Response to interpellation 2023/24:669 on recruitment procedures at the county administrative boards
Translated from Swedish by AI; the translation may contain errors. The Swedish text is the original.
Summary AI, written in advance
The debate concerns recruitment procedures at the county administrative boards and the trust in the state administration. S argues that the governor's actions have damaged the trust in the county administrative boards 1, that the minister has adopted a passive stance 1 and that it is serious that the government does not account for preparedness measures 2 3. S believes that the government has a heavy responsibility to maintain trust after the events in Stockholm County 3 and that the minister's passive approach is deeply concerning 3. KD argues that the employer policy is delegated to the authorities 4 and that the government has not seen indications that recruitment procedures need to be reviewed 5. KD argues that the government is not passive but conducts an active dialogue 6 and that the head of the authority has a great responsibility to rebuild the trust 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.
Statsrådet Erik Slottner (KD)
Mr. Speaker! Peder Björk has asked me three questions in connection with a recruitment process at the County Administrative Board in Stockholm County. He has asked me what measures I have taken in connection with what has emerged regarding the employment in question, whether I intend to take the initiative to specifically follow up on how county governors employ staff, and whether I see a need to review the recruitment routines at the county administrative boards in connection with what has emerged regarding the establishment and employment of a planning manager at the County Administrative Board in Stockholm County.
The Government and the Government Offices have kept themselves informed about the developments at the County Administrative Board of Stockholm County. I have personally had a conversation with the relevant County Governor on 8 April. In this conversation, the importance of following applicable law was emphasized. The County Governor has also informed me that the authority has taken a number of measures to handle the information that has emerged in connection with the media's review of the County Administrative Board of Stockholm County.
The state employer policy is extensively delegated to the authorities. Personnel matters are therefore matters for the respective authority's operations. The authority's management is responsible to the government for the operations and shall ensure that they are conducted efficiently and in accordance with applicable law. This follows from 3 § of the Authority Ordinance (2007:515). The government monitors the authorities' operations, and representatives of the government or the Government Offices have dialogue with the authority's management as needed. This applies generally regarding the relationship between the government and its authorities, including the county administrative boards.
Arbetsgivarverket has the task of providing support and advice to employers in the state sector. In the event that the County Administrative Board in Stockholm County, or any other authority for that part, needs support regarding its recruitment routines, the authority may turn to Arbetsgivarverket.
The Government will continue to keep itself informed about the developments at the County Administrative Board in Stockholm County and is prepared to take measures if necessary to ensure confidence in the authority.
Peder Björk (S)
Mr. Speaker! As we all know, the county administrative boards have a very important role in the state administration and in society at large. Not least, the county administrative boards are an important party when it comes to total defense and crisis preparedness. They have an important role for animal husbandry and the follow-up of it. They also have an important role for growth and development because they perform environmental assessments and handle various appeals in the construction process.
In order to fulfill its task as a county administrative board, it is incredibly important that the county administrative board has great confidence from the public. This, in turn, requires trust that the county administrative board's work functions in a good way and that it is carried out in a legally secure manner.
This, Mr. Speaker, I would like to say has been severely damaged by the actions we have now seen from the County Governor in Stockholm. It has damaged the trust not only for the County Administrative Board in Stockholm County but for the County Administrative Boards in general across the whole country.
It was on the occasion of the interpellation I submitted on April 3 of this year. I reacted to the establishment of the new position of planning manager at the County Administrative Board in Stockholm County. It has been quite well rewritten since then, but it was about the County Governor choosing to recruit for this position by putting up a notice in the reception. One person applied for the job, and it was that person who got the job. That person is a friend of County Governor Anna Kinberg Batra.
But, Mr. Speaker, after that we have been able to read about many more incidents at the County Administrative Board in Stockholm County.
A temporary position has been established to work with leadership. That person is also a friend of the governor.
A readiness manager has been recruited. The requirements in the advertisement were disregarded when the position was filled.
An employee with previous ties to the Moderaterna has suddenly received a new title at the County Administrative Board and a significantly increased salary - without any change in job content.
The representation on the County Administrative Board is heavily questioned.
The union has also warned of a poor working environment linked to the governor's leadership specifically.
Now, Mr. Speaker, five or perhaps six investigations are currently underway regarding this conduct. Three of these matters are being investigated by the Parliamentary Ombudsmen.
Today marks 20 days since I submitted my interpellation. During that period, the Minister has had a conversation with the County Governor, specifically on April 8. Otherwise, the Minister has adopted what I would describe as a passive stance, meaning that he has kept himself informed.
My original question in the interpellation concerned the Minister and the Sweden Democrat government in light of the single case where the planning chief saw a need to review the employment procedures at the county administrative boards as a whole. I wrote it because I thought the individual case was sufficiently serious.
Since then, as I have enumerated, a number of other things have occurred which, in light of what happened earlier, have shown even more serious deficiencies.
The Minister of State himself says in his interpellation answer that the government "is prepared to take measures as needed to ensure confidence in the authority." I now pose the question specifically to the Minister of State as to whether it is not the case that that need has been met with abundance and what measures the Minister of State, in that case, intends to take, which he himself has said he is prepared to do.
Statsrådet Erik Slottner (KD)
Mr. Speaker! First and foremost, I naturally agree with what Peder Björk says regarding the importance and significance of the county administrative boards, not least for regional development and growth. This government has also specifically underlined in the regulatory letters how important those issues are.
In this work and to enable this transformation, the heads of the authorities, that is to say the county governors, naturally play an entirely decisive role.
In the case in question in Stockholm County, the County Governor himself says that it is a crisis of confidence that has arisen. Only the authority's leadership itself can repair this crisis of confidence.
I do not intend to comment on every individual appointment, as I would then be exceeding the mandate I have as minister. I would be engaging in ministerial rule and would probably be reported by someone to the Committee on the Constitution if I were to do so.
I refrain from commenting on what I think about each individual appointment for the reason that the employer policy is delegated to the agencies themselves. The Government appoints heads of agencies, i.e., county governors and directors-general at the agencies. Other appointments are the responsibility of each agency's management themselves. It is delegated there, so I as minister cannot and shall not comment on individual cases.
I note, however, that several reviews and investigations are currently underway, for example, at the Parliamentary Ombudsman. I welcome these reviews to see whether things have been done correctly or if something has gone wrong somewhere along the way. I welcome those reviews, and I know that the head of the agency herself has said that she welcomes the reviews and investigations that are now underway. The results of a couple of them are actually expected to arrive quite soon, in a few weeks, which I think is good.
As a government, one can act in many different ways. Not all actions from the ministers' side occur publicly, but we have an active dialogue with our authorities. That entire dialogue is naturally not always public, but we have an ongoing dialogue with our authorities during the current fiscal years. This applies, of course, even in this case.
The fact that I do not participate in all the meetings held does not mean that I do not keep myself informed or that my and the government's views are not put forward. The government's views on various actions can, of course, be presented without me being physically in the room. Peder Björk, who has worked for two previous civil ministers, knows very well how this works.
If the government makes the assessment that more measures are needed from the government's side, we will return and inform when such decisions or measures are relevant. At present, that is not the case, and therefore I have nothing to inform about regarding that today.
Peder Björk (S)
Mr. Speaker! I am somewhat surprised by the answer from the Minister.
The Minister of State says himself that the government "has the readiness to, if necessary, take measures to ensure confidence in the authority." The Minister of State himself has stated this in the response. When I now pose a direct question to the Minister of State and want to know whether the Minister of State and the SD-government see that the need is actually met, I receive no answer. There is obviously a readiness for measures, but the Minister of State cannot account for them here in the rostrum. As the Minister of State says: Not everything happens publicly.
Mr. Speaker! I think this would have been a good opportunity for the Minister to at least account for what measures are in readiness. But perhaps it is simply that the Minister and the Government see these as individual incidents at the County Administrative Board in Stockholm County that only affect the County Administrative Board in Stockholm County. I sense that in the answer, because the Minister also does not answer my original questions as to whether there is a need to generally review recruitment procedures for all County Administrative Boards. I think this is noteworthy, because the damage to confidence caused by the actions at the County Administrative Board in Stockholm County will certainly spill over onto County Administrative Boards in the rest of the country and probably also onto the state activities as a whole, which I think is incredibly serious.
Mr. Speaker! The Minister himself was saying that it is the government's responsibility to appoint the county directors. One of the things that I did not list in the long list of things that have happened at the County Administrative Board of Stockholm County is that the position of county director was terminated during this period with a release from work and a severance pay in the millions. The county director – or the county council, as it is called at other county administrative boards – is the governor's absolute closest colleague and substitute when he or she is not in service or is prevented from doing so. In Section 24 of the ordinance with the county administrative board instructions, it is stated very clearly, just as the Minister emphasized, that it is the government that decides on the employment of a county director or county council.
My question to the Minister is very simple: In what way have the Minister and the Government been involved in the decision to terminate the employment of the County Director at the County Administrative Board in Stockholm County?
Statsrådet Erik Slottner (KD)
Mr. Speaker! First and foremost, I want to inform everyone watching the debate that we do not have an SD government in Sweden. The Sweden Democrats do not sit in Sweden's government at all, rather it consists of the Moderates, the Christian Democrats and the Liberals. Then that government has a parliamentary cooperation and a budget cooperation with the Sweden Democrats through the Tidö Agreement. The Sweden Democrats do not, therefore, sit in Sweden's government. Therefore, the designation "SD government" is naturally false and completely absurd. I think it is serious that it appears here in the chamber and that those listening to the debate are being exposed to such misconceptions.
I do not think we have any indications today that the routines for all county administrative boards in Sweden regarding the employment of staff need to be reviewed. As I said in my previous statement, we have an employer policy responsibility that is extensively delegated to our agencies. It is a delegation and an order that we have had for a very long time in Sweden and which I think we should safeguard. But it is very possible that Peder Björk or others have a lot of indications suggesting that we, from the government's side, would really need to review just the county administrative boards. I have not seen the clear indicators that we need to carry out this broad review of the routines. For that reason, there are currently no such initiatives from the government's side. This can naturally change if it is the case that we receive indications of this. But we safeguard the delegated employer policy responsibility.
The County Directors - or County Councils, as they are called in 18 of the 21 County Administrative Boards - are indeed appointed by the government. But the County Governor has full authority to terminate the contract prematurely. It happens from time to time that this occurs, so in itself it is not surprising. It is therefore not the government that has decided this, but it is a County Governor's decision. When the government received information that the contract was to be terminated, we very quickly appointed an acting County Director, Claes Lindgren, who had already begun his service at the County Administrative Board. The government acted very quickly and appointed a new County Director when the previous one finished precisely so that there would be no vacuum or any long non-solution. The government's handling of that process, I think, has been completely in order.
Peder Björk (S)
Mr. Speaker! County Governor Anna Kinberg Batra's actions have severely affected the confidence in the County Administrative Board in Stockholm County. But it also risks spilling over to other county administrative boards in the country and to other state authorities.
From that perspective, it is remarkable that the Minister has spent the last few weeks informing himself instead of taking measures. The Minister himself emphasizes that the Minister and the Government have the readiness to take measures if needed. The question is, Mr. Speaker: Are we not at a point where the need to take the measures has arisen? But in a direct question to the Minister just now, not even the Minister could account for what these measures would be. I think it is incredibly serious.
A heavy responsibility now rests on the government and the responsible minister to ensure that trust in the Swedish public administration in general is maintained, especially in light of what is now happening at the County Administrative Board in Stockholm County. The passive attitude that the minister exhibits worries me deeply. It is, in fact, so, Mr. Speaker, that it is of the utmost importance for the County Administrative Board to enjoy the trust of the public in order to be able to fulfill its mission. This is not least about crisis preparedness.
I expect that the government does not continue to be passive. I expect, Mr. Speaker, that the government takes action.
Statsrådet Erik Slottner (KD)
Mr. Speaker! Then Peder Björk can stop being so disappointed, because the government is not remaining passive in this issue. It is not at all the case that I am just staying informed and sitting like a cuckoo chick receiving information. Of course, I stay informed, but we also conduct an active dialogue from the government's side with the relevant head of authority. Different representatives for the political leadership and the department have participated in the meetings, and I have personally participated in one of them. It is an active dialogue where the government's views and input are very clear in the conversations. It is not a passive action but an active dialogue with the authority.
The head of the agency has herself said that the agency is in a crisis of confidence. She has herself said that not everything has gone right in these processes and that she now has an incredibly important responsibility to work to restore confidence. I share that assessment. She has a great responsibility to rebuild the confidence. We are now in a trough of confidence, and the confidence needs to be rebuilt. There is no doubt that we in the government have been very clear in our dialogue with the County Administrative Board on how we view these issues.
Source: The Swedish Parliament. The speeches come from the open data of the Riksdag, translated into English by AI, which may contain errors.