Johan Pehrson (L)
Madam Speaker! I appreciate the acknowledgment from Serkan Köse that this is complex. We are talking about fragile and vulnerable people who have a hard life, significantly harder than I myself and, I guess, Serkan Köse have. One should feel great humility in the face of this.
One must also feel great humility in the face of the fact that it is difficult to find the important balance between providing opportunities and support and setting reasonable demands that people ultimately have the responsibility to themselves contribute effort to their own change.
Within the municipal labor market units that exist today, a cooperation with Arbetsförmedlingen has been conducted for decades. However, we have seen that it could be improved, and Serkan Köse is on that point as spokesperson for both the Socialdemokraterna and SKR. SKR has, in fact, been clear about exactly what Serkan Köse says here: It must become easier for the municipalities to become a labor market policy actor.
It doesn't sound so bad, and I meet so many capable municipalities, from north to south, from east to west. But all investigations from IFAU indicate that it does not look as strong everywhere. We must maintain requirements for quality and efficiency, and therefore I assume that the Social Democrats stand firm that the main responsibility for labor market policy shall be state-run, especially in today's situation when we in the chamber discuss mobility and people's prerequisites to change in life and perhaps move within the country, for example from the southern half of the country to Västerbotten and Norrbotten, where an enormous transition is taking place.
I am humble before this, and we have, for example, worked on removing the secrecy between the municipalities and Arbetsförmedlingen to achieve a freer flow so that nothing is over-processed and no one falls between the cracks.
We have a great focus on this issue. The investigation was commissioned by the previous government, and it is the same people who are working in the department's non-political division now. It is these capable civil servants who largely are behind keeping Sweden running, and they make no other assessment in this matter. I do, however, maintain a dialogue with both SKR and Arbetsförmedlingen on how one can get out of this situation.
When it concerns people who are far from the labor market, all activities, regardless of who operates them – "rusta och matcha" actors, internship placements, Samhall or municipal adult education – aim for the individual to gain the strength to take responsibility for their own life, participate in an education and then be able to start their first job. It does not have to be the best job; that can come later. But one must go to a job, because it creates empowerment and freedom for the individual.
Serkan Köse (S)
Madam Speaker! I thank the Minister for the answer.
Let me underline that we Social Democrats are very clear that labor market policy shall be a state responsibility. The question is not about that, but about what the municipalities can contribute to an active labor market policy. Municipalities should not compete with independent actors but be a complement and supplement them and Arbetsförmedlingen where there is a need. That is what we are talking about.
Let me also be clear that the state, through Arbetsförmedlingen, has an extensive responsibility to ensure that the labor market policy is effective throughout the country, which Johan Pehrson also mentions. With a number of different labor market policy measures carried out by many different parties, such as municipalities and organizations in civil society, it is important that the agency ensures that the unique contributions these different providers and actors can offer are valued. This is what we are discussing here. The municipalities' work to facilitate job seekers' path to jobs is very important.
Again: Cooperation between Arbetsförmedlingen and the municipalities is crucial for creating a proactive and forward-looking labor market policy. Collaboration with civil society actors is also important, especially for those job seekers who need combined forms of support.
It is positive that the government will follow this closely, and I expect the Arbetsförmedlingen to continue to deepen and broaden the cooperation with other actors. The efficiency of Arbetsförmedlingen's process can be significantly improved through the municipalities' active engagement, which in turn can increase individuals' opportunities to find a job. Additionally, we must address the legal and practical challenges that exist in order to fully utilize this potential, and here Johan Pehrson has a responsibility.
Arbetsmarknads- och integrationsministern Johan Pehrson (L)
Madam Speaker! Yes, as Minister for Employment and Integration, I am responsible for the legislation. I am responsible for which ordinances the government chooses to change based on the legislation and the constitution we have regarding how the realm shall be governed. It also appears from that, regardless of the government, it is the authorities that execute based on budget, instructions, regulatory letters, legislation, and ordinances.
This is a question that has been more or less on the table during the many changes that Arbetsförmedlingen has undergone over the years. I have no other intention than for this to function as effectively and well as possible.
Principles of generality, equality, and equal treatment also apply between municipalities in the exercise of authority and legislation. One must be careful with the taxpayers' money, and when the municipalities to a greater extent want money from Arbetsförmedlingen for important activities they perform to a higher extent than what they currently experience is possible with the decisions Arbetsförmedlingen has given, it is important that this activity maintains high quality. We have the additional directive, the reform of the social assistance, and the contribution ceiling. But we also specifically highlight the question of how we maximize the taxpayers' money in the solidary effort for people who in different ways have been affected by life's misfortunes. How do we design better help and support for them to give them the strength to themselves be able to take responsibility through education or new work?
Madam Speaker! I am quite certain that I will return to this issue, not least with Member Serkan Köse.
Source: The Swedish Parliament. The speeches come from the open data of the Riksdag, translated into English by AI, which may contain errors.