Response to interpellation 2024/25:259 on Lantmäteriet's digital services
Translated from Swedish by AI; the translation may contain errors. The Swedish text is the original.
Summary AI, written in advance
KD considers that the shutdown of Lantmäteriet's digital services was necessary for security reasons 1 and that the agency is working to rectify deficiencies 2 3. KD argues that the government is ready to make decisions when a basis is available 2 3 and that the agency needs resources to open the registers in a secure manner 4. S argues that the shutdown causes serious consequences for community construction 5 and that the government must hold the responsible minister accountable 6 7. S considers that action must be taken promptly to maintain a reasonable service level 7 and warns that municipalities may begin to build their own registers 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.
Statsrådet Andreas Carlson (KD)
Madam Speaker! Jennie Nilsson has asked me what measures I have taken to ensure that the shutdown of Lantmäteriet's digital services does not have unreasonable consequences for the economy and social development.
I want to begin by saying that Lantmäteriet is a central actor for the construction sector to function. That being said, the shutdown that was carried out in May has been assessed as necessary for security reasons.
The Government Offices received information at the end of March 2024 that Lantmäteriet had noticed deficiencies in the confidentiality review when customer service released documents and that the agency planned to take measures shortly. Since then, the Government Offices have had ongoing contact with the agency and received information in May regarding further deficiencies in the handling of files in e-services and what measures were planned to rectify these deficiencies.
The authority has not requested measures from the government. It was the authority's decision to close the services, and the authority has also indicated that further measures to resolve the problems are pending. The government takes what occurred seriously. The government has appointed an acting director-general pending the appointment of a new director-general.
The Government is following the developments and the consequences for the construction sector. In the regulatory letter for 2025, the Government has today given the authority a mandate to report on how the work to strengthen internal governance and control to promote a good management culture is progressing. The Government will also take measures to review and strengthen the conditions for Lantmäteriet's work with information security. I will have to get back to you on what additional measures may become relevant to be taken from the Government's side.
Jennie Nilsson (S)
Madam Speaker! Thank you, Minister, for the answer! During the autumn, we have been able to follow news reports that Lantmäteriet has had serious security deficiencies in its confidentiality review. Secret and security-classified information has been easily accessible in open archives, which has meant that defense secrets and protected personal data have been able to be retrieved without necessary confidentiality review.
This is obviously serious, and it led to emergency shutdowns of digital services and registers and to the director-general of the agency having to resign. I assume that a solid job is now being done both in investigating what has happened and in ensuring that the security flaws that have been discovered are addressed.
Mr. Speaker, my interpellation today is not about Lantmäteriet's security flaws in themselves, but about the consequences of the emergency stop. The shutdown of Lantmäteriet's digital services has had serious consequences for community construction and community planning.
Investments are being withheld, and projects are delayed or stopped entirely. This affects both housing construction and other important infrastructure. The data required for detailed plans and construction is currently not available digitally, which means extensive obstacles for construction processes. Handling this data manually requires, as far as I understand, a large number of officials who do not exist today.
Against that background, I asked responsible minister Andreas Carlson what measures he has taken to ensure that the shutdown of Lantmäteriet's digital registers will not have unreasonable consequences for the economy and social development.
The answer is remarkable and raises more questions than it provides answers. The government follows the developments and the consequences for the public sector but has not taken any measures whatsoever, this despite that, according to its own statement, it received information that Lantmäteriet had noticed deficiencies in the confidentiality management as early as the end of March this year and despite that it reasonably noticed that Lantmäteriet was forced to emergency-close the digital registers on 24 May.
It has now been nine months since information was first received and seven months since the digital services were shut down. How is it possible that no action has been taken in any way to minimize the consequences for the economy and social development?
Andreas Carlson states in his response, possibly as an explanation, that the authority has not requested measures from the government. Does that mean that the responsible minister is satisfied with the measures the authority has taken and thus accepts the consequences that are now arising for the economy and social planning? Is it the minister's and the government's assessment that the authority has the resources required to both handle the shut down digital services manually and to rectify the security flaws and get the systems running again?
How large are the problems? How many projects are delayed or do not happen because documents are not issued in time? What calculations and assessments are made regarding the socio-economic consequences?
And finally: When does the minister expect the digital services to be in place again?
Statsrådet Andreas Carlson (KD)
Madam Speaker! I will begin by stating that I hear nothing else from Jennie Nilsson than that she makes the same assessment as the authority has made, namely that a shutdown is necessary for security reasons. I have heard nothing else than that.
It is, of course, up to the authority to actively work to remedy the consequences that this entails as quickly as possible. The Government views what occurred very seriously. I do not think that has escaped anyone. But it is also important to note that the authority has not requested any measures from the Government to reduce processing times.
We have followed this closely. We have, of course, been in close contact with the authority since we received information about this in the spring. But there has been no basis for the government to take a position regarding, for example, increased economic resources to handle the situation.
What I, however, have received information about and can also inform the Chamber about is that Lantmäteriet has since last spring initiated a so-called special incident due to the questions regarding the delivery of documents both via customer service and via e-services. The authority is still working on assessments of the economic and operational effects, and these largely depend on when and under what conditions the e-service can open again.
Lantmäteriet has newly employed about twenty people this year to work with secrecy screening. Far more people within the agency have been redeployed for the same task. For 2025, the agency indicates that it will need additional funds to handle the disclosure of documents in a somewhat reasonable manner, but we will have to return to this issue when we know more.
The authority now has a new leadership in the form of a new, acting director-general who is working full-time both regarding security issues and regarding what is necessary to be able to open this up as safely and effectively as possible. The new, acting director-general will, of course, have to prioritize that work. But I repeat that there is no petition or request for increased resources.
Then it is of course important that Lantmäteriet investigates thoroughly what has happened and how these important acts can be opened up again in a safe manner.
As I said in my previous answer, the government has today decided to task Lantmäteriet with strengthening its work regarding internal governance and control. The agency's board has previously sought external help from another agency. I have also indicated that further measures will be taken to get to the bottom of the situation that has arisen.
This is of course important, but I want to return to the fact that I have not heard Jennie Nilsson say that she has any views on the shutdown as such. In that case, it is of course important that we give the new acting director-general the confidence to work on the issue internally within the agency.
When we have more precise indications of how much funds would be needed, the government is of course prepared to make the decisions that may be required. But we do not have such a basis. We have no request from the authority.
Based on this, I hope that I can answer the questions that Jennie Nilsson has asked here in the chamber today.
Jennie Nilsson (S)
Madam Speaker! I will be clear regarding what the Minister perceives that he has heard, namely that I do not think the archives should have been kept open given the circumstances and the deficiencies that existed connected to the secrecy reviews. I assess that it was certainly the right decision. According to the media reporting that has been, this decision would also likely have been made earlier. But that is a question which I assume can be investigated and reported back on.
That one shares the minister's view that it was necessary to close this does not, however, mean that one also shares the minister's view that the minister then has no further responsibility and that all responsibility lies solely with the agency.
It is completely correct that it is the authority that must produce the basis and proposals for decisions regarding what is needed to ensure that a security routine is established, which means that one does not risk leaking secret documents to a party that does not have them. New systems will be required that need to be implemented with new security routines. It is a substantial piece of work.
My question is: Has the Minister ensured that the agency has the resources required to do this job and get the systems in place in such a way that they can function as they must function?
When the digital registers are closed, manual handling of the incoming requests is required. Has the minister ensured that the agency has the resources required for the manual handling? Has the minister, regarding the work that has been done – ongoing through dialogue and by following the issue closely, as the minister states has been done – been satisfied with the answers he has received and with the results of this?
If he had not been that, one should have requested documentation. Then one should have acted much earlier than this to ensure that the authority does what is required to deliver on a society-critical mission.
This also came with a timing that, in my opinion, is extremely unfortunate. We have had a construction crisis that has resulted in the construction sector practically collapsing. Now we see a slight brightening. Interest rates have gone down. Inflation is lower. There is a certain interest in - and a certain pressure - to get started with some projects. They now risk not getting started because one cannot obtain register data. It is a completely unsustainable situation.
I understand why Andreas Carlson and the government want to blame only the authority, but we as members of Parliament cannot hold an authority or the head of an authority accountable. We hold the responsible minister accountable, who in this case is Andreas Carlson.
I can state that I actually did not receive an answer to any of the questions I asked. I assume that the minister has answers to these questions. Otherwise, this is much more serious than I thought when I entered this discussion.
I give the minister another chance and repeat my questions: Is it the government's and the minister's assessment that the agency has the resources required to both handle the closed digital registers manually and to rectify the security flaws that exist and get the systems running again? How large are the problems assessed to be? What are the socio-economic consequences?
Statsrådet Andreas Carlson (KD)
Madam Speaker! I believe the member knows the answer as to whether I am satisfied with how things have been handled at Lantmäteriet. I believe the message has been quite clear from the government's side and from my side regarding this incident and the situation. We view what occurred very seriously.
But it is also important that Jennie Nilsson herself takes responsibility for what she states.
That the necessary shutdown was carried out means that measures must be taken so that it can be opened in a safe manner. The authority is working on the exact scope of this - at this moment, I can imagine. I have said this in a previous answer. I have described that the authority has newly hired about twenty people and that far more than that have been able to be redeployed within Lantmäteriet to be able to handle the situation that has arisen.
Madam Speaker! I have answered previously that there are indications that more funds are needed to manage this during 2025, but one has not been able to specify anything when we have asked the question. I have said that the new, acting Director General needs to go a bit further in the work in order to be able to provide the basis needed for the government to be able to make a decision. It is of course important. But the government stands ready to make the decisions that may be required.
I do not think more needs to be said. I believe we are in agreement on this. I believe we see the consequences of this for the construction sector. I have understood that we are in agreement on the assessments that have been made regarding that it was a necessary shutdown and that it perhaps should even have been done earlier. There I share Jennie Nilsson's assessment.
That is why we have tasked the authority with strengthening its internal governance and control and announced that an investigator shall be appointed to get to the bottom of the sequence of events before the spring of 2024.
There is no reason, Madam Speaker, to blow this up into a major conflict. I believe there is a very large consensus on this issue.
Jennie Nilsson (S)
Madam Speaker! I thank the Minister for the answer, even though I still do not feel that I have received an answer to my questions, which I consider relevant given the situation.
I can also think it is a bit absurd of the minister to say that Jennie Nilsson herself should take the consequences. It is unclear what consequences I should take in this. But if one as a minister does not want to see one's own role and wants to try to just shift this onto the authority, then perhaps that is how one chooses to answer genuinely honest questions and address the concern that we have a social construction process that has now been stalled in an extremely unfortunate position. Things and matters that need to be built are not built because one cannot get out register information.
It was necessary to close the registers. But it is also necessary to ensure that some form of reasonable service and level is maintained in this. And it is important that one acts promptly both in terms of taking responsibility and in terms of speaking about how one views the way forward, what solutions one sees and when they are in place.
Perhaps the most pressing point in my questions is: When can one expect these registers to open again? I have not received an answer to that question either. I understand that it is difficult to say anything exact, but it should at least be possible to give an indication of when you believe the systems will be able to function in a reasonable way.
To this is added that there is a risk of new problems if this is not handled and if the question of responsibility is, so to speak, pushed aside in the way that is now being done. It is testified that there is a risk that municipalities will start building up their own registers in order to be able to have access to data. That would be even less legally secure and more dangerous than what we have seen in the authority, as it has been.
I want to conclude by wishing that the responsible minister shows that he is also prepared to take responsibility for the consequences of the emergency stop.
Statsrådet Andreas Carlson (KD)
Madam Speaker! It is not about an unwillingness to take responsibility, on the contrary. We have taken measures, as the member is well aware of.
One factor, which was also one of the reasons why we had to take measures, is that there has been a lack of information provided to the Government Offices in the relevant matters during the period before the spring of 2024. I have also been clear about this outside of this chamber, Madam Speaker.
There are many relevant questions that need to be asked and which I myself have asked. I have not received answers to all parts myself. That is why we have today made a decision on a mandate to strengthen the work with internal governance and control. We have announced that an investigator shall be appointed to get to the bottom of the preceding events before the spring of 2024. Parallel to this, it is of course important that the authority has the resources required to be able to carry out its mandate to open the registers in a secure way and as effectively and early as possible. Here, the authority has not submitted any request. There is an ongoing work internally at the authority which I see as very urgent and which is led by the acting director-general.
When we receive a basis and answers to the questions we have asked regarding what may be needed, we will of course be prepared to make the decisions that may be required to put such an important actor as Lantmäteriet in a better position. It has a decisive part in the community building process, just as Jennie Nilsson also emphasizes.
If one thinks that the shutdown is necessary, I believe one needs to take the consequences of one's own demands. If one works with opening the registers in a secure way and at the same time thinks that one cannot open them in an insecure way, one must, of course, ask the authority to work with this and, of course, ask questions to the government on how to do so. But today I have answered the questions that the member has asked, Madam Speaker.
I would therefore like to thank you for the debate and wish you a Merry Christmas.
Source: The Swedish Parliament. The speeches come from the open data of the Riksdag, translated into English by AI, which may contain errors.