Response to interpellation 2023/24:130 on state presence in Härnösand and in the rest of the country
Translated from Swedish by AI; the translation may contain errors. The Swedish text is the original.
Summary AI, written in advance
KD considers that a developed state presence and service throughout the country is important to maintain legitimacy, trust, and promote regional development 1. KD argues that the authorities should take regional conditions and decentralization into account 1. KD emphasizes that the expansion of state service offices, the Swedish Armed Forces' organization, as well as the expansion of the Police Authority and the Prison and Probation Service increases the state presence 1. S argues that the government lacks ambition and a plan for state presence 2. S considers that the government is not taking responsibility for previous decisions regarding relocation to Härnösand 3. S wants the government to be tasked with continuing relocation from the large cities 4. S considers that state presence is an investment to build legitimacy and cohesion 5. S considers that state presence throughout the country is crucial for trust in society 6. S argues that the state should be present so that people feel closer to it 6. S is concerned about the government's ambitions regarding the State Service Center and service offices, especially when cuts occur 6. S considers that efficiency cannot be the only building block in a country that holds together 5. S argues that Sweden deserves a government with genuine ambitions for state presence throughout the country 5.
Written by AI in advance and may contain errors. The numbers lead to the speech a statement builds on; check against the text below.
Statsrådet Erik Slottner (KD)
Madam Speaker! Peder Björk has asked me if I and the government intend to revoke previous decisions regarding the relocation of five years' worth of workplaces to Härnösand within the framework of Sida's activities, and if so, whether I and the government intend to take the initiative to relocate five years' worth of workplaces to Härnösand through a mandate to another agency than Sida. Furthermore, Peder Björk asks about the government's plan to increase the state's presence throughout the country through both new location and relocation of state activities.
Let me begin with the question regarding Sida's activities. On September 30 of this year, Sida submitted a report in connection with a government mandate to review and analyze the possibility of streamlining the agency's educational activities. In the report, Sida points out a need to change the previous mandate to establish corresponding five-year workforces for the educational activities in Härnösand. In these types of questions linked to the location of state agencies, there are different aspects to consider. It is a matter of ensuring that both efficiency and state presence and regional development are taken into account. The Government is preparing the issue and has not yet taken a position on Sida's petition.
Regarding the question of a plan for increased state presence, the government considers a developed state presence and service throughout the country to be important. It contributes to maintaining legitimacy and trust in the state administration. Furthermore, it contributes to fulfilling the goal of regional development policy and improving the conditions for living, working, and residing in the entire country.
The Government proceeds in the governance of the state authorities from the premise that delegation of decisions in employer matters and in matters concerning the internal organization promotes an efficient public administration. The Government simultaneously has a responsibility to oversee the consequences of the individual authorities' decisions for the public administration as a whole.
The government therefore, through various ordinances, sets certain requirements on how the authorities shall handle decisions related to the issue of state presence. The authorities shall, among other things, when appropriate in their operations, take into account regional conditions to the greatest extent possible and consider the possibilities for decentralization when they plan their operations.
In addition to this, the government also follows the developments in the area through various specific assignments. To monitor the distribution of state jobs in the country, the government has, for example, tasked the county administrative boards with reporting on the state presence and services in the counties. The government has also tasked the Swedish Public Employment Service (Arbetsgivarverket) with accounting for changes regarding in which counties the agencies' personnel have been placed during 2018-2022. The background is the government's need to follow the development of where in the country the agencies choose to conduct their operations and locate different functions.
As Minister for Civil Affairs, I am also responsible for the State Service Centre and the state service offices. The state service offices offer agency services for the benefit of citizens and companies all over the country. The operations are currently conducted at 137 service offices, and the expansion of the number of offices is ongoing. I can add that during the year I have been Minister for Civil Affairs, I have inaugurated a number of service offices. At the end of 2024, it is estimated that there will be 147 service offices in the entire country. In addition to the expansion of the number of offices, the operations are also being developed in other ways, through for example an ongoing cooperation with the Swedish Migration Agency and co-location with, among others, Malmö and Örebro municipalities.
I also want to point out, regarding the state presence in the country, that the Armed Forces' organization has been expanded in several places. Furthermore, the Police Authority and the Prison and Probation Service are expanding. This will, among other things, mean more police officers and more places in detention centers and prisons. Taken together, it will lead to new jobs that increase the state presence around the country.
The Government is consequently working continuously on the issue of state presence throughout the country. I assess that the Government has sufficient tools to also in the future be able to make ongoing assessments and follow-ups of the state presence in the country.
Peder Björk (S)
Madam Speaker! "Empty vessels make the most noise" is a proverb that I think in a good way describes the Minister's response to my interpellation but also summarizes the SD government's policy in this area when it comes to state presence and service throughout the country.
It becomes all the more clearly evident when one compares it with how previous S governments have acted politically in this area. In several government statements, prime ministers have raised this issue.
During the 2014-2018 mandate period, there were 21 government decisions regarding relocations. This meant that 900 man-years were moved in a relocation primarily from Stockholm out to the rest of the country. In total, with other expansion of state activities and services, this created 2,000 jobs across the country.
Even during the previous parliamentary term, the Social Democratic government continued this active and offensive policy in the area, among other things by relocating 70 jobs to Härnösand.
It becomes clear that the government has no idea about policy in this area when one looks at the government statement from earlier this autumn. There it stands, Madam Speaker: "The Government Offices is not an ordinary state administrative agency but the very hub for implementing political changes. The government will therefore strengthen the Government Offices' collective reform capacity." One thus has a clear focus on centralization policy when it comes to administrative issues.
My conclusion, Madam Speaker, is that there is no ambition. There is no plan from the SD government when it comes to state presence or service for the whole country.
I think this becomes very clear in the answer to the question on how the Minister views the relocation of jobs to Härnösand. There is no clear answer there as to what the ambition and direction is for the government.
Even in the answer as a whole, I feel that there is no ambition or will from the government when one, at least as I perceive it, refers to two previous assignments that were decided by Social Democratic governments. I am referring to the assignment that has been given to Arbetsgivarverket and the assignment that is given to the county administrative boards.
The question remains after having received the interpellation response. Is there any ambition, any will or any plan from the SD government regarding what is desired concerning the relocation and relocalization of state activities and state jobs?
My question to the Minister is this, Madam Speaker: Does the Minister intend to take any initiative whatsoever to actively work for the relocation of state activities in order to ensure state presence and state service throughout the country?
Peter Hedberg (S)
Madam Speaker! It is interesting to take part in the Minister's response to Peder Björk's interpellation. There is a very large amount of text, and there are a lot of well-intentioned words that it is quite easy to agree with, for example regarding the service centers. But as Peder Björk just pointed out, the answer regarding the situation in just Härnösand is missing.
The Minister points in the response to what Sida has written about efficiency in a report. But he misses that this is a consequence of the government's budget and the government's policy in the area. And finally, the government must actually make a decision.
I recall that during a question period here in the chamber in March this year, I asked Minister Slottner if the government intended to work actively - actively - to relocate and relocate state agencies and bodies throughout the country. I reacted to that then and want to take it up now. The first thing the Minister said in his answer was this: "Agency placements shall be expedient. We cannot see agency placements only as a rural policy measure, but we place agencies where we believe they have the best effect and greatest impact, and then agencies shall be present throughout Sweden."
The Minister pointed out directly, therefore, that placements must be expedient. It is difficult not to agree with that; I also think so. But unfortunately, there are very many of us who know all too well that expediency tends to be synonymous with the Stockholm area in these cases. Therefore, it is unfortunate that this government and the Sverigedemokraterna cannot state a clear ambition in this area.
The National Audit Office pointed out in a report not very long ago that the Social Democratic government's policy in this area had had an effect in many respects, but that there was a great deal that needed to be continued to work on - above all, to steer even more clearly so that the agencies actually establish themselves and are active in the locations where they are to be.
Minister Slottner's representative was very well aware of this. I have no doubts whatsoever that had the Social Democrats remained in government, we would have continued the work with a clearer policy and governance. But when I read this government's response to the National Audit Office's report, I actually find no expressed will to work for new and relocation. By that, I mean an active will to work for the new and relocation of state agencies and authorities.
If I have missed this, I am of course willing to make a correction. In that case, the Minister is more than welcome to inform me, because it is not us who have the power now. It is this government and the Sverigedemokraterna who must take responsibility and govern, if that is what is desired, and that includes Härnösand. It includes the decisions that were previously made because the Social Democratic government said that one would actively establish more state jobs in Härnösand.
If Sida now has to reassess this and go to the government to get new guidance, it will then be relevant for the government to actually answer the questions that Peder Björk asked in the interpellation. Does the government intend to take responsibility for the state jobs in Härnösand that the social democratic government made a decision on?
I suppose I must also repeat the second question for the sake of the matter. Is there any plan for the relocation and relocation of state agencies and authorities throughout the country? I notice when I speak with people who hear about the risks that exist in our homeland that it is actually many who question the state's legitimacy and feel disappointed, so I would really appreciate an answer.
Monica Haider (S)
Madam Speaker! All of Sweden shall live and grow, and the developmental power that exists all around our country shall be strengthened and harnessed. The gaps between people and between city and countryside shall be reduced.
To meet our time's societal challenges, every county must be given the opportunity to develop based on its unique conditions. For Sweden to be able to lead the green industrial revolution and create thousands of new jobs, regional development policy needs to be in harmony with many other policy areas. Not least, a functioning labor and skills supply is another important part of a powerful regional growth policy. The Social Democrats want the government to be tasked to continue the relocation of agencies from the large cities in order to increase efficiency, utilize the expertise in the whole country, and contribute to regional development.
Madam Speaker! In the Swedish National Audit Office's report Establishment of agencies outside Stockholm, one can read about over 4,000 new jobs and several million in lower local costs. These are some of the effects of the government's decision to place agencies outside Stockholm. Despite this, Stockholm's share of the total number of state employees is growing.
The decisions that have been made have added 4,000 new state jobs and preserved 6,000 state jobs outside the Stockholm region between 2004 and 2020. But we see that the government's efforts have not been sufficient to strengthen the state presence outside Stockholm. We must therefore move forward now, which I hope the government does.
During the previous parliamentary term, all parties in this chamber were in agreement regarding this – that we need to relocate agencies from Stockholm to other parts of the country. I see no clear answer to that question from this government in the materials I have looked at.
The Social Democratic government relocated approximately 2,000 state jobs. In the Parliamentary Rural Committee, we noted that more than 10,000 state jobs had moved from the Stockholm region over a ten-year period. Now it is time to continue relocating jobs out into the country. This is truly important. It is about important jobs but also about the service that the state agencies offer. It should actually exist throughout the entire country. But we saw in the National Audit Office's report that it is actually also cheaper.
My question to the Minister is: Will this government continue with the relocation from Stockholm to the whole country, or will it be like with the Payment Authority, which also ended up in Stockholm?
Hanna Westerén (S)
Madam Speaker! I want to start by thanking my colleague Peder Björk for raising such an incredibly important area. I think it is important that we have many initiatives where it is raised that we need a country that holds together, from east to west and from north to south.
In the government's response, the concept of legitimacy is mentioned. That concept can be said to be the reason why I so gladly want to participate in this debate today. As a Social Democrat, I see with great sadness how the trust between people is decreasing in Sweden today, as well as the trust in authorities.
The difference between city and country is increasing. That the state exists in the entire country, preferably with more presence than just in the form of Systembolaget, is extremely important for the cohesion in our country. But it obviously also has great significance for the labor market and regional development, to name just a few factors.
Madam Speaker! I represent Gotland, a clearly geographically delimited part of Sweden, which so far actually has a high state presence, with a diversified state family. I mean that this is of benefit for Gotland, but at least as much for Sweden as a country. State presence throughout the country is a sensationally profitable investment for those who seriously want to build legitimacy and want to build a country that holds together, where trust is great, both in times of peace and in times of unrest.
I also hear, Madam Speaker, that the Minister means that we who have received reinforcements on the state side within the framework of the police and the Armed Forces should be very satisfied with that. I can assure you that the united Gotland views very positively that the previous government took note of Gotland's strategic position and re-established the Armed Forces on Gotland.
I am, however, of the opinion that the investment in, for example, the Armed Forces on Gotland is significantly facilitated by the fact that the state family is strong there. In addition, state establishments are also facilitated by the fact that there is experience of other state establishments in the locations.
It is a wordy answer from the Minister, and yet I lack the actual ambition when it comes to state presence throughout the country. What is the goal?
I have raised what state presence entails on Gotland, but I am genuinely worried. When I ask another representative for the SD government about Gotland's role in the total defense, one drifts away from the target. On both the municipal and regional side, Gotland is heavily disadvantaged, and the Gotlandic welfare is heavily underfunded.
Then I am thinking once again about this matter of building legitimacy, a society that holds together, trust between people but also people's trust in authorities. Therefore, I want to ask once again what level of ambition the SD-government has when it comes to the state presence throughout the country. How worried should I be as a representative for Gotland? How worried should I be that there will soon be cuts and relocations? Efficiency cannot be the only building block in a country that holds together. It simply is not enough.
I think that Sweden deserves so incredibly much better, but I also believe that Sweden benefits from a government with proper, genuine ambitions when it comes to state presence throughout the entire country. Those ambitions are conspicuous by their absence in the Council of State's response.
Eva Lindh (S)
Madam Speaker! Thank you, Peder Björk, for asking the question, and thank you, the Minister, for the answer!
Why is it so incredibly important for us Social Democrats to have a state presence throughout the entire country? Several of my colleagues have meritiously described this. It is about trust, about confidence in our society, and about ensuring that people out in the country do not feel that Sweden is only about Stockholm. Some people may scoff at this, but it is very seriously crucial. If the state is there, it also feels as if one is closer and can take part in it.
I want to focus on an issue that the Minister also raises in his answer, namely the Statens servicecenter and the service offices. This has been expanded significantly. It was also an explicit ambition from our previous Social Democratic government. It has been about both getting more offices out in the country and about developing the content.
Now we are concerned. What is happening with this? Above all, we want to know what the ambition is. When the savings in the government administration amount to 1.1 billion, 1 percent, it corresponds to approximately 90 positions for the service offices and Statens servicecenter. That might not sound like much, but when it concerns just this activity, it is a lot.
The question, then, is: What ambitions does the government have regarding the state presence, even when it concerns the Statens servicecenter and the service offices? They are important for people out there. How is this to be developed now when cuts are occurring? Will it only be about the cheese slicer, that is, reductions? Will we see that this affects the expansion? Will it mean that one does not develop so that more agencies perhaps can be present at these offices? What are the government's intentions, and what ambitions does it have? I would very much like to get answers to that in this debate.
Source: The Swedish Parliament. The speeches come from the open data of the Riksdag, translated into English by AI, which may contain errors.