Response to interpellation 2024/25:65 on hearing technology work aids
Translated from Swedish by AI; the translation may contain errors. The Swedish text is the original.
Summary AI, written in advance
M believes that it is important that people with disabilities get access to work aids in order to be able to participate in working life. M argues that the government has changed the ordinance to modernize the regulatory framework, simplify reimbursement management, and clarify grants for upgrades and training. M emphasizes that the work line is in focus and that it is important that people who can work also do so 1 2. M believes that it is effective that ISF carries out a review of the grants 1 2. M thinks that it is extremely important that everyone who can participate in working life 3. M believes that it is important for Sweden that as many as possible who can work also work 3. S believes that people who need work aids have the opportunity to participate in working life, pay tax, and contribute to society 4. S argues that a lack of these aids risks leading to reduced working hours, sick leave, or that people do not manage their work 4. S emphasizes that Sweden has a large skills shortage and that everyone who can is needed to meet the skills supply 4.
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 Anna Tenje (M)
Madam Speaker! Jonathan Svensson has asked me if I consider it important that people with hearing impairments have access to work aids and if I intend to take any measures to ensure that more people with hearing impairments get access to work aids from the public sector.
Persons with different disabilities or illnesses have the right to support in the form of various assistive devices in order to be able to participate in working life. For persons with, among others, hearing impairments or visual impairments, work aids are important for the possibility to work.
Since the current rules for work aids date back to the early 90s, it is important that the regulatory framework for work aids is updated and modernized so that it is adapted to today's needs. The Government has therefore decided on changes to the Ordinance (1991:1046) on grants for work aids. The changes aim to simplify and streamline the handling of reimbursement cases as well as to clarify and modernize the regulatory framework itself. The changes entered into force on 1 July 2024.
The amendments clarify that grants may be provided for updates and upgrades of computer-based assistive devices as well as for training to be able to use an assistive device or a device. It is also clarified that grants for training can be provided even when the total cost for a computer-based assistive device exceeds 50,000 kronor.
To simplify and streamline the management of repayments, the government has also decided to remove the possibility for a person to settle a repayment obligation by transferring the work aid to Försäkringskassan. This means that a person who has become work-incapable only becomes liable for repayment if the work aid has never been used.
In conclusion, I can state that the Swedish Social Insurance Agency, ISF, is currently conducting a review of grants for work aids. The purpose of the review is to investigate how grants for work aids are used today and whether any changes have occurred over time. The review highlights, among other things, whether there are challenges in the application due to the fact that the responsibility is shared between different actors. I look forward to ISF's report on this review.
Jonathan Svensson (S)
Madam Speaker! Thank you, Minister, for the answer and for taking the time to come to the chamber even tonight to discuss this question, which is very important for very many people in our country!
As appears from my interpellation, there are over 700,000 people in our country who have a hearing impairment and are of working age. Even though obviously not all these people work, it can be stated that approximately every sixth person who works has a hearing impairment. This means that in a workplace with 60 employees, there are approximately 10 who have impaired hearing.
Of course, there are great variations in how a hearing impairment affects different individuals; some have mild hearing impairments while others have significantly more severe ones. But I still believe that hearing is an important issue for and in the working life, and many of the 700,000 people that I described are also in need of support for work aids. It is about facilitating their hearing and in that way promoting a more equal participation in the working life.
In the current situation, you can receive support for work aids in a few different ways depending on how long you have been employed at your workplace. During the first year as an employee at your workplace, you have the opportunity to apply for support from Arbetsförmedlingen to gain access to your work aids - this, of course, provided that your hearing impairment affects your ability to work and that the aid could facilitate your performance of your work.
If, however, you have worked for more than twelve months with your current employer, you can turn to Försäkringskassan to apply for a grant for work aids. For some of all those who choose to turn to Försäkringskassan to apply for this support, it becomes a problem. It is in such a way that Försäkringskassan, in its assessments regarding the right to hearing-related work aids, chooses to reject applications from people with very severe hearing impairments with reference to the fact that they may have use for the aid even outside of work. They are, therefore, hearing too poorly to be entitled to support for hearing-related work aids.
Madam Speaker! There is still something illogical about this. That one hears so poorly that one is not entitled to support for aids that would facilitate hearing - there is no logic in that, Madam Speaker. When one has then received their rejection decision from Försäkringskassan, one is referred to the region one lives in. The problem, however, is that the regions do not see it as their task, and in many regions, one falls between the chairs.
Madam Speaker! In my interpellation, I asked the Minister if she intends to take any measures so that more people can gain access to hearing-related work aids. In the answer to my question that the Minister just gave in the Chamber, she described that work aids are an important tool for people who have a hearing impairment to be able to participate in working life. I think that is good; it is completely correct.
Unfortunately, the Minister spent a very large part of his speech describing changes to a regulation that has already been implemented. Furthermore, the regulatory changes are largely about facilitating refund cases. I do not quite fully understand how an updated refund management is to lead to more people gaining access to work aids. I therefore want to give the Minister a chance to elaborate on his and the Government's answer to the question of how he and the Government intend to act so that more people can gain access to the aids they need.
Statsrådet Anna Tenje (M)
Madam Speaker! For me and the entire government, it is obvious that everyone who can work should also work. This naturally means that people who have different functional variations or illnesses and are in need of special support to be able to work should also receive it. It is a very important and fundamental principle.
That more people can enter employment based on their own circumstances is good for the whole society, and it is particularly important for the individual. As we have spoken about here for a longer period, everyone fares better by working and having their own income to live on, but it is also about being involved in and being a part of a community. To encourage and promote work is precisely what the work line is.
I was involved in the modernization of the regulatory framework, which, therefore, is not just about making it easier to return something when one has become incapacitated for work. It is actually also about streamlining and simplifying the processing, which I still feel is part of the problem that the interpellor raises.
Just as I concluded by saying, it is also about the fact that ISF has been given the task of conducting a review to see if it is expedient, if it has changed over time, and if problems arise precisely because there are several actors involved. I will not say "too many cooks spoil the broth," but given my previous experiences as the chairman of the municipal executive board, I know that assistive device issues are complicated and difficult because they lie with many different actors. The interpellor only mentioned Arbetsförmedlingen, Försäkringskassan, and then the region, but here the municipality also comes into play.
I am therefore looking forward to the report that ISF will provide in its review. After that, provided that I follow the questions very closely, I will simply get back to you regarding whether any changes are needed.
Jonathan Svensson (S)
Madam Speaker! Thank you, Minister, for the answer!
In his response, the Minister raises the audit that the Swedish Pensions Agency is currently conducting regarding grants for work aids. Just as the Minister describes, that audit looks at precisely the questions we are discussing today and whether correct assessments are being made when it comes to support for work aids.
I and many others, of course, think that it is very welcome that the state's activities are being scrutinized. In practice, it is always positive to scrutinize the state's activities to see if they are functioning in the best way and, if they should not be functioning in a satisfactory way, to propose changes. It is very positive that the activities are being scrutinized to see if they can be improved.
I must nevertheless point out, Madam Speaker, that the review that the Inspectorate of Social Insurance is currently conducting is, as far as I know, a review that you yourselves have taken the initiative for. ISF is tasked with constantly reviewing and analyzing the entire social insurance area. Some of the review assignments are received directly from the government, but others are initiated by the Inspectorate itself. The review we are discussing today, namely the one looking at work aids, is one that you yourselves have taken the initiative for. It is therefore not the Minister or the government we have to thank for this review.
The fact is that the government has had two years to ensure that it becomes easier for people to access work aids. Already shortly after the government took office, the Minister was alerted to the challenges that exist regarding work aids for the hearing impaired. At that point, the Minister was approached by interest organizations in the field, and there was also media interest in the issue. The Minister was then on programs such as Ekot and described that the rules for aids would be reviewed, which has to some extent also occurred.
Despite this, no initiatives were taken during 2022 or 2023. During 2024, the change to the ordinance that the Minister previously accounted for occurred. Just as the Minister described, it contained certain improvements, including regarding computerized aids. It also largely concerned the handling of reimbursements, which I mentioned in my previous speech.
Despite the Minister having received indications that there are problems in the system, the choice was made not to proceed with any changes. I believe it can be stated that the government, after two years in Rosenbad, has failed to change a regulation in a way that leads to more people managing their working lives in a better way. I find that to be most regrettable.
Late this morning, the Minister received a letter from the Swedish Association of the Hearing Impaired (Hörselskadades Riksförbund) in which she is urged to do something about the problems we are discussing today. I would therefore like to ask the Minister how it is that the government, despite strong indications that many people who are in need of assistive devices do not get access to such, has not acted for half a parliamentary term. I also want to ask the Minister what measures she intends to take to ensure that more people who are in need of work-related assistive devices get to receive such.
Statsrådet Anna Tenje (M)
Madam Speaker! With all due respect, I can state that the processing and the work regarding the regulations surrounding work aids dates back to the 90s. If we are now to stand here and throw pies, stones, and various other projectiles at someone who has not done what should have been done, we can start by stating that the ordinance has not been changed since then. I do not believe that anyone really has their hands clean in this regard.
In the review that ISF is now conducting, they are looking at the questions and problems that the interpellor raises in their interpellation. Good so, I think – then we do not need to initiate a new investigation that is to do the same thing. When one gives a mandate to ISF, it is often the case that one looks at what things one already intended to do and then complements with other things. I think that this is a good way to spend both the taxpayers' money and ISF's time.
For me as a minister, and for the entire government, the work line is in focus. Exclusion shall be broken, and the number of individuals who are self-sufficient shall increase. For that very reason, it is particularly important that one looks at work capacity and that those people who can work also do so. For that reason, work aids are very important.
Even smaller measures are important. The issue that the interpellor has raised here today is very important for looking at the whole and creating opportunities for more people to enter the workforce. Therefore, one naturally needs to review these matters.
Now ISF will come with its review, and I look forward to it. We will see if ISF proposes any changes. I am willing to make changes if they facilitate more people getting into work.
Jonathan Svensson (S)
Madam Speaker! I thank the Minister for the answer.
It is true that the ordinance has not been updated since the 90s. However, in 2018, a judgment was issued after the Office of the Parliamentary Ombudsmand had appealed a decision from Försäkringskassan. It was only then that this issue was truly brought to the fore.
Today we have discussed an issue that is very important for a large group of people who have something in common. They have a hearing impairment that can affect their ability to participate in working life. For several years, many within this group have been rejected in their applications for support for work aids, which would have made it easier for them to maintain a foothold on the labor market.
Since 2019, the number of rejections seems to have increased significantly, from 13 percent in 2019 to 29 percent in the first half of this year. It is a quite large increase in a relatively short time.
This rejection is issued with reference to that one hears too poorly to be entitled to work aids from Försäkringskassan. From Försäkringskassan, one is referred to one's region, which does not consider it the region's task to handle this.
Madam Speaker! These are people who have the opportunity to participate fully in working life, pay tax, and set the alarm in the morning to go to work and contribute to our common society. But because many of them do not get access to the work aids they need, there is a risk that they will need to reduce their working hours, be signed off sick, or simply not be able to manage their work.
In Sweden, we have today a major skills shortage in both the public and private sectors. Therefore, all hands on deck are needed for us to manage the skills supply in our country.
I look forward to taking part in the review that the Swedish Pensions Agency is currently conducting and then also to seeing what measures the government takes in connection with it.
I want to ask one final question to the Minister. Does the Minister see the seriousness of this issue, and can we expect a prompt handling as soon as the inspection has submitted its report?
Statsrådet Anna Tenje (M)
Madam Speaker! I would like to extend a big thank you to Jonathan Svensson for raising this issue and for writing this interpellation.
I think, as I have said, that it is extremely important that everyone who can participate is able to take part in working life. Of course, it is particularly important, not least when it comes to handling the skills shortage in the labor market that the interpellor himself spoke about, that as many as possible who can work are also participating and working. It has a value in itself, but it is also important for Sweden as a whole.
I am following this issue very closely. ISF is currently conducting its review and will report its result to me shortly. I can promise the members that I will, by all possible means, ensure that as many as possible who can work also get the opportunity to work.
Source: The Swedish Parliament. The speeches come from the open data of the Riksdag, translated into English by AI, which may contain errors.