Response to interpellation 2023/24:181 on the coordination of the transition study support
Translated from Swedish by AI; the translation may contain errors. The Swedish text is the original.
Summary AI, written in advance
The debate concerns the coordination of the transition study support and how the government handles the administration of the reform. L argues that the government is introducing the support according to the agreement and that the coordination takes place through the Government Offices' usual processes 1. L emphasizes that the government is now taking measures by injecting more money into CSN and working with regulatory simplifications 2. L underlines that the reform is important for the individual and for welfare 3 4. S believes that the government is shrugging off responsibility and that CSN is overburdened 5. S argues that the government should give clearer mandates to other agencies, such as Försäkringskassan, and provide them with more resources 5 6. S demands concrete mandates and wants a closer dialogue with the opposition 5 7.
Written by AI in advance and may contain errors. The numbers lead to the speech a statement builds on; check against the text below.
Utbildningsministern Mats Persson (L)
Mr. Speaker! Niklas Sigvardsson has asked me if I can give clear examples of assignments given to other departments and agencies regarding the implementation of the transition study support. Niklas Sigvardsson has also asked me how I will work to ensure that coordination takes place more effectively in the future so that the entire main agreement does not risk its credibility.
The government is introducing the transition study support precisely in the way that was announced in the bill Flexibility, transition capability and security in the labor market (prop. 2021/22:176) which was adopted by the Riksdag with a large majority. The bill, in turn, is based on the agreement reached with the parties. The government is now continuously monitoring how the reform is implemented and has a close dialogue with both the parties and the relevant authorities regarding how the implementation is proceeding.
The transition study support is part of a larger transition package for long-term improved flexibility, transition capability, and security in the labor market. This work concerns several departments within the Government Offices. The work on it, as well as the coordination, takes place within the framework of the Government Offices' usual preparatory process and not via special assignments.
Regarding the tasks of the relevant authorities in the administration of the support, it follows, among other things, from the Act (2022:856) on transition study support. CSN is designated there as the responsible authority for the support. CSN has previously been tasked with preparing the introduction of the reform itself. The assignment included having a coordinating role for the authorities' preparatory efforts concerning the transition study support.
CSN should, in its coordinating role, specifically cooperate with Försäkringskassan and Skatteverket. As the responsible authority, CSN continues to cooperate with the relevant authorities. That an authority shall cooperate with other authorities within its area of operation also follows from the Administrative Procedure Act (2017:900).
Niklas Sigvardsson (S)
Mr. Speaker! Thank you, Minister for Education Mats Persson, for the answer! It is not the first time that I and the Minister for Education have debated this question here in the chamber. Sometimes the tone has been high, sometimes more deliberative. I intend that we shall go with the latter today, to remind ourselves that both our parties and the government agree that the support should function as well as possible for the thousands of individuals who apply. That is the starting point.
I have on several occasions submitted interpellations and written questions to the Minister for Education regarding this work, for we both know that it has not become as good as we had hoped it would be from the beginning. In the interpellation I submitted, I quote one of the answers that the Minister for Education gave to a written question from me on August 15: "The work within the government is distributed such that it is I, as Minister for Education, who is responsible for questions concerning student financing. The transition student support, however, affects several departments and the work with it takes place within the framework of the Government Offices' usual preparatory process."
In the answer we have heard here today, I think the minister is somewhat shrugging off the responsibility and placing it very heavily on CSN. CSN has a clear mandate to coordinate agencies and carry out the work with the transition study support. They are doing their utmost. But when it does not work as well as we want, the government and the Minister for Education actually need to do something about it. Here, the government can use different tools. One can use its regulatory letter. One can use its budget process.
The government has unfortunately not chosen to use the budget to the extent that we in the Social Democrats have desired. We have already allocated more money in our amendment budget, and the autumn amendment budget is here now. These are funds that CSN requested for the current year. The government has chosen to inject parts of the money that CSN would have needed for the coming years, 2024 and 2025, to cope with the volume of applications. It is about both future applications and about handling the applications that have come in historically.
Right now, there are over 45,000 unique individuals who have applied for the support. The number of applications is over 70,000, which means that several individuals have had to apply time and again because the administration is not functioning. We Social Democrats believe that the government can do more. One could have appointed a coordinator. One could have given clearer assignments, not only to CSN but also to Försäkringskassan. That is why I am requesting specifically how other agencies and other departments have worked with these issues.
The Minister for Education has clearly stated that it is he who is responsible for issues regarding student financing and thus the transition student support, and therefore I think the Minister for Education could account more concretely for which other assignments or directives have been given to others than CSN via regulatory letters or budget decisions so that we can truly succeed as well as possible with this reform. It is, after all, what we all want.
Utbildningsministern Mats Persson (L)
Mr. Speaker! Thank you to Niklas Sigvardsson for the interpellation! The Government is now taking a number of different measures to improve the transition study support. Firstly, more money is being allocated to CSN so that they can have more case officers working on administering the support. That is the first thing that is happening.
The second – which is at least equally important, or more important – is that work is being done to implement a number of regulatory simplifications. The Government recently tasked CSN with providing proposals, and that is something the agency is working on. This means that we will return later with different types of measures to simplify and improve the system so that it goes faster for the individual to receive a notification on whether they are entitled to the support.
Simplifications and more money are important measures that the government is now taking so that the transition student grant will function better.
Niklas Sigvardsson (S)
Mr. Speaker! I note that the Minister for Education once again chooses not to answer which assignments other agencies have received. We should perhaps be honest and say that it is primarily about Försäkringskassan, which there are some problems with.
I visited CSN's office in Gävle myself. It is one of the three offices that are working intensively with the processing of the transition study support. I had the privilege of doing that on October 27. At that time, recruitment was in full swing to start the third office, that is, the one in Lund. The other one that is already up and running is in Visby. Visby, Gävle, and Lund are the places in Sweden where we work with the issue.
When I met with the case officers and was able to participate as an observer and hear the applicants' reactions, it struck me that there is still very much left to do, even between authorities. But when this has been ongoing for over a year, the government needs to act as the responsible party.
It is about concrete measures. For example, case officers are sitting in a queue of over an hour at CSN to get in contact by telephone with Försäkringskassan. I do not think the minister thinks it is reasonable that we should spend processing time sitting in telephone queues between agencies.
This is not something that will be addressed in what the Minister is talking about regarding regulatory simplification. It is about how we can coordinate between authorities. Obviously, it is not working, as Försäkringskassan is also under severe pressure because the administrative grants are not being increased there to the extent that would have been needed, just as for CSN. Something needs to be done. We Social Democrats choose to give the authorities more resources, so that they can work on the issue in a better way.
It is interesting that the Minister mentioned the rule simplifications that CSN has been tasked to work out now during the autumn. CSN actually presented these rule simplifications a week ago. I have tried with great effort to find out what the government and the Minister for Education have to say regarding these rule simplifications. Now the Minister for Education mentioned that the government will get back regarding what it thinks. But this is perhaps the hottest issue in the last year within the area of student financing. The Minister will be given a moment in the debate to get back to what the government thinks about the rule simplifications that CSN presents.
It has been over a week. When I speak with various party representatives, they wish for answers on how the deciding assemblies will act in light of these proposals, which involve both regulatory changes and legislative changes. The Minister for Education can answer that in his next contribution.
Utbildningsministern Mats Persson (L)
Mr. Speaker! We have an ongoing dialogue with the parties in this issue from the government's side. We have continuous dialogues where we jointly take responsibility for this reform, so that it becomes exactly as intended. As many people as possible who have the right to receive the support shall also receive it, so that more people can transition in the middle of their lives.
This is a very important reform - and a very modern reform, I would say - which creates opportunities for people to further their education and get a new career in the middle of life. It is good for the individual, good for the welfare system and good for the business sector that we have this model. It is very important. Therefore, we have this constant ongoing dialogue with the parties about how we should handle those types of questions.
Mr. Speaker! CSN's feedback on this assignment regarding which regulatory simplifications are desirable to implement is something that is being analyzed within the Government Offices. We will return when that analysis is complete and then present a way forward. We will, of course, do this in close and constant dialogue with the parties in the labor market.
Niklas Sigvardsson (S)
Mr. Speaker! This is, as has been said, an extremely important reform in order to be able to strengthen Sweden as a knowledge nation and contribute to lifelong learning. In this, we Social Democrats will be a constructive party. We wish that the government also involves the opposition in a clearer way, because here there are opportunities for us as a country to lead the way, show decisiveness and show that we do things together.
That is why these constantly recurring interpellation debates and written questions in this area become a bit frustrating; it is a reform that we have jointly voted for in this chamber and that we have jointly worked out - we in this chamber together with the parties, both the unions and the employers. It is very important that we continue this close dialogue, but a close dialogue was also needed between the government and the opposition in the Riksdag chamber.
I did not sit in this chamber before this mandate period, but I know that the issue was well-anchored among the parties in the Riksdag before the decision. It was to be a long-term and credible agreement as the basis for the world's best transition system for adults. Therefore, we simply want this to be implemented as well as possible.
We will have to hold our horses a bit more while waiting for the Government Offices to finish analyzing what CSN's regulatory simplifications will lead to in terms of practical application in reality. But I hope we get a prompt handling. All those over 45,000 individuals who have applied in the system and who are waiting for a decision so they can transition and further develop themselves in the future deserve it.
Utbildningsministern Mats Persson (L)
Mr. Speaker! I thank Niklas Sigvardsson for an excellent interpellation debate and for his important commitment to the issue. This is an important reform that we have a great responsibility to manage in the best possible way.
Now we see that the number of case officers at CSN is becoming larger and that they manage to handle ever more cases. It is important, because there are many people who want to be a part of this reform to improve their lives, get an opportunity to change mid-life and use the opportunity that now exists to educate themselves, test their wings and try something new. It is a great strength for Sweden that we have this model. Now we must ensure that it happens in the very best way.
When the reform was implemented, everyone knew that it is complicated, that it has had a very tight schedule and that one problem or another would arise initially, which it also has. Now we all have a common responsibility to ensure that we handle these problems and solve them, so that all the people who have the right to receive support can also receive support.
Source: The Swedish Parliament. The speeches come from the open data of the Riksdag, translated into English by AI, which may contain errors.