Response to interpellation 2023/24:198 on the consequences of storm Babet on the southern coast of Scania
Translated from Swedish by AI; the translation may contain errors. The Swedish text is the original.
Summary AI, written in advance
KD claims that the government does not distinguish between different counties when it comes to support for managing the aftermath of extraordinary weather events 1 2 3. KD emphasizes that Trafikverket is responsible for the state road network and that they are working on repairs 1. KD also states that the government has proposed an investment of 100 million kronor annually for reinforced road maintenance of private roads 1. S argues that the government treats similar events in different counties differently, as in Dalarna the damages were described as an extraordinary event of special magnitude while this was not done for Skåne 4 5 6. S believes that the government should be stringent in its handling 5 6.
Written by AI in advance and may contain errors. The numbers lead to the speech a statement builds on; check against the text below.
Landsbygdsministern Peter Kullgren (KD)
Madam Speaker! I have been asked for what reasons the government makes a distinction between Dalarnas län and southern Skåne when it comes to the assessment of support to manage the aftermath of extraordinary weather events.
There is a short and simple answer to Adrian Magnusson's question. The government does not make a distinction between different counties.
Just as I answered Adrian Magnusson in his written question 2023/24:197 regarding the consequences of storm Babet on the southern coast of Scania, the government is aware of the effects of the storms that have hit different parts of the country recently and that these can be difficult to manage for municipalities, businesses, and individuals.
Trafikverket is responsible for the state road network and has the mandate and resources required to carry out necessary maintenance and repairs. The road leading to Kåseberga harbor is a state road and is therefore Trafikverket's responsibility. According to information from the agency, they are working to repair the damages that have occurred.
Trafikverket is also responsible for processing state grants for private road maintenance. Private road maintainers who receive operating grants can also apply for grants for specific operating measures from Trafikverket. These specific operating measures could, for example, concern measures to restore damaged roads. In the budget bill for 2024, the Government has proposed an investment of 100 million kronor per year during 2024 and 2025 for reinforced road maintenance of private roads.
The responsibility for preparedness and the responsibility for adaptations lie with the municipalities. But even here, the state is active. The state supports, through among others the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency, MSB, and the county administrative boards, municipalities in both the acute situation and the preventive work. MSB, for example, produces extensive documentation that can serve as decision support for the municipalities, such as flood mapping. Furthermore, the county administrative boards shall be coordinating for crisis preparedness within their geographical area and, before, during, and after a crisis, act for coordination and common direction of the measures that need to be taken.
Adrian Magnusson (S)
Madam Speaker! I thank Minister Kullgren for the answer.
Storm Babet, which we are discussing here today, swept through Skåne several weeks ago, specifically during the last weekend in October. It took with it fishing huts, trees, and roads, both inland and out into the sea. A concrete example is the road down to Kåseberga harbor, a popular tourist destination year-round and a place with restaurants and smokehouses, which was undermined so severely that it simply had to be closed. The risk was that otherwise it would have collapsed into the water and thereby caused injuries to people.
I can be honest: I do not expect a government consisting of market liberals to stand up and say that the state should fix this. I do not expect them to believe that the state should intervene first and support people and companies that have had property damaged and see incomes lost. I do not expect that; I understand that it is not the first, third, or fifth thought passing through the minds of market liberals.
When I initially asked about the possibility of support regarding this type of incident, which hit people and businesses in my home regions, I had no hopes that any large package would come. But because I know that the issue is so important for many back home, I asked anyway.
Madam Speaker! Judge, therefore, my surprise when, after having received the Minister's answer to my written question, I see that his colleague the Minister for Civil Defence went home to Dalarna after the storm caused damage there - and not only went there, Madam Speaker, but also promised special support to Dalarna. There, roads had collapsed and been washed away, much like in my part of the country, namely Skåne. If it has not emerged that similar circumstances have prevailed there, I have not quite made my point clear.
Madam Speaker! In the beginning of his answer here, the Minister asserted with emphasis that no distinction is made between different counties and that the same line applies from the government in this matter, regardless of whether it concerns Dalarnas län, Skåne län, or – I assume – Värmlands län. But let me read aloud from Mora Tidning's reporting on the Minister for Civil Defence's visit to Rättvik a few weeks ago, after the storm Hans's passage there.
"These are naturally damages of a magnitude and character that are not included in the ordinary work," said the minister after having inspected the damages in Dalarna. "From the state's side, the Minister for Infrastructure has said that Trafikverket is reallocating funds so that road associations can apply for repair assistance, because these are naturally damages of a magnitude and character that are not included in the ordinary work."
Not a word was said about this in the Minister for Rural Affairs' response. Apparently, the damages in Dalarnas län were of a particular magnitude and character, but when roads are washed away in Skåne, the damages are of some other character. It is incomprehensible, to put it in a somewhat diplomatic tone.
There is also no announcement regarding whether there will be an opportunity to apply for any redistributed support. Regarding the question of whether a certain support could cover damages of this nature, it is instead thin phrases such as could, possibly, and if one makes a very extensive interpretation of the regulations – something in that direction.
Madam Speaker! The road in Kåseberga is only one example, even if it may be the absolute worst and clearest. It is not the only road in southern Skåne that was damaged when storm Babet swept through, but other roads have also taken a beating. Some footpaths and cycle paths have become the sea's prey, and as I mentioned earlier, fishing huts were washed straight out into the sea.
I had, as I said, not expected any extensive state interventionist package from a government that has market liberalism as some kind of guiding principle, but I had at least expected a consistency in the government's line.
Landsbygdsministern Peter Kullgren (KD)
Madam Speaker! A statement does not become truer just because one repeats it. The Government does not make a distinction between counties and counties.
The work is underway. Trafikverket - I do not think I need to inform the member that Trafikverket is part of the state, if that was what the member hung up on in the Minister for Civil Defence's statement - is underway with the work to repair the damages. There is no date today for when the work will be finished. It is affected by weather conditions, and since the work takes place in a water-adjacent environment, high requirements are placed on the execution.
According to the authority itself, the road is open on weekdays for transport to business activities, and on weekends the road is open for everyone - both business activities and the general public. During Christmas, from and including December 12, a pause in the work is taken and the road is opened for car traffic, with limited accessibility, every day of the week.
Does Adrian Magnusson think that the authority is not making an effort to help and adapt to the business sector? What more does the member expect?
Adrian Magnusson (S)
Madam Speaker! I appreciate that the Minister has looked into the issue of the road to Kåseberga harbor so much, which was the central point of my interpellation.
I can only state the facts, for example that different terms are used to describe the events. In Dalarna, it was an extraordinary event of particular magnitude, and that was apparently not the case in Skåne. One has apparently found a support that could be redistributed specifically to Dalarna, I can read that, but that has not been done when it comes to Skåne.
It is therefore just a cold statement of an objective fact: There are differences in how the different counties are treated in this case. The language used is different, and there are differences in what is actually being done. I do not doubt Trafikverket's efforts, but there is a difference in how the government treats these two issues.
I hope that we do not see a development in some kind of American direction, where Southern state senators in the 60s went home to their constituencies and promised a little extra support here and a little extra support there. They made sure to get as much money as possible to their own constituencies. I hope that is not the development we are seeing. Now, I have admittedly understood that the money in Dalarna perhaps has not been paid out directly to the extent that was promised - sometimes that is the case with the government that it does not keep its word. But regardless of this, it cannot be the intention that different counties should receive completely different messages.
It is unfortunately not the first time that the government and Christian Democratic ministers have made a different assessment of Skåne County. We have the example where, early after taking office, the government decided to pause the expansion of the four-track line between Hässleholm and Lund. After a year, however, it was concluded that that track would probably be expanded anyway, so it was decided to do so in any case. Ebba Busch also dismissed our Moderate region chairman's invitation to discuss the electricity crisis as coffee drinking and asked an elderly lady in Trelleborg who wanted to talk about gas support to instead contact the municipality.
It is therefore obvious that similar incidents have been judged differently in different counties. One can, as has been said, speculate on the reasons. I read today about an investigation of swine fever in my home municipality, Ystad. Now, fortunately, it was not swine fever, I want to assure you. Had it been that, I would have been deeply concerned about how the government's handling of this would have looked in Skåne County.
I simply think that the government should ensure that it sticks to its line. I have no problem with having a line, but one cannot have a line where different ministers give different statements regarding the same circumstances. I do not think that is acceptable. I therefore urge the government to be stringent in its handling of these types of issues and not give different statements to different counties.
Landsbygdsministern Peter Kullgren (KD)
Madam Speaker! I can only state that the government does not make a distinction between counties and counties.
Otherwise, I perceive mostly insinuations from the member's side. I therefore do not see that there was any further question to be addressed.
Adrian Magnusson (S)
Madam Speaker! We can well hope that no swine fever breaks out in Skåne or that any other similar incident occurs, for then I would be concerned. I think that today I have demonstrated that the government has obviously treated two similar incidents in two different counties very differently. It is, as said, completely different measures that are proposed, and it is completely different language that is used for similar circumstances. I think that it is unacceptable.
Landsbygdsministern Peter Kullgren (KD)
Madam Speaker! I am glad to have been able to tell Adrian Magnusson that the government does not make a distinction between county and county.
Source: The Swedish Parliament. The speeches come from the open data of the Riksdag, translated into English by AI, which may contain errors.