Response to interpellation 2023/24:676 on the situation in the construction industry

Statsrådet Andreas Carlson (KD)

Madam Speaker! Serkan Köse has asked me what concrete measures I and the government intend to take to directly address and alleviate the ongoing situation within the construction industry. Serkan Köse has further asked me how I and the government intend to ensure that the construction industry's future competence needs are met in order to prevent a loss of competence similar to that which has occurred previously.

I am well aware of the seriousness of the situation regarding the decline in the housing market and its consequences. Sweden is in a tough economic situation. Housing construction has decreased as a result of high inflation and higher interest rates. These have affected households' demand for housing while simultaneously contributing to production and financing costs increasing rapidly for construction companies.

We see now that inflation is clearly falling and that the fight against inflation is biting. That is good, but it is still important to remain vigilant. The Riksbank has recently assessed that the risk of inflation remaining at too high levels has decreased and that the policy rate can therefore probably be lowered earlier than what has been indicated until now. In the long run, lower interest rates are expected to contribute to a recovery in the construction industry.

The government is implementing various measures to mitigate the effects and save jobs in the construction sector. The government has proposed that the ceiling for the rotavdrag (deduction for home improvements) be temporarily raised during 2024 to promote employment in the construction and civil engineering sector. It is a measure that can make a difference when demand wanes. To simplify the rules for building, the government has also given a mandate to Boverket regarding relaxations of building requirements for student housing. On behalf of the government, Finansinspektionen has investigated how the exemption from amortization requirements that can be granted for newly produced housing is used in practice.

In addition, the government has introduced two incentives for municipalities that adopt detailed plans that enable small house construction or conversions from premises to housing. The planning incentives are applicable from April 2 of this year for plans adopted from January 1 of this year onwards.

Boverket has also, on the government's assignment, prepared a basis for increased small house construction. This includes an account of where there is buildable land for small houses and an assessment of how profitable small house construction is. Furthermore, a coordinator has been appointed with the assignment to work towards achieving residential construction on state properties through the sale of state land.

Regarding the issue of skills supply, the government wants to promote employment within the construction and civil engineering industry so that there is competent labor remaining within the construction sector when the economic cycle turns. In accordance with the government's proposal in the budget bill for 2024, funds have also been allocated for more places both within the universities of applied sciences and vocational adult education. The purpose of both initiatives is to meet the continued large skills needs throughout Sweden, enable the transition, and promote matching in the labor market. In total, the government has allocated 1,747 million kronor, including student grants.

Within the state grant for vocational adult education, grants may be provided for apprenticeship training if the conditions in the ordinance on state grants for regional vocational adult education are met. Apprenticeship training within regional vocational adult education shall aim to provide students with a basic vocational education, increased work experience, and an opportunity to acquire knowledge within a professional field at a workplace under the guidance of a supervisor. Proposals to strengthen apprenticeship training are also addressed in the report Change Profession as an Adult (SOU 2024:16), which is on consultation until 10 June 2024.

There is today an open system for support for short-term work. According to this system, support can be provided for a limited period to employers who, due to temporary and serious economic difficulties, need to introduce short-term work, if the employer has encountered temporary and serious economic difficulties that have been caused by some circumstance beyond the employer's control and which could not reasonably have been foreseen or avoided.

The Government is closely following the developments within the construction and housing sector and does not rule out that further measures may be needed.

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Serkan Köse (S)

Madam Speaker! Thank you for the answer, Minister Andreas Carlson!

We face today the worst housing crisis since the 90s. Housing investments are the lowest in 20 years, and every day seven companies in the construction industry go bankrupt.

In this critical situation, the entire construction industry expected powerful initiatives in the budget. Unfortunately, such initiatives were absent. Instead, it can be said that the government has delivered a triple blow to Swedish construction workers. They have let the construction industry fall freely and so far have not presented any concrete measures to mitigate the effects of the crisis. As if that were not enough, they instead propose a reduced unemployment insurance (a-kassa), something that will make life tougher for very many people, not least many women in manual occupations. In this, they make it much harder for manual workers to be signed off sick.

Madam Speaker! We are facing a profound crisis in the construction industry, a crisis that every day affects more and more Swedes both economically and personally. Despite clear warning signs, the government's response has been insufficient and deficient. Today we have over 6,000 workers on strike and an increase in bankruptcies of 84 percent. Yet, the Minister for Housing is not acting.

The government's main strategy, and the answer here as well, is that they are to fight inflation, which I think is good. But they do not address the structural problems within the construction industry. The temporarily increased tax deduction is a short-term measure that does not solve the industry's deeper economic problems. We need more than temporary tax measures to create a sustainable future within the construction industry.

I must ask Housing Minister Andreas Carlson: What are the long-term plans to ensure the construction industry's recovery?

Madam Speaker! We are facing a potential loss of valuable competence similar to the one we saw after the 90s crisis. It is a loss from which we never recovered.

Madam Speaker! The government's efforts must go beyond temporary stimuli. Instead, investments in vocational training and streamlined construction processes should be included. The government's passivity exacerbates today's construction crisis. I urge Andreas Carlson to act now. We need a clear, feasible plan that addresses both today's challenges and tomorrow's opportunities.

I must emphasize that we are facing the worst crisis in the construction industry since the 90s, and we have a government that lacks a plan to meet the situation. The situation will not be solved by itself; instead, the state must take its responsibility. Capital and incentives are required to get housing construction moving again. Therefore, we Social Democrats propose, among other things, a state construction stimulus, state construction credits, and a reformed ROT deduction. The construction stimuli would make it possible to build youth and student housing at reasonable rents, and it is necessary in areas with new industrialization and large competence needs, not least in northern Sweden. State construction credits can lower financing costs and increase the construction pace, which is crucial for Sweden's growth.

Interest rates are increasing, bankruptcies are increasing, unemployment is increasing. And this affects the families' finances. Housing construction has stopped. The housing shortage is increasing, Housing Minister. When will the Minister intend to act?

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Lars Beckman (M)

Madam Speaker! This is an important issue that Serkan Köse has raised in his interpellation. It is important that more is built in Sweden. We have debated this many times in the chamber. I have previously posed the question to the Social Democrats, and I am happy to do so again to Serkan Köse. Can Serkan Köse say what the previous eight Social Democratic and Green Party housing ministers were named? You changed housing ministers more than once a year during your eight years.

The unfortunate thing is that Sweden lost a period of high economic growth. In a period of high economic growth, one could have implemented structural reforms. In a period of high economic growth, one could have done things that would have alleviated the situation that was created when we entered an inflationary economy. There are few in Sweden of working age who have experienced such an inflationary economy.

Madam Speaker! Yesterday, approximately 40 Members of Parliament gathered for a seminar that I had organized together with Beijer Byggmaterial. I do not know if Serkan Köse was there. It is possible, but I did not see him. But there were many others there. During the seminar, among other things, Beijer Byggmaterial presented the Craftsman Barometer. They conduct a survey approximately once a quarter where they ask thousands of business owners what the most important measures are that can be taken here and now to retain employees.

The barometer asks the following question: How much importance do you believe the tax deduction for home improvements has for your industry? 80 percent, eight out of ten, of the participants believe that the tax deduction has a large or very large importance for the craft industry. I hope that the Social Democrats take that information to heart. As everyone knows, you want to significantly worsen the tax deduction for home improvements.

In the same survey, the following question is asked: What is the most important thing that decision-makers should do for the construction industry? 65 percent of the participants believe that we should increase the rotavdrag (tax deduction for renovations). We have increased the amount, but small business owners all over Sweden think that the rotavdrag should be increased to 50 percent, approximately half, the amortization requirement should be lowered by approximately 20 percent, and then taxes and fees should be lowered. There are things the government can do and does, and I would not mind if, as a cyclical measure, the rotavdrag is increased.

Madam Speaker! A couple of weeks ago, we met with municipal housing companies that visited the Riksdag. We asked the companies in the growth municipalities what the single most important measure is that the Riksdag should take now. What is it that would enable them to start building significantly? The answer came immediately: Free rent setting in new production. Otherwise, they cannot make the calculations work.

So we are talking about municipal housing companies in the two municipalities that are growing the most in northern Sweden. They say: Free rent setting in new production. That is the single most important measure that the municipal housing company in Norrbotten considers makes the calculation work.

Then I want to ask the Social Democrats if you are prepared to introduce free rent setting in new production. That would mean that housing can be built in Skellefteå, in Boden, or in other growth municipalities. Also, Mariestad and other municipalities shall build significantly. Are the Social Democrats prepared to listen to the profession, those who are to build? It is the single most important question for apartments to be built here and now. Are the Social Democrats prepared to reconsider their ideological positions?

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Leif Nysmed (S)

Madam Speaker! I thought I would start by turning to Lars Beckman, who asked if we were willing to change our position on free rent setting.

I looked at newly produced housing in Botkyrka-Slagsta. Home Q is now building rental apartments there. An 87-square-meter apartment on floor 2 costs 18,966 kronor per month. How much more expensive must a rental apartment become for it to be profitable to build? Obviously, it is possible to build at very high costs.

A small one-room apartment of 28 square meters costs well over 8,000 kronor a month. I don't quite understand the question of what it is that is supposed to solve the problem.

Evidens has conducted an investigation showing that one might, with the wind at one's back and the sun in one's face, be able to manage 5,000 apartments per year with free rent setting in new production. I do not quite understand what problems are to be solved by the situation and which are predominant with just that reform. Your problem is actually your partner, whom you should speak with if you want to get this through.

Then there was the Craftsman Barometer. We were both at a very interesting seminar yesterday. I am going out with the CEO of GT to Beijer tomorrow to talk with craftsmen over a cup of coffee, and I look forward to that. I am from the industry myself, so I enjoy talking in these contexts.

I note that their most important issue regarding ROT is that it should be raised to 50 percent, which we propose for certain measures – climate and energy measures. That is our proposal. It is important because it is a matter of public benefit in the large sense. It is good for the individual who can lower their costs and, for example, get better shell protection on their house, while at the same time we lower the energy consumption in the country. It is smart to do so, and there we should reach an agreement.

But it is not Beckman I am going to speak with here, rather I intended to speak about the situation in the construction industry. I have spoken with the concrete worker Robert Lindberg, who has worked at Peab since 2000. He has, therefore, 23 years at Peab. On November 17 last year, he lost his job; 23 years of employment is a long period of employment.

Housing construction has collapsed. The number of layoffs and bankruptcies, as well as unemployment, has skyrocketed. Robert Lindberg is far from alone in having lost his job. In February, the proportion of unemployed construction workers in Byggnads a-kassa was over 10 percent. The number of layoffs has increased since 2022 from 3,600 people to over 9,000. Then we must know that there is a large dark figure in just those numbers. In the construction industry, companies do not need to notify Arbetsförmedlingen if they lay off fewer than 20 employees. In the normal case, one must notify Arbetsförmedlingen of the layoff if it concerns five employees. A large proportion of the construction industry has fewer than ten employees. That was what Lennart Weiss told at the craft seminar we attended yesterday.

There is, therefore, a large number of people who are unemployed right now, and seven companies go bankrupt every day. Your measures to solve this are conspicuously absent.

When will you try to come up with proposals so that more people can demand a home? It is the only way to get housing construction started again.

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Statsrådet Andreas Carlson (KD)

Madam Speaker! What we see in the chamber now is one of the things I appreciate about the commitment of Members of Parliament.

A Member of Parliament from the Moderates gets involved and organizes a seminar, which gathers many members from different parties. Another member, in this case from the Social Democrats, is there and takes away information and makes contacts. Contacts might have existed already, what do I know, but one has a follow-up meeting.

That is how I think we should tackle the very tough problems we have regarding housing construction. My State Secretary Johan Davidson also participated in the conversation, and I received reports that it was a very constructive and good seminar. It does not stop there, but the purpose is that we should have a common picture and talk about measures that can mitigate the effects.

To get back to what is required to actually achieve an effect, it is about the question that Leif Nysmed concluded with – how more people should be able to demand a home.

That one has not been able to do so to the same extent as during the last few years, when there was a boom and it was almost free or very cheap to borrow, is because inflation has been so high at the same time as we have entered a recession. In that way, it is nothing surprising in itself that the situation is tough. It is very dramatic, and we take it very seriously.

It is in the housing construction that this occurs. When one speaks about the construction industry, as in the interpellation and also in the debate, I think one needs to be more focused on the housing construction.

When it comes to the construction and civil engineering sector, we see on the contrary that it is going very well right now. The Government has made large investments in the expansion of the defense and the correctional services and in infrastructure. Expectations and the situation differ for house builders and tradespeople compared to civil engineering builders. House builders state to a greater extent than civil engineering builders that construction has decreased. Civil engineering builders expect increased construction over the next three months, in contrast to the house builders, and even though investments in residential construction decreased by 22 percent last year, investments in the construction of other buildings and structures increased by 9 percent.

What I think we should discuss, and what I perceive to be the members' intention, is the dramatic decline in housing construction.

One cannot escape the fact that we would have been in a better position if one had utilized the good times to actually tackle structural problems and achieved a better functioning housing market with simpler and better regulations, shorter lead times, and more accessible buildable land.

I want to remind the interpellator Serkan Köse of this: Not during a single one of the eight years his party governed Sweden did the number of completed dwellings meet the needs established by Boverket.

We are now in a tough economic situation with inflation, significantly increased construction prices, and raised interest rates that have pressured both households and construction companies. It is of course equally right now to address structural measures. That is what we are working a lot on. But it is clear that we would have been in a better position if several of those measures had already been in place.

We are not crying over spilled milk now, but there are many who are crying because the situation is so tough. We are doing everything we can to address structural reforms and mitigate the effect.

The rotation tax reduction and the fact that it is temporary is so that those who have the opportunity can take the chance and carry out renovations now. These are measures that can save a number of jobs, not least in the craft sector. It is a cyclically correct measure, and I do not rule out that the government needs to do even more.

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Serkan Köse (S)

Madam Speaker! Thank you, Minister, for the answer!

The construction crisis is here and now, and measures are required here and now. Therefore, it is a bit strange that Lars Beckman is mocking the previous government and what previous housing ministers were called. That is not what we are discussing today.

Construction workers at home who are listening to this debate want a real, serious debate. That is what I am looking for, because I think these questions are important. There are many people who are suffering. The costs are increasing. Unemployment is increasing. Families' finances are affected. They need to cut back on children's extracurricular activities and a lot of other costs. They expect us as decision-makers in Sweden's Riksdag to have a serious discussion about an important issue.

I thank the Minister for raising the bar for this discussion, for it is serious and important. We must address the problems that exist today.

As a member of the Committee on Employment, I am engaged in these issues, because it is about people being unemployed. Measures are needed. Efforts are needed.

I am reading about the carpenter Jonas Dahlberg, 60 years old, who is one of many who have felt the impact of the construction crisis. Together with 100 colleagues, he was fired when the company went bankrupt. He says it came as a blow to the face. In that case, I think it is my and our duty to be able to answer Jonas Dahlberg, 60 years old, and tell him what measures and efforts we intend to implement so that he and his colleagues feel that something is happening.

That is why I think this debate is important, and I think, as I have said, it is good that the Minister points out the measures that need to be implemented. But more is needed. That is why we have this debate. We do not consider what is being done to be sufficient.

When I read the budget, I expected that there were measures and more money for the labor market, for labor market policy and for educational initiatives.

In his response, the Minister states that the appropriation for adult education is being increased, but when I compare 2024 with 2023, I see that it is marginal. It is barely 70 million more, and it will be eaten up by inflation. It is not any additional investment in adult education. In the supplementary budget, they are cutting the money for labor market policy and for programs and initiatives.

The people who become unemployed now, what measures will be put in place for them? What support can they expect regarding labor market policy when resources have been cut at Arbetsförmedlingen?

Unemployment is increasing. The number of job seekers is increasing. I have the latest figures with me. We have just over 350,000 unemployed persons registered at Arbetsförmedlingen. Newly registered job seekers at Arbetsförmedlingen have increased by 31,000 compared to the same period in 2023.

At the same time, the number of vacancies has decreased. For a while we had very many vacancies, but now they are just over 117,000.

This means that we need to invest in skills development. We need to invest more money in programs and initiatives so that people who become unemployed get the opportunity to retrain and ensure that there are opportunities and resources so that people can feel some hope and faith in the future. Therefore, I think this issue is important.

The government has a majority in Sweden's Riksdag, unlike the Social Democratic government which was in a minority. We had to back down several times with our budget because the Moderates' and Christian Democrats' budget was pushed through. Now the government has a majority. Andreas Carlsson's and Lars Beckman's government has a majority in the chamber and can present whatever reforms they want and get them through.

I hope, once again, that we will see these reforms and that we can ensure that more construction workers can feel safe at home.

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Lars Beckman (M)

Madam Speaker! Serkan Köse did not, therefore, know the names of the eight different housing ministers during the eight years we had Social Democratic governments. It is not so strange, because you changed them every year.

It is not to mock to state that Sweden lost eight years. It was eight lost years, eight years when we could have implemented housing reforms, eight years when we could have prepared ourselves for a recession that everyone knew would come.

Beijer Byggmaterial reported, as mentioned, their craftsman survey yesterday. There, 80 percent of the companies say that the rotavdrag (deduction for renovation) has a large or very large significance for the craftsman industry. They also want the rotavdrag to be developed and increased to 50 percent.

We received a clear and distinct message from the Social Democrats. You want to worsen the rotavdrag in certain areas to control the resources, and I believe it is the Miljöpartiet that is also setting demands on how the rotavdrag should be used.

I believe the opposite, that the property owners should be given the trust to decide for themselves what needs to be done on their own property, and I would not mind if, as a cyclical measure, the tax deduction was increased to 50 or 60 percent to alleviate the crisis. This applies to private homes.

When it comes to multi-family housing, Leif Nysmed will of course have to ask the housing companies. I explained what the municipal housing company, which visited us in the Riksdag with its management group, said was the single most important issue.

One is very surprised when, in a growth municipality, one is told that a company is going to employ 4,500 people and there isn't a construction crane in every corner. When one then asks the construction company why, one gets the answer that they cannot make their calculations work because there is no full cost coverage with today's system.

The Moderates in the Committee on Civil Affairs are to travel to Norrbotten tomorrow to meet more housing companies, and the Social Democrats can do the same.

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Leif Nysmed (S)

Madam Speaker! I thank the Minister for Housing for the answer and Lars Beckman for an interesting debate and note that 19,000 a month for an apartment of 87 square meters is too low a rent according to Lars Beckman – it is welcome to become even more expensive.

So far, we have had two lost years with the SD government. We shall have to see what happens in the next two years. I hope that we can have good conversations even going forward, and we have been offered to sit down with the government and discuss long-term rules of the game for both planning and construction, where I believe we can have some common ground. I do believe, however, that we would need to talk a little bit about the financing of future housing. I believe that the market would benefit from us discussing things that lie further ahead in time than two years. You have a majority for two more years, and how it looks after the next election, no one knows.

Let me return to Robert. He has applied for a number of jobs during the almost six months he has been unemployed. He has applied for jobs at both smaller and larger companies and received the standard answer: We have nothing. We are fully occupied with keeping our own men.

When he worked, he received 28,000 after tax, and now he receives 16,800 in benefits. With the SD government's proposal for new benefits, he would have had even lower benefits since March. In this way, personnel whom we will need to push away are sent to other industries. Hopefully, they get jobs there, otherwise it will be very tight for them financially.

Taking care of the staff is tricky. It falls on its own reasoning. You are pushing competence out of the industry. You talk about apprenticeship programs, but we already have apprenticeship programs in the construction industry. There is an opportunity to enter as an adult apprentice directly in the company. Active measures from the government are conspicuously absent.

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Statsrådet Andreas Carlson (KD)

Madam Speaker! I would first like to thank you for the allocation and the desire to have a real and serious debate; I perceive that this is the intention of all the debaters. But if one wants that, it is at the same time important not to give the impression that a government under tough circumstances with high inflation and in a recession over 18 months can have more houses built and reach the needs established by Boverket when it itself did not succeed with that during any of its eight years in government when there was a boom and money was almost free. If we are to have a real and serious debate, which I think is very good, we also need to debate how we ended up here in order to then be able to get ourselves out of here.

One cannot press the yes or no button in the parliamentary benches to fix the problem in a single stroke, but it requires many different things in a methodical work concerning what I said in a previous post, structural reforms. Unfortunately, we as a country lost these opportunities because housing policy was not prioritized in the way it deserved.

I think that Member Beckman's point is nevertheless an important element in a serious debate. Of course, we must maintain the tone and have a constructive debate climate, but we need to consider how one can elevate housing construction as an important part of the government's policy. That is why our government has decided to place it together with infrastructure issues in the same department, to see how one can bring together societal construction issues and not switch departments from time to time with the time losses that entails in reform work. It seems to be the case at least, because quite a few reforms were missing during the last two terms. It is not dodging responsibility to try to understand how we ended up where we are, but it is part of a serious debate. That is why we have begun, step by step, to tackle the many problems that exist regarding structural reforms that need to be put in place.

We take the current acute situation with a dramatic decline in housing construction most seriously. It remains important to focus on the reforms that provide a better functioning construction in the long term, but also on the measures that can mitigate the effects in the short term. Saving jobs and retaining competent labor in the sector so that we are better equipped when the economy eventually turns than after the 90s crisis and the financial crisis is an issue that the government, of course, takes very seriously, and it is one of the reasons why we have increased the rotavdrag. It is also one of the reasons why I highlight the system of support for short-term work in the interpellation response.

I do not rule out that further measures may be needed, and I know that Minister for Employment Johan Pehrson is well aware of the seriousness of the situation because we are a coalition government working together. As I have said in previous statements, the government has taken a number of measures. But we have much left to do and will return to the Riksdag, which I look forward to.

We must, however, maintain the fight against inflation. We see that it is beginning to brighten and that interest rates are heading downwards. But the high inflation is a main reason why we are where we are, so it is important to be persistent in this work.

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Serkan Köse (S)

Madam Speaker! When the construction industry slows down, it affects many other sectors. It is often said that a construction worker creates jobs for three other people, and that is a truth that still holds. As a member of the Committee on Employment, I am passionate about issues concerning employment and the labor market, and therefore I am concerned that the increased unemployment within the construction industry risks having extensive consequences for other sectors, for the entire labor market, and also for society. Therefore, I am keen that we address this and that the government acts.

I mentioned earlier the crisis of the 90s when 20,000 construction workers left the industry and never returned. The loss of competence within the construction industry is important to manage, otherwise it will take a long time to get the construction workers back. We know this, because we have learned from history.

Again: Regarding the discussion on what the Minister for Housing can do, I hope that the Minister for Housing can soon come forward with an idea and a plan for how we should handle the construction crisis, but also that the Minister for Employment, who I hope is listening to this debate, can take the criticism to heart and invest more in adult education and more in labor market policy measures.

When it comes to the question of how many housing units were built during the Social Democratic period, we can state that almost half a million housing units were built between 2015 and 2022.

One can observe that, at the government's pace, we are currently at somewhere around 30,000. Many more housing units are needed for us to manage this.

Therefore, I conclude by asking what the Minister intends to do. Does the Minister have any plan for how they intend to increase housing construction? Above all, I wonder about the message to all construction workers who are listening to this debate - what is the Minister of Housing's message?

Thank you for the debate!

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Statsrådet Andreas Carlson (KD)

Madam Speaker! I thank the interpellator for the question and the debate and for the allocation - the member called for a truly serious debate.

But it still doesn't become quite serious if one compares eight years in a boom when money was practically free - it was very cheap to borrow with zero interest and negative interest during periods. Despite that, the previous government saw itself as forced to subsidize housing construction with an investment support that cost a lot of money. And despite that, they did not reach the needs established by Boverket in a single year. To compare that situation with the situation we have had now during the 18 months that this government has led the country - a very tough situation with high inflation and a recession - does not lay the foundation for a truly serious debate.

It would be somewhat pleasant, Madam Speaker, with some form of self-awareness as to why we are in this situation. The problems are exacerbated by the fact that structural reforms were not addressed in good times, which would have prepared us for worse times. From that insight, we could have had an even more serious debate.

I take this situation seriously. I have provided answers regarding several of the measures we have already taken. The plan moving forward is to dampen effects here and now, to continue holding the line on fighting inflation, and to tackle structural reforms – shorter lead times, improving regulations, making buildable land available in attractive locations, and achieving a better-functioning housing market. All of that needs to happen, and it is happening step by step. It would, of course, have been better if several of those steps had been taken earlier, but now we stand where we stand.

We are ready to take responsibility.

I appreciate the dialogue that the members in this debate express that they want so that we can move forward together.

The interpellations debate was hereby concluded.

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)