Response to interpellation 2023/24:757 on goals for integration policy
Translated from Swedish by AI; the translation may contain errors. The Swedish text is the original.
Summary AI, written in advance
1 L proposes a new goal for integration policy that emphasizes the individual's own responsibility 1. L argues that everyone who can work should work and that the systems must be designed so that it is profitable to move from benefits to work 1. L emphasizes that investments create jobs, that language is crucial for integration 2 and that school is the most decisive factor in counteracting exclusion 2 3. L argues that Sweden should offer opportunities but also set requirements 3 4 and that the investigation should review establishment and housing compensation 3. 5 S argues that everyone who can work should work and that language is important 5.
Written by AI in advance and may contain errors. The numbers lead to the speech a statement builds on; check against the text below.
Arbetsmarknads- och integrationsministern Johan Pehrson (L)
Madam Speaker! Serkan Köse has asked me how I and the government intend to ensure that the new goal for integration policy leads to increased employment and self-sufficiency among foreign-born individuals, and what measures I and the government intend to take to improve the opportunities for foreign-born women to enter the labor market.
Sweden needs a new direction for integration policy. Today's integration problems affect the entire society, and the result has been widespread exclusion among many foreign-born but also among children and young people born in Sweden. It is important that integration policy contributes to a greater extent to all who can be available to the labor market, learn Swedish and become a part of the Swedish community.
The government has therefore proposed a new goal for the integration policy. With the formulation of the proposed goal, the individual's own responsibility to become a part of Swedish society is clarified. If the Riksdag decides in accordance with the government's proposal, the government will proceed with sub-goals that complement the overall goal.
Shortly, the government will also receive a final report from the Inquiry into a target-oriented integration policy. It will be an important basis for the continued work to increase the impact of the integration policy goal within public activities and improve the follow-up of integration.
Promoting the establishment of foreign-born women in the labor market is a priority for the government. Far too many foreign-born people, especially women, are far from the labor market and thus lack a real opportunity for freedom, to independently shape their lives and participate in society.
People who come to Sweden should not get stuck in unemployment and long-term dependence on social assistance or other benefits. The government therefore continues the work to re-establish the work principle. Everyone who can work shall work. Both the transfer and tax systems must be designed so that it is profitable to move from benefits to work. In addition, the labor market policy needs to be designed so that more people enter work. High requirements shall be set on those who seek jobs, combined with the fact that the unemployed are offered the right support and interventions.
Serkan Köse (S)
Madam Speaker! Thank you, Minister Johan Pehrson, for the answer!
According to Statistics Sweden, unemployment among foreign-born persons was 16 percent during the first quarter of 2024, while it was 5.6 percent for domestic-born persons. Unemployment among women with a foreign background is particularly high. According to the Public Employment Service, this is a group where a large proportion are far from the labor market.
Therefore, Madam Speaker, it is deeply worrying to see the current government's and the Sweden Democrats' passivity and lack of action. Minister for Employment and Integration Johan Pehrson has been responsible for these issues for nearly two years, but we have still not seen any concrete reforms to break the exclusion and segregation.
It is many words but little workshop, Madam Speaker. On the Riksdag's table, there are no concrete proposals for reforms, and Johan Pehrson's reform list is simply empty. One of Johan Pehrson's first actions as minister was to abolish the Delegation against Segregation - Delmos, as it was called. The agency played a key role in the work against segregation. The Government Offices have conducted an investigation and point out in a report that the abolition of Delmos has affected the state's long-term work against segregation and worsened the coordination.
Madam Speaker! We see a growing unemployment among foreign-born people, especially women. Despite the fact that the government has proposed a new goal for integration policy, we see no concrete measures to reach these goals. It is not about any major reorganization but rather an adjustment in line with the policy that has already been pursued, where both the individual's and society's responsibility are emphasized and where requirements and support as well as opportunities and obligations go hand in hand.
Madam Speaker! The previous Social Democratic government introduced, for example, a proportionate sanction system for newcomers within the establishment program, corresponding to that which applies for other job seekers.
We agree with Johan Pehrson that one should have high expectations that the individual will integrate into Swedish society, but we are critical of the government cutting back on labor market policies and preventive measures in vulnerable areas. This will hinder integration and fuel segregation in our society.
In the supplementary budget for 2024, the government proposes that more people should enter the workforce and become self-sufficient, but without clear and ambitious measures, we risk seeing continued high unemployment and increased inequalities in society.
Madam Speaker! It is therefore worrying to see a cut of 2 billion kronor in active labor market policy. This means less money for Arbetsförmedlingen and labor market policy programs, which hinders integration and exacerbates segregation with long-term effects on social integration.
Madam Speaker! The Social Democratic government appointed an inquiry during the previous parliamentary term which was tasked with proposing more measures to accelerate the integration of foreign-born women into the labor market. The inquiry has come forward with many concrete proposals. Johan Pehrson boasted about this inquiry during Järvaveckan last year and has on repeated occasions promised that the proposals shall be considered and prepared.
It has now been a year since the investigation was handed over to Johan Pehrson, but initiatives from the government are still lacking. When does Johan Pehrson intend to come to the Riksdag with proposals for reforms? There are, in fact, good proposals in the investigation, and they are on the table for Johan Pehrson. What is missing is that Johan Pehrson acts. Or is he unable to convince his government base regarding the proposals that are on the table?
I have two concrete questions for Johan Pehrson: How does the Minister and the government intend to ensure that the new goal for integration policy leads to increased employment and self-sufficiency among foreign-born individuals? When does Johan Pehrson intend to implement the proposals that he was so incredibly proud of in Järva a year ago? These are proposals that we Social Democrats believe will yield results.
Arbetsmarknads- och integrationsministern Johan Pehrson (L)
Madam Speaker! I am very pleased that Serkan Köse seems to be aligning himself with the government's new integration policy goals with a focus on personal responsibility. We are restructuring the entire integration policy so that more people can gain self-determination, be integrated, and have a chance to reach their best selves. It is then a matter of restructuring the migration policy that has been unsustainable and the integration policy.
An important part of the integration policy is the focus we now have in different ways on the Swedish language, partly so that people can be integrated faster, and partly so that children will find it much easier. An important part is, for example, the work we do to strengthen not least the situation of foreign-born women by strengthening the possibility of open preschool, which can be an important point of contact to slowly but surely be able to begin an establishment on the labor market.
We are, as said, now moving on to the migration and integration policy. We are also struggling quite a bit with the high-inflation economy that we inherited. However, it was not only Serkan Köse's fault, Mr. Speaker, but it was the outside world that created a difficult situation for Sweden.
Now we see how the investments in our country continue to remain at a very high level. That investments are made is a fundamental part of solving Sweden's economic challenges and meeting demographic challenges. It also leads to jobs at all levels and in different sectors, and it will lead to more people being able to get jobs. There is no other way around this. There are no political proposals from either Serkan Köse's party, the Socialdemokraterna, or any other party here in the Riksdag - or even the government - that can create these jobs, but it is based on a Sweden that grows and individuals who are forward-looking and take a great personal responsibility for their own integration.
So, quite a lot is happening because we may have now achieved a certain success in the fight against inflation, and that could lead to us seeing even more investments than those we have seen just in the last few weeks, which are fantastic.
We are making major efforts in the preventive area. An important part is to rewrite the entire Social Services Act for earlier and clearer interventions.
Serkan Köse just said, Mr. Speaker, that nothing is being done in the area of integration policy. That is not quite correct because for the most part, the entire initiative that previously went to school social teams now has an entirely its own focus. We know that the restoration of the school is the most decisive thing for not least the young people who otherwise risk falling into exclusion. Not even here is there a single Social Democrat or any other politician who can perform magic with their knees. It is not possible to heal a missed schooling with any deductions, grants, or political interventions, not even from the Social Democrats. So, large efforts are being made here.
I also want to mention that there are amounts of proposals in the area of integration policy. When it concerns women who have come to Sweden, it is often a somewhat different character to the whole compared to men who have come here. It concerns, for example, much more family reunification, which can be due to different things.
That is why the investigation that I gladly - it is correct - received a referral. It involves many departments and is now being prepared in the government. I hope to be able to return with parts of it that can be very useful. But fundamentally, it is the language and the demand on the labor market that are decisive.
Serkan Köse (S)
Madam Speaker! I asked a very concrete question to the Minister: When does the Minister intend to implement the proposals contained in the investigation?
The investigation was presented, as mentioned, in May last year and contains concrete measures, including that the establishment program shall be made more ambitious, content-rich and individually adapted with individual final goals and earlier and more parallel activities as well as extended program time when needed - and the Minister refers to inflation.
I cannot make sense of this. There are concrete proposals in the investigation that are on Johan Pehrson's desk, and they have nothing to do with inflation or the economic crisis. These are concrete goals that mean Johan Pehrson can push these parts through already today, if he wants to.
My question was about whether Johan Pehrson's government base does not think the proposals are good. It would be good if the Minister said something about this. Is there any problem there?
One can problematize the discussion on segregation, for it is a rather complex issue, Mr. Speaker. It requires a careful analysis and concrete measures.
Unemployment among women with a foreign background is high, which reflects a lack of effectiveness in the government's and SD's policy to integrate these groups into the labor market.
Johan Pehrson said that we Social Democrats have no ideas, but we actually have very many. One way forward is the demand for long-term perspective, early interventions, and increased cooperation between different social actors. Therefore, Delmos interventions were important; I mentioned earlier that Statskontoret criticized the government for closing down the agency.
During the previous government's time, we took important steps towards a long-term reform program to reduce segregation. Even though there were shortcomings in the implementation, it was at least a step in the right direction. Johan Pehrson's government and government base lack both a reform program and a strategy for how we are to reduce segregation in our society.
Unlike Johan Pehrson, we Social Democrats believe that active measures are needed to combat exclusion. We believe that a broad range of measures across many policy areas are needed to address the underlying causes of the current segregation. We advocate for a comprehensive action plan with broad political anchoring to systematically and effectively reduce exclusion and improve integration.
We have today a school segregation that not only contributes to the inequality in educational outcomes but also to a deeper societal division. We have a growing residential segregation that reinforces exclusion, provides unequal living conditions, and increases crime. Within the labor market area, we face the great challenge of integrating the most vulnerable in our society, including newcomers and those with low education.
It is therefore worrying that Johan Pehrson is cutting active labor market policy by 2 billion kronor. This means, Mr. Speaker, less money for Arbetsförmedlingen and for labor market policy programs. This needs to be reassessed in light of its long-term effects on social integration. That this is happening in the midst of a warning crisis and an economic crisis does not seem to bother the minister significantly.
Let me just state that the government writes on its website that the work against segregation is about improving the situation in areas with socioeconomic challenges and counteracting structural causes of segregation by creating equal and equitable upbringing and living conditions as well as good life chances for all.
I fully agree with Johan Pehrson and the government in all of this. Therefore, it is strange and unfortunate that the government is now reducing investments in housing construction, resources for welfare, and active labor market policies, to mention a few areas that can contribute to reducing segregation.
Once again I ask: When does Johan Pehrson intend to return to the Riksdag with a concrete reform agenda that involves reducing segregation to ensure that the establishment of foreign-born women is improved? How will the government ensure its own set goal, the integration goal?
Arbetsmarknads- och integrationsministern Johan Pehrson (L)
Mr. Speaker! As I said, the investigation that Serkan Köse refers to is being prepared.
We are also waiting for the investigation on how we can concretize and do certain things regarding integration, which is a follow-up to the one that dealt with the goals and meaning of integration.
It is important to know where one is headed. It is a bit like competing in På spåret – one must, so to speak, know where the tracks go. One can then observe that after Serkan Köse's government's eight years, the tracks went in a completely different direction. Instead, it deepened and reinforced rather extensive integration problems.
That is why we are clear that Sweden shall be a country that provides opportunities but also sets requirements for individuals. It would be very strange if people who can get to Sweden and come to our country did not have any ability to take responsibility for their own lives.
On the other hand, it is very difficult to get a job if it is bad times. If it is a recession and inflation is very high, one must ensure that this main problem is solved, because it affects all people in Sweden regardless of where they were born. It affects all of Sweden's prosperity. In that way, this is also crucial for integration policy.
The final report from the inquiry on this matter of goals and purpose will address the questions of how this is to achieve broad impact in public activities and how migration policy is to be followed up more purposefully.
The investigation also looks at the issues regarding the establishment allowance, including both the establishment supplement and the housing supplement, because it must always pay to work. I hope that we can agree on that. I perceive that the Social Democrats have a history of thinking that this matter of work is important and that it should pay to work. If it doesn't, the motivation is slightly worse; perhaps we can agree on that.
The investigation also looks at what the requirements to be set should look like, whether the establishment allowance or the housing allowance should be reduced, and how this should be linked to how one participates in the establishment program. These are central parts.
When that investigation is complete, I hope that Serkan Köse returns here and shares his thoughts and opinions on it. But I appreciate the thoughts that exist about setting requirements alongside opportunities.
I appreciate the change in attitude that has occurred among the Social Democrats regarding the Swedish language. It facilitates the handling here in the chamber of the issues before us, whether it is the Sweden course or the requirements for citizenship, which we are also working on, in order to push for a more cohesive Sweden where people become a part of Sweden faster and more clearly. That is what integration is.
I usually say that it is very important that we get more people who feel like a part of Sweden and who say: Yes, I want to do the lumpen and defend our country. Yes, I want to start working and support myself and gladly pay tax so that I can get good healthcare if I get sick.
More must come in and have that attitude. But that is based on the Swedish language. It is based on removing those educations that are too deficient. That is also the answer to what Serkan Köse takes up. We have focused a lot on vocational training, both at the university college and in vocational adult education.
Serkan Köse (S)
Mr. Speaker! Thank you, Minister! It was not quite an answer to my questions, but one might say that it was at least an answer to some parts of my questions. Sometimes it is difficult to know.
Johan Pehrson always talks about how we Social Democrats do not set requirements for people. That is not quite true. We are clear: Everyone who can work shall work, and language is very important for one to be integrated into society. Language and education are incredibly important. That is what we agree on.
What we are problematizing in today's discussion is the government's new goals for integration policy as well as the investigation that Johan Pehrson has on his desk. I still do not see any concrete measures to achieve these goals. There is nothing presented from Johan Pehrson's side. Johan Pehrson has defined a goal, but there are no concrete measures to reach that goal.
Nor I am getting any real answer as to when Johan Pehrson intends to return to the Riksdag with concrete reforms based on the investigation Johan Pehrson has on his desk concerning improved labor market establishment for foreign-born women.
Once again: Johan Pehrson promised during Järvaveckan 2023 that the proposals from the investigation would be considered and prepared. A year has passed, just over a year. How much more time does Johan Pehrson need to return to the Riksdag? I am still waiting for that answer. Is it the case that Johan Pehrson has problems with his government base, which is blocking the proposals?
Once again, Mr. Speaker: The government has no concrete proposals on its table. Unemployment is increasing. Unemployment among women with a foreign background is increasing.
There are very many good proposals in the investigation that can be implemented immediately. These include more ambitious and individually tailored establishment programs, increased support for language teaching and vocational training as Johan Pehrson touched upon, as well as specific measures for foreign-born women. They can be implemented by Johan Pehrson now. If the Minister comes to the Riksdag with these proposals, I will gladly cooperate with Johan Pehrson to combat segregation and strengthen integration. The question is whether Johan Pehrson is willing to take the step.
Arbetsmarknads- och integrationsministern Johan Pehrson (L)
Mr. Speaker! Serkan Köse, who is well-versed in our form of government, knows that questions are prepared.
We are very determined on the government's side regarding strengthening integration. I want to say it again: We provide a country and with opportunities, but we also set requirements.
In our assessment, there has been a deficiency here. I understand that Serkan Köse thinks it was very good during previous years when the Social Democrats were in government, and I am glad that Serkan Köse and the Social Democrats are eager and want the proposals from an investigation to be implemented very quickly. But I will process them; I promise Serkan Köse that.
Since not all proposals are good. The referral bodies are diverging a bit in different directions; one must be careful with that. We have referral bodies in order to be able to, so to speak, test different concrete proposals that an investigation has come up with and see if and where there are deficiencies. That must be coordinated with different departments. It is joint preparation; I believe Serkan Köse is well aware of that. But I promise that it will go faster than it took for the Social Democrats to realize that the Swedish language is important to achieve a functioning integration. It took them almost ten years to start understanding that.
This does not mean that other languages are unimportant, Mr. Speaker. It is very good if people speak different languages, but in Sweden, one must speak Swedish if one is to be able to integrate. It is crystal clear, I think, and I have thought so for a long time.
We are therefore preparing this. I also want to say that fundamentally, very good work is being carried out in many municipalities. For example, SFI works well in many places, in others it does not. It is not the case that we do not have any integration policy. But we are now increasing the requirements and the responsibility for the individual, and we think that is an important part of the responsibility for integration.
Source: The Swedish Parliament. The speeches come from the open data of the Riksdag, translated into English by AI, which may contain errors.