Response to interpellation 2024/25:431 on a tuition-free school
Translated from Swedish by AI; the translation may contain errors. The Swedish text is the original.
Summary AI, written in advance
The debate concerns measures to make school free of charge. L argues that school is already free of charge according to the Education Act, with the exception of a few insignificant costs that the principals are responsible for following 1 2 3. L emphasizes that the government has added just over 2.9 billion SEK to the school for 2025 1. L considers the current legislation to be well-balanced 4. S argues that the government is not taking any measures to abolish fees 5 6. S claims that even small costs hit families with children with small margins hard 5. S proposes raising the child allowance, the housing supplement, and the student grant, as well as making school truly free of charge 5 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 Lotta Edholm (L)
Madam Speaker! Linus Sköld has asked me what measures I intend to take so that school will truly become free of charge.
Education in the Swedish school system shall be equivalent within each school form and within the after-school center, regardless of where in the country it is organized. This means that all children and pupils shall have access to an activity of high quality so that the established goals for the education are reached, regardless of where in the country they live or which preschool or school they attend.
Linus Sköld is correct that school in Sweden shall be free of charge. This is stated in the Education Act. It is also correct that there may occur individual elements that can entail an insignificant cost for the students. In connection with school trips and similar activities, costs may in some cases occur during a school year that are reimbursed by guardians on a voluntary basis. Such activities shall be open to all students, and the reimbursement may not exceed the principal's own cost for the student to participate in the activity.
It is the head of the school who is responsible for ensuring that the education is carried out in accordance with laws and other regulations, including that the provisions on fees are followed. The Swedish Schools Inspectorate has, according to the Education Act, supervision over the school system, special forms of education, and other pedagogical activities. The supervision includes making the decisions on measures that may be needed for the head who operates the activity to rectify errors that have been discovered.
It is extremely important that the principal takes their responsibility, as even small costs can be burdensome for many households if they occur on repeated occasions. The school must also take this into account when planning activities. I expect the School Inspectorate to fulfill its supervisory responsibility and intervene if necessary.
I am aware that the Swedish preschool and school have for a long period struggled with a difficult situation characterized by increased costs. Therefore, the school has been allocated more than 2.9 billion kronor for 2025 on the initiative of the government in cooperation with Sverigedemokraterna. The state's contribution to the school for 2025 will thus be the largest in 20 years measured in current prices and is assessed to be at least the second largest during the same period in fixed prices.
Linus Sköld (S)
Madam Speaker! Thank you, Lotta Edholm, for a long answer that could have been significantly shorter!
The question I asked in the interpellation was: What measures does the Minister intend to take so that school truly becomes free of charge? The many words the Minister gave as an answer could have been summarized into a single one, namely "none". She does not intend to take any measures at all. In her answer, she describes what the rules look like, and she also describes that she hopes the supervisory authority will intervene if someone charges higher fees than what is permitted.
The Minister refers also to the fact that the preschool and the school have for a long period struggled with a difficult situation characterized by increased costs. That rhymes poorly with other things I have heard. I have several times in debates in this chamber raised that question with the Minister for Finance, who is responsible for the municipalities' finances. And the municipalities are responsible for the school. The Minister for Finance has repeatedly said that the municipalities have enough money. I do not agree with that.
Yesterday came the news that confirms what all Swedes feel: food prices are putting a serious squeeze on Swedish households' finances, in fact, more than they have during an entire year. Food prices increased by 3.9 percent in February compared to February last year. At the same time, prices on clothes are increasing by almost as much. This obviously hits those with the smallest economic margins the hardest, which is confirmed by the fact that debt to the Enforcement Authority is hitting record highs. During last year, the debt to the Enforcement Authority increased by 52 million kronor per day.
It is obviously worst for those who have the smallest margins. In a household economy with very small margins, even small expenses can be very burdensome. I think one must have respect for this.
In this situation, when the food price increases are eating into the finances of families with children and when the clothing price increases are eating into the finances of families with children – what does the government do then?
We Social Democrats have proposed that the child allowance should be increased, that the housing supplement should be increased and that the student grant should be increased. We also have proposals to make school truly free of charge.
But what is the government doing? The government is lowering taxes for those who have the largest margins. That is what the government is doing. Otherwise, the answer to the question of what measures the government will take is "none." That is the answer. Households and families with children with the smallest economic margins shall continue to pay for fruit for the preschool class, public transport tickets when the children go on school trips, packed lunches for excursions, or entrance tickets to theater performances.
I think it is cheeky that Lotta Edholm pretends that she wants to do something about the situation when the short answer is actually "none".
Statsrådet Lotta Edholm (L)
Madam Speaker! The reason the answer is long is, naturally, that this is an interpellation debate that people are listening to. They are certainly interested in what the system looks like. This system has existed for very many years.
As I have already mentioned, it appears from the Education Act that the main rule is that school shall be free of fees. There are a few exceptions; for example, there may occur individual elements that entail an insignificant cost for the students. It is up to the main employer to ensure that the system is implemented in accordance with the laws and regulations that actually exist. The Swedish Schools Inspectorate naturally also has a great responsibility to ensure that the legislation is followed.
If this is a major problem, I expect the contracting authority to take responsibility to ensure that the legislation is followed.
Linus Sköld (S)
Madam Speaker! As I mentioned, food price increases are hitting records during the past year. Prices on clothes are also increasing dramatically. Families with children depend on both eating and dressing.
Families with children are also the households that have children in school. What Lotta Edholm says is not entirely correct. Even though it is true that the school has the possibility to charge insignificant costs on occasional occasions during a school year, one can interpret what insignificant costs mean, and it is interpreted very differently in different places. Municipalities can make interpretations of up to 400 kronor, and for someone with a weak economy, 400 kronor is not an insignificant cost.
One can also look at how it is for upper secondary school students. The one who attends upper secondary school is, for example, not guaranteed free school lunch. The one who attends upper secondary school can also be expected to provide themselves with occasional aids for the education at their own expense. There is also a possibility for schools to arrange school trips for the students. There are therefore more areas that can mean costs for parents for their children to attend school.
Lotta Edholm holds the power to take initiative to do something about this. I ask her: Does she intend to do something about this? The short answer is no. She does not intend to do anything about this. She continues to explain what the rules say, moreover incorrectly, and does not problematize at all the fact that a small heap can tip the scales for a small household economy.
I think that Lotta Edholm should answer the question of what measures she intends to take going forward so that occasional "insignificant costs" do not affect families with children in a vulnerable financial situation.
Statsrådet Lotta Edholm (L)
Madam Speaker! Yes, we have a system today. Linus Sköld has not shown in what way I give a false picture of the legislation. I have accounted for exactly how the legislation looks, namely that school should be free of charge but that there are exceptions for insignificant costs that may only be made as individual elements in the Swedish school system.
I also want to point out that it is naturally incredibly important that the primary providers ensure that the legislation is followed. I belong to a party and a government that want to increase regulation in Swedish schools. There is too much free choice in our municipalities and among our individual primary providers when it comes to how the legislation is interpreted in Sweden.
It is, however, important to point out that the principals have a responsibility to ensure that the legislation is upheld. We also have a well-developed school inspectorate that is also to do this. We therefore have a system that works.
Linus Sköld may say in what way I am wrong in my description of how the legislation de facto looks.
Linus Sköld (S)
Madam Speaker! I did not ask the Minister what she thinks the school principals should do. I did not either ask what she thinks the School Inspectorate should do. I asked the Minister what she intends to do to ensure that fees disappear from the Swedish school. On this, she has no answer.
Regarding what was incorrect or what was missing in the description of which fees are possible to charge, I have accounted for at least three examples in the legislation: school lunches in upper secondary school, learning tools in upper secondary school for which a fee can be charged, and the possibility of financing school trips on occasional occasions. These are missing in the description that Lotta Edholm provides.
In addition to this, I note that Lotta Edholm follows the government's line. The economic situation in the country is making Swedes poorer. Those who have the smallest margins are, of course, the hardest hit. Households with children are often those who have the smallest margins. Therefore, we Social Democrats have proposed as measures to increase the child allowance, to increase the student grant, and to increase the housing supplement for families with children. We also have proposals to make school truly free of charge. That would be significant for those families with children who have the smallest margins.
What Lotta Edholm and her government do in this situation with increasing unemployment, bankruptcies hitting records and records in debt at the Enforcement Authority is to increase the economic margins for society's wealthiest. Targeted tax cuts of 6 billion for those who earn 65,000 a month and more – that is what Lotta Edholm and her gang prioritize. We Social Democrats prioritize differently.
Statsrådet Lotta Edholm (L)
Madam Speaker! I can only state that the Social Democrats, during the eight years they were responsible for school policy, thought that this legislation worked well – that we have a tuition-free school but that there are small exceptions that can be made. I thought that was a reasonable assessment during eight years of Social Democratic rule. I still think it is a reasonable assessment that we have, and still have, the legislation we have.
With that said, it is however self-evident that the primary bodies must take their responsibility to ensure that the legislation is actually followed: that it concerns insignificant elements of fees and that it must not occur more than on occasional occasions, as the law is actually written. It is important that municipalities and independent primary bodies take that responsibility.
I note, however, that it is a piece of legislation that I consider to be well-balanced and which the Social Democrats have also obviously considered to be well-balanced for decades.
Source: The Swedish Parliament. The speeches come from the open data of the Riksdag, translated into English by AI, which may contain errors.