Response to interpellation 2024/25:733 on the modernization of the Act on Proxies
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 modernization of the Act on Representatives. M believes that the regulatory framework for guardians and trustees must meet high standards to protect vulnerable people 1. M argues that active investigation and follow-up of suitability assessments are required 1. M wants the legislation to be simple, legally secure, and clear 2, and that work is ongoing to ensure a sustainable system where the individual's rights are in focus 1. M believes that recruitment difficulties may be due to a lack of support or clarity in the role 2. M argues that the work is being carried out in a serious manner 3 to create reforms that facilitate things for both the vulnerable and those who have roles in the system 3.
Written by AI in advance and may contain errors. The numbers lead to the speech a statement builds on; check against the text below.
Justitieministern Gunnar Strömmer (M)
Madam Speaker! Eva Lindh has asked me what is actually happening with the Proxy Investigation, whether a government bill will be submitted to the Riksdag, and if so, when. She has also asked me if I intend to take any further measures to strengthen the conditions for the proxy system.
The aspects that Eva Lindh highlights are fundamentally about the protection of the most vulnerable in our society. As I have previously stated, it is important for the government that the regulatory framework and the system for guardians and trustees live up to high standards. The people in our society who need help should feel secure that they also receive it.
Clear and high requirements are already set today for those who wish to become a guardian or a legal representative. For example, it is required that the person in question is upright, experienced, and otherwise suitable. In the vast majority of cases, legal representatives make valuable contributions to support fellow human beings in vulnerable situations. But unfortunately, it occurs that legal representatives mismanage their assignments. Some high-profile cases have also been discussed here in the chamber of the Riksdag.
To ensure that all administrators and trustees live up to the high requirements, it is important that the Guardian of the Estate conducts an active investigation in connection with the suitability assessment and subsequently follows up on the control in its supervision.
In the report of the Substitute Representative Inquiry Good Men and Administrators, a number of different improvements are proposed. Among others, the inquiry proposes clearer regulation for when professional substitute representatives can be appointed. It also proposes an arrangement for better education and support for substitute representatives. As Eva Lindh mentions, the inquiry also proposes that a national substitute representative register should be introduced. According to the inquiry, such a register could further improve the guardian's assessment of a substitute representative's suitability.
I will not be able to give any exact time today as to when we will return to the chamber on the issue, but as I have previously explained, work is ongoing in the Government Offices with the aim of producing the proposals. The questions are not simple. They need to be analyzed carefully, not least to ensure that the final result is good and that we get a safer and more sustainable system where the individual and the individual's rights and interests are in focus. The intention is to return to the Riksdag as soon as the work is completed.
Eva Lindh (S)
Madam Speaker! I would first like to thank the Minister for Justice for the answer and also for his emphasis, which shows that he has understood exactly what my question is about, that is, what is actually happening. I also want to provide some background as to why I am asking the question and why I think it is important that we debate it.
In Sweden, there are today nearly 128,000 people who have a guardian or administrator. These are people who fundamentally have difficulties due to illness, disability or age and who are in need of support in everyday life. It is about being able to get help to do that which is basic, which we others take for granted, for example paying one's bills or having contact with authorities. The needs are often extensive.
The proxies – good men or guardians – who get involved make an invaluable contribution to protecting some of society's most vulnerable. Those who work with the issue, however, think that a considerable amount of changes in the legislation are needed. It is about what the Minister Strömmer was touching upon, that is, to prevent irregularities. We have seen many of such. But it is also about simplifying the assignments that one has as a proxy and making it more sustainable and legally secure.
A very large proportion, 40 percent, of the various guardianship services experience difficulties in recruiting substitute guardians. This is a major problem because it concerns people who are in need of extensive help. If the difficulties in recruiting increase significantly, a problem arises for those people who have a great need.
Important efforts are being made as said, but we need to change and clarify the legislation so that the gaps that exist can be closed. The legislation is old. The Minister stated that we Social Democrats sometimes think things are moving too fast. We really do not think that here.
The background is that we investigated the legislation on proxies. We have also submitted a proposal. It has even been out for consultation. Many comments have been received on the investigation that was conducted. Since 2021, a proposal that has been referred and is ready has been on the Minister of Justice's desk.
It has been quite a few years since then, and therefore it is not just me, but quite a few who are asking themselves what is happening – exactly what the Minister underlined. What is happening with the investigation? When will a proposal arrive?
There were hopes among many of those who help and who are guardians and administrators, but also among guardianship boards and people who themselves receive support and help. Now they have waited for quite many years for updated legislation. My questions here are the same as those I posed in my interpellation: What is happening? When can we expect to have a concrete proposal, a proposition, on the table? Since the problems are so large, I also wonder: If it is not in the near future, does the minister then intend to take any other measures until then?
Justitieministern Gunnar Strömmer (M)
Madam Speaker! Thank you, Eva Lindh, for the opportunity to discuss these pressing issues today!
Let us begin with the societal problem, which is a problem both for our society and, above all, for the individual people who are immediately affected. There is an underlying experience that makes it urgent to reform the area. There are well-documented cases of abuse or mismanagement and sometimes direct transgressions, which have had terrible consequences for individuals affected. They must, of course, be compensated for it, so that there is redress in the individual cases. But it also brings to the fore more principled and practical questions that are more universally applicable and which, of course, justify the reform work.
Another reason, of course, has developed over time. It is an old piece of legislation, and we have an interest in making it simple, legally secure, clear, and easy to use in practice for those concerned. This justifies why we continue to work with the proposals that were indeed submitted by an inquiry and were subsequently referred. A considerable number of comments were then received on the proposals.
When I say that I do not want to state when we will come to the Riksdag with this, it is somewhat in the spirit of not selling the skin before the bear is shot. I look at the Speaker because I am going to quote an Ångermanlänning of Center Party lineage. But this should not be interpreted as us not working on the issues or that we lack the intention to return to the chamber with proposals when we have finished working on them. I ask for permission to return when that will occur.
Eva Lindh is now also raising the issue of recruitment. I think that is an interesting aspect. There is certainly reason to look at what different reasons may lie behind the difficulty of recruiting for these assignments. Some may certainly be a regulation that perhaps does not provide sufficient support in the role or is clear enough for the person who is to carry it out. It could concern issues of responsibility and other things. To the extent that it affects the recruitment part, it is an additional reason, I believe, to return with an appropriate reform in the area. The intention is that we shall do so, even though I will not state today when it will take place.
Eva Lindh (S)
Madam Speaker! I shall have to accept that. But I will pose the question to the Minister again, because it is important to receive a statement.
I want to repeat a quote that I think describes this quite clearly. Sven-Erik Alhem is the chairman of Brottsofferjouren and says that it is important that those who themselves lack the ability to provide for their interests have someone who is reliable. It is remarkable that one does not ensure to plug the gaps that obviously exist.
It describes quite clearly what this is actually about. It is vulnerable people who do not always manage to make their voices heard themselves. That is why it hurts extra in the heart when this drags on. It is as if it is a question that is not particularly important.
I hear the Minister saying that work is being done on the issue. But even if there are things that need to be investigated and looked into further, it is difficult to understand why it should take such an eternity. There was a fully referred proposal, where comments from the referral bodies had been sent along. It has been on the table since 2021. That is why I am asking the question.
What are the problems then? There are several different ones, not just that this legislation is old; practical legislation, that is, regarding how it is to be carried out, does sometimes become dated. It is also about the irregularities. There are still irregularities. Even though most trustees and administrators make a very important contribution, behave themselves and provide for the person they are appointed for in a very good way, there are irregularities. There are people who, for example, have misappropriated the money themselves, and someone has sold a house. There are several examples. I will not bring them up here, because it takes a long time. But it is such things that hurt the heart to hear.
One of the things that has been proposed is a national proxy register. It would make it easier and smoother for proxies to demonstrate their eligibility. It is about it being easier, but also that one should be able to see if it is the right person, if it is a proxy, and if any irregularities have occurred previously.
Furthermore, the Guardian Council in the City of Stockholm says that it is so tricky and difficult to manage being a legal guardian or a representative that it becomes difficult to recruit. That is why I pointed out that a legal guardian perhaps cannot really say that it is a simple assignment. It is not, and it is also not simple to perform in a technical sense.
Besides the registers and that it should be easier, there is a third thing, which I have forgotten and which I must return to.
A huge number of people have contacted me and asked what is happening, why nothing is happening, and when one can expect a change. We want a society that enables legally secure and dignified interventions for those people who are in the greatest need of the help that society can offer.
Justitieministern Gunnar Strömmer (M)
Madam Speaker! The persons who are immediately affected by this legislation may, for various reasons, find themselves in a vulnerable situation and may need help from the surrounding society to manage matters that are often sensitive regarding privacy, economically important, or other pressing personal matters. Precisely because there is a vulnerability and fragility here, I truly agree that it is important to ensure that both the legislation and its practical application contain and meet high standards regarding legal certainty and other matters.
I gladly accept the point that one might wish it would go faster. This is not one of our fastest processes. But I want to emphasize that it is not an expression of that it is a process we do not care about. It is rather an expression that we really want it to be right and that it should be good.
An important point is that it is not a completely uncomplicated interaction, for example between the state and the municipal level. There have been extensive consultations during the preparation with relevant actors and at the state level on both the agency side and when it concerns county administrative boards and other matters.
During the course of the process, a number of individual cases have also emerged which have, on one hand, on a general level underscored the importance of this reform, and on the other hand, to some extent have shed light on partially other issues than those that have been highlighted concretely in the previous process.
Overall, I want to confirm the importance of us landing this in a good way, not least because it often affects people in a vulnerable or fragile situation. It is also a requirement of integrity in our society that it is handled in a way that reflects the vulnerability of the people who are affected by this legislation.
Eva Lindh (S)
Madam Speaker! I am not a legal guardian, but I help my parents a lot with various things. Only it is enormously complicated. It takes a lot of time and effort. There are many phone calls that need to be made and resolved.
As a guardian, one also does not get the right opportunities to carry out their assignments in an efficient way – that was the aspect I wanted to bring up but forgot. The proposals in the investigation should also create better conditions for carrying out the assignment, for example through digitalization and such things. Since it is complicated and takes a lot of time to help, and concerns people who are vulnerable in society, we also cannot have a system that undermines the practical work. That is also why it is important. We must also be able to recruit new people who want to be guardians or administrators.
I also think it is sad to read about all the cases that come to light. But it is important that they come to light. We must have many controls to review that it is done in the right way and to detect errors.
Some, quite many, of those who have guardians or curators actually do not have a voice to speak about their finances or to speak about having been exploited. In those cases, society has a greater mission and a greater responsibility. Therefore, I want to appeal to Minister of Justice Strömmer to truly prioritize this issue, so that we get renewed legislation in place.
Justitieministern Gunnar Strömmer (M)
Madam Speaker! I would like once again to thank Eva Lindh and several of her colleagues here in the Riksdag who repeatedly raise these important issues in the Riksdag.
I am fully aware that the work is not proceeding as fast as one would wish in all parts. But I want to emphasize once again that the work is ongoing, and it is ongoing in a serious manner. The intention of that work is also to return to the Riksdag with proposals for reforms that will make this regulatory framework better, both for the vulnerable people who receive this support and for all honest, hard-working people who in different ways have roles in the system, so that their work can flow in a simple, clear, and legally secure manner.
As said: Thank you for the opportunity to discuss this again today! We request to return to the matter in the future.
Source: The Swedish Parliament. The speeches come from the open data of the Riksdag, translated into English by AI, which may contain errors.