Response to interpellation 2023/24:531 on measures against child poverty
Translated from Swedish by AI; the translation may contain errors. The Swedish text is the original.
Summary AI, written in advance
1 M argues that combating inflation through a restrained fiscal policy is the most important measure against child poverty 1 2. M has increased the housing allowance, lowered the energy tax, and introduced an enhanced job tax credit 1 2. M wants to reform the benefit system so that it always pays to work 3 and considers the budget to be adapted to the situation with targeted interventions 3. M prioritizes fighting inflation and a broader thinking regarding growth and industrial policy 4. S argues that families with children are hit hard by inflation and proposes an increased child allowance and enhanced maintenance support 5. S believes that the government is cutting resources for active labor market policies 6 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.
Finansministern Elisabeth Svantesson (M)
Madam Speaker! Serkan Köse has asked me what concrete measures I and the government intend to take to immediately address child poverty, which risks being exacerbated by the current economic situation. He has also asked me how the government intends to ensure that no family in Sweden has to choose between paying the rent or buying food for their children.
The economic situation is strained, and Sweden is in a recession. Even though inflation has begun to decrease, the high inflation has affected households' finances negatively through, among other things, increased food prices and rising housing costs. We are all affected by this, but households with small margins are more vulnerable. The Government therefore considers it urgent to continue fighting inflation while simultaneously supporting households and welfare.
With a restrained fiscal policy, the government is fighting inflation so that Sweden can get out of the troublesome situation we find ourselves in, where we are also beginning to see signs that the government's inflation fight is yielding results. This is combined with measures that are significant for households with small margins. The government has, among other things, lowered the energy tax on fuels, increased the unemployment insurance (a-kassan), increased the housing allowance for families with children, and paid out electricity support. The lowered reduction obligation at the turn of the year has further contributed to reduced fuel costs. The government also included in the budget for 2024 an enhanced job tax deduction for low- and middle-income earners and lowered taxes for pensioners. This contributes to more people receiving more in their household budget.
In the longer term, to help economically vulnerable households and reduce child poverty, it is important to get more people into work. The Government is implementing a number of different measures that collectively shall strengthen the work principle, where it shall be more rewarding to move from benefits to work. At the same time, the Government is working continuously on an improved business climate so that more companies can start and grow in Sweden. By creating more jobs while simultaneously increasing the demand for work, the Government intends to lay the foundation for higher future growth that more people can share in.
Serkan Köse (S)
Madam Speaker! I thank the Minister for Finance for the answer.
Despite the fact that we are a country with a high standard of living and have a very strong welfare system, we see today a growing poverty among families with children. Reports from Rädda Barnen, Svenska Röda Korset, Majblomman, and Hyresgästföreningen point to an increasingly acute economic situation for these families, and it is naturally exacerbated by the rising inflation and the record-high food prices.
The Red Cross's reports show that many families are struggling to cover basic needs such as food and clothing. Since 2020, the organization has quadrupled its activities, which indicates an increased need for support.
Madam Speaker! More and more people are turning to civil society organizations for food, clothes, and help with housing. Families with low incomes and single parents find it particularly difficult to make ends meet and have small margins for unexpected costs. These families' situation affects the children's basic rights, such as the right to a decent standard of living, leisure, health, and future opportunities.
Madam Speaker! Save the Children reports that many children are seen whose parents cannot afford the children's leisure activities and that more and more are seeking out their breakfast clubs.
The investigation by Rädda Barnen, Hyresgästföreningen, Majblomman, and Röda Korset shows that three out of ten families today have difficulty buying nutritious food for the family, that three out of ten have difficulty paying for leisure activities for the children, that four out of ten are worried that the family's economic situation affects the child's needs and well-being, and that one out of five has difficulty paying the family's bills. This, Madam Speaker, contradicts the children's right to an adequate standard of living, education, and leisure activities, according to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which is now also Swedish law.
To combat child poverty, the Swedish Red Cross, among others, proposes several concrete measures, including an increased child allowance. The cost-of-living crisis hits families with children hard. As mentioned, 40 percent of single parents depend on the child allowance to make ends meet. We Social Democrats have proposed an extra payment of the child allowance to all families with children and a temporary increase of the maintenance support for single parents by 500 kronor per month, which the government has rejected.
Madam Speaker! The Hyresgästförening's reports also show that many are worried as they do not know how they will manage the rent. It is a difficult economic situation where the children become the biggest losers. Economic pressure increases overcrowding and further worsens the home environment for very many children.
The Swedish Red Cross now operates in 140 locations around Sweden to meet the consequences of the increased poverty in our country. A fourfold increase has been seen since 2020. It is an unsustainable situation that civil society organizations alone should have to handle these needs. Here, the politicians must step forward and take their responsibility.
We see that a significant proportion of Sweden's families with children are living under economic stress, where parents are now forced to make difficult choices between the children's well-being and future, food and so on.
In light of this, I would like to ask the Minister for Finance again what concrete measures she intends to take to address what is now acute, namely child poverty. And how does the Minister for Finance intend to ensure that no family in Sweden will have to choose between paying the rent, buying food for the children, or other types of measures?
Finansministern Elisabeth Svantesson (M)
Madam Speaker! Thank you, Serkan Köse, for the interpellation and for the great commitment the member has for families with children in cramped conditions! There are many more of them today than two years ago because inflation is making people poorer. The inflation we have seen during these years, which began to rise in the summer of 2021 and which has risen until half a year ago, has been brutal for many.
The Swedish systems are adapted so that some are compensated via different types of indexations, but we have also in the budget for this year and also for last year ensured that households are supported in different ways to facilitate things during a very difficult time. However, it is not possible to avoid that the absolutely most important fiscal measure at an aggregate level is to fight inflation.
If we do not fight inflation but instead do as, for example, some of the Social Democrats' coalition partners want, namely run with large deficits now to support in various ways, the inflation would become much higher.
Inflation means that prices increase. It means that if inflation becomes zero going forward, prices would still generally not go down. Prices stay where they are. Some will naturally go down for other reasons, but the general price level has now been raised dramatically with inflation.
That is why it has been so important for me to get this development to turn around. It is the children I have in mind when I see the fight against inflation. It is households that are tight that I have in mind. But it is also companies, because we know that if they do not get a handle on this, more will lose their jobs and more will become dependent on different types of benefits.
Basically, the government's policy is about fighting inflation, and it is working. The fiscal policy and the monetary policy, but also the parties have done what should be done. The budget that came into effect on January 1 this year is also adapted to this situation. I have mentioned several things, but I can mention them again: It is about the housing allowance, it is about fuels, and it is about lower taxes for those who work.
We must remember that those who have compensations are compensated with indexing due to inflation, but those who have a lower salary are not compensated at all. On the contrary, those who have lower salaries have generally seen their salaries and, above all, their purchasing power eroded, and therefore it has been important to lower the tax on labor.
Serkan Köse (S)
Madam Speaker! Thank you, Minister for Finance, for the answer!
I share the view that we must absolutely fight inflation and price increases, but we also need to look at the crisis here and now. We see that the economic crisis is affecting very many - thousands - of families with children in Sweden. I looked at Majblomman's latest report, and there one sees an increased number of applications, especially when it comes to basic needs such as food, diapers, and porridge.
Sweden is a welfare state. We have a welfare model based on the principle that no one should be dependent on charity to cover their basic needs. We have social insurance and other types of benefits so that people can have a decent standard of living and be able to manage. In other words, no one in Sweden should have to stand with a hat in hand in 2024 to get food, diapers, and porridge.
In addition to this grim development, Madam Speaker, we can see that the eviction figures, that is to say people who lose their homes, have increased since 2012. According to the National Institute of Economic Research, food prices have also increased more than the cost increases justify. We are therefore seeing an enormously increased cost but also increased poverty, not least among families with children who are now having a very difficult time and who are seeking help from civil society organizations. Here we, as a society and as a welfare state, must take responsibility.
There are many people, unemployed and others, who are not covered by support, and we therefore need to ensure that people get work. More must get jobs, but when we look at how it looks with job initiatives, we can observe that the government is scaling back active measures in the labor market policy.
Arbetsförmedlingen receives lower administrative grants, which means there will be fewer employees within the organization. And yesterday, the agency announced that it will notify of 160 positions, which will also affect the support for the unemployed. Programs and initiatives aimed at unemployment have decreased significantly in recent years. Every time there has been an opportunity, they have cut back on both programs and initiatives.
In Arbetsförmedlingen's annual report, the agency states that they are not meeting the goals set by the government because they do not have sufficient resources. In the press release, they refer to receiving smaller appropriations from the government and therefore laying off people, which means that the unemployed will receive less support even though the number of job seekers and unemployment are increasing. This means that there are not enough measures to get more people into work. If it is important to have jobs and to get more people into work, there also need to be measures and efforts.
We also see the housing crisis and the housing situation today. The costs within the construction sector are increasing, and many construction workers are becoming unemployed. Measures also need to be taken there, but almost nothing is happening from the government's side.
We must absolutely fight inflation, but at the same time, we need to do more regarding unemployment, housing policy, and the welfare systems as such. More resources are needed in municipalities and regions to ensure that children are not affected by the economic crisis.
It is the children who are affected now, and many parents are worried about how they will make ends meet when the month is over. Therefore, Finance Minister, I want to ask again: How do you view this development, and what is your answer to all the families with children who are now watching the debate and who expect that politics should do something?
Finansministern Elisabeth Svantesson (M)
Madam Speaker! I thank Serkan for the questions.
I believe the member started by saying roughly that when it comes to the welfare state, we have a principle that no one should need compensation. That is not quite true; I mean instead that we have a protection system and a safety net for those who need it most. There are people who truly need protection and compensation during periods, long or short, because they cannot work.
The problem in Sweden is that we have a system that finances people who have the capacity to work receiving benefits year in and year out, for example through social assistance and other types of support. That is where people have become stuck. Something that was intended to be temporary – and which has been entirely correct – has become long-term, and people have been completely passivized and stuck in these systems. That is what we want to change.
I completely share the view that work is the fundamental and absolutely most important effort for families who are having a tough time. Now, we must remember that some who have work also have a tough time because purchasing power has been eroded. Perhaps one is, for example, a single parent. That is why we have extended and increased the housing allowance - because we know that it is accurate.
If we only briefly touch upon how more people should get work, I want to say that we have, among other things, made and are making large investments in education. It will be necessary for more people to educate themselves, and by that, I do not mean only long educations but also short ones. It is about making oneself employable for the jobs that exist. There are, after all, many jobs that are completely vacant and positions waiting to be filled, and people must take their own responsibility to educate themselves and adapt to the labor market. Of course, they shall receive support and help to do so, and that is about the municipalities' efforts and about Arbetsförmedlingen – but also about education, as I just mentioned.
We are also working on a benefit reform in three parts, Madam Speaker. One must qualify for the welfare system. One must be active full-time to receive a support, so that one truly enters the labor market. There is also a benefit ceiling that ensures it always pays to take a job. Despite that, the member says, we do know that there are families where it actually does not pay if a parent goes to work.
I want to conclude this contribution by saying that I see and know that many are having a tough time. It is precisely why the budgets we have presented during these two years have been adapted to the situation. The budget is restrained to the extent that it does not drive inflation, but it also targets households that are having a tough time. Regarding those who are having it very tough, we have made specially targeted interventions. Let me also just say that the Red Cross, Stadsmissionen, and others are doing a fantastic job and that they need support in that work.
At bottom, however, everyone in the Riksdag - I assume - wants that all people should have a job to go to and be able to support themselves and their children.
Serkan Köse (S)
Madam Speaker! We can look at the budget, for example at adult education, since the Minister for Finance mentioned that there is an investment in education. If we compare the figures for 2023 and 2024, we can see that there is no huge increase in the support for adult education. I believe I looked at it and it amounts to somewhere around 70 million more for adult education.
We can look at the labor market policy today. We have 350,000 people who are unemployed, and we have over 140,000 vacant jobs. We have a mismatch in the Swedish labor market today. I share the view that we should invest in education to ensure that more people are educated for the vacant jobs that exist in the Swedish labor market today. The problem is that the government is cutting resources for active labor market policies, which means that fewer people get to participate in these measures.
Arbetsförmedlingen's annual report shows that they have not succeeded in achieving the government's goals, such as getting more people into labor market training, which the industry and the business sector demand. If we look at northern Sweden, we see that there is a huge challenge in getting more people into work by matching people with the vacant jobs that exist. The government is cutting back on active labor market policy. It is cutting back on the money that Arbetsförmedlingen receives to be able to do its job and is providing fewer resources to adult education - or well, that is a bit of a plus, we can say.
So, no huge changes are being made. On the contrary, there will be less money for the labor market policy. And the sad thing about this is that Arbetsförmedlingen will be sending back money this year. They will send back 9.6 billion, and of this, 2.7 billion comes from the nystartsjobb. The government went out quite strongly regarding the nystartsjobb and that they would be strengthened so that more people get into nystartsjobb. Now Arbetsförmedlingen is sending these funds back. This is partly due to having fewer staff and not having the time or ability to manage this. So that is the case regarding the money that is being sent back.
It would therefore be interesting if the Minister for Finance could say something about the labor market policy and how it affects employment - and not least families with children.
Finansministern Elisabeth Svantesson (M)
Madam Speaker! I am never surprised by the Social Democrats here in the Riksdag. When you took over in 2014, unemployment was at a decent level compared to the rest of the EU. When you handed over to us, we were in a catastrophic situation: we had some of the worst figures in the EU. I am simply stating the facts. Still, the member of parliament thinks we should continue with exactly the same policy as the one the Social Democrats pursued for eight years. To me, that doesn't quite add up.
I do not usually complain about your eight years, Serkan Köse, but I usually try to stick to what we do. I can only state that what the member says is that we are to do the same thing. Would we then get a different result? No. Therefore, we work in a different way. We work with a broader thinking regarding growth - that resources and companies should grow. We think more about industrial policy than the previous government did. We also think about subsidy systems and how they can affect behaviors and other things.
We are also thinking about things such as the Swedish language being even more in focus for people who come here now or have come here previously, so that they learn Swedish. It is quite simple: Learn Swedish and do what you can to adapt to the Swedish labor market, then we will do everything we can to give you opportunities! Sweden is, in fact, the land of opportunity; here one has free education and gets all opportunities if one only can and wants to.
Back to what the interpellation was about: I see and know that many are having a tough time. That is also why combating inflation has been priority one. It is working, and we will continue to return to this in budgets moving forward – most of all regarding how growth can increase and jobs can become more numerous, so that the parents who today do not have a job to go to can be able to get one.
Source: The Swedish Parliament. The speeches come from the open data of the Riksdag, translated into English by AI, which may contain errors.