Response to interpellation 2024/25:604 on the equalization system
Translated from Swedish by AI; the translation may contain errors. The Swedish text is the original.
Summary AI, written in advance
The debate concerns the equalization system for municipalities and regions. KD argues that municipal economic equalization is a prerequisite for equal welfare throughout the country 1. KD emphasizes that the system must be kept updated and that the proposals from a parliament-composed committee are now being prepared within the Government Offices following the referral process 1. S considers that everyone should have the right to good welfare regardless of place of residence and that the current system is insufficient to meet the cost crisis in smaller municipalities with socioeconomic challenges 2. S argues that major changes are necessary for equal conditions and demands a clearer timetable since the bill is missing from the government's plan 2.
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)
Madam Speaker! I must apologize to the previous debaters for not shaking hands with them. But we wave in the air instead.
Madam Speaker! Eva Lindh has asked me what the reason is that the bill on the equalization system is not included in the government's plan and what the current timetable looks like.
I share the view that all municipalities should be able to offer a good welfare. At the same time, many municipalities, especially the smaller ones, face challenges, for example, when it comes to an aging and declining population and also regarding the supply of skills. Municipal economic equalization is a prerequisite for an equal welfare throughout the country. It is important that the system is kept updated and that it is developed in step with societal development.
The equalization system has been reviewed by a parliamentary committee. The background for the committee's appointment was an announcement from the Riksdag that the equalization system should be reviewed with a focus on development, growth, and equal service throughout the country. The committee's mandate included, among other things, to conduct a broad review of the system and to propose measures to reduce the risk of negative side effects of the income equalization on growth.
The committee submitted its proposals in July, and the proposals were subsequently referred for four months to a broad consultation circle, including all municipalities and regions. It is important for the government that positions on the Equalization Committee's proposals are based on thoroughly worked-out analyses. The proposals are now being prepared within the Government Offices.
Eva Lindh (S)
Madam Speaker! Regardless of who you are or where you live, you should be able to receive good healthcare, a good education, and good care. In a democratic welfare model, we have a collective responsibility for all children, all the sick, and all the elderly.
That is not the case today. Right now, the welfare is in a cost crisis, and the situation is generally more difficult among the demographically smallest municipalities and those municipalities that have large so-called socioeconomic challenges.
The conditions for meeting that challenge differ greatly between municipalities and regions. That is why we have an equalization system.
Sweden naturally needs investments in welfare that create a more cohesive and equal society. All municipalities and regions shall be able to have a good welfare. We must prioritize more equal conditions throughout the country.
Madam Speaker! I shall take a brief look back. In April 2022, the entire Riksdag agreed to conduct a new review of the entire so-called equalization system, that is, how we distribute resources to municipalities and regions. It was actually the parties that now sit in the government that were particularly insistent that it should happen just then.
In brief, the assignment given in April 2022 was to ensure that all municipalities and regions have equal economic conditions to provide their inhabitants with a high-quality welfare. It was also about development and other issues and about reviewing the entire system.
It is naturally a very important and decisive investigation that concerns us all. The investigation also showed that relatively large changes are necessary to ensure that the system creates just those equal conditions. They should not be the same, but equal.
In July 2024, Minister for Civil Affairs Erik Slottner received the final report from the investigation. The proposal has now been on consultation, and the government has received the consultation responses. The expected bill is, however, not included in the plan. That is why I and many others with me wonder: What happened?
The entire time during the investigation period, we worked towards an unofficial common deadline so that we could achieve an implementation from 1 January 2026. But now, as has been said, there is no trace of the bill. That is also why I am asking the question.
Right now, many regions and municipalities are waiting for some kind of announcement. The answer from the Minister is that the proposals are now being prepared within the Government Offices. Absolutely, I understand that. I suppose a number of others do too. But the Minister should be able to give some further announcement.
What does the timetable look like? Will there even be a proposal for a new equalization system? We deserve to get something more than just that it is being prepared.
Now is the time in the schedule for municipalities and regions to work on their budget for the coming years. They are doing that now. Some kind of hint about what is happening, the Minister should be able to give here today.
Source: The Swedish Parliament. The speeches come from the open data of the Riksdag, translated into English by AI, which may contain errors.