Response to interpellation 2025/26:411 on the increase and indexation of the assistance allowance
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 increase and indexing of the assistance allowance. M argues that the government intends to make proposals on the hourly rate in the budget bill and that they are investigating the introduction of an indexing to increase predictability 1. M emphasizes that the government has increased the amount by larger figures than V has done in previous years and that the work of letting Försäkringskassan submit proposals is ongoing in the Government Offices 2 3. V claims that the assistance allowance is too low, that the indexing has been put on hold, and that the current system does not work 4. V criticizes that Försäkringskassan has not yet received an official mandate 5 and argues that tax cuts for the wealthy ruin municipalities 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.
Socialtjänstministern Camilla Waltersson Grönvall (M)
Mr. Speaker! Nadja Awad has, in summary, asked the Minister for Finance if she intends to return in the autumn budget with proposals for both an increase and an indexing of the assistance allowance. She has also asked what the justification is – if that is the case – for the Minister and the Government choosing not to proceed with the announcement to annually report how the flat-rate amount was calculated and to conduct a review of the model for the upward adjustment of the assistance allowance.
The work within the government is distributed in such a way that it is I who shall answer the interpellation.
The person covered by the Act (1993:387) on Support and Service to Certain Persons with Disabilities, abbreviated LSS, may be entitled to personal assistance and assistance compensation. The purpose of personal assistance is to promote equality in living conditions and full participation in social life for persons with major and permanent disabilities. For the vast majority of those entitled to assistance, personal assistance means freedom, self-determination, and a better life. Personal assistance also means an opportunity to control who shall perform the assistance and in what way it shall be carried out. It means a freedom for the individual and a protection for the individual's privacy.
The Government submits proposals for the hourly rate in the budget bill annually. The Government intends to do so also this year and does not intend to change the hourly rate during the current year.
A well-functioning personal assistance requires that assistance providers are given the conditions to conduct their operations. Therefore, the government proposed in the budget bill for 2026 (prop. 2025/26:1) that the flat-rate amount for personal assistance should be increased by 1.5 percent. For 2025, the flat-rate amount was increased by 3 percent.
In order to increase predictability for assistance recipients and assistance providers, the government announced in the budget bill for 2025 (prop. 2024/25:1) and the budget bill for 2026 that it intended to investigate the introduction of an indexing of the flat-rate amount. The matter is being prepared in the Government Offices.
In the 2026 economic autumn proposal (prop. 2025/26:100), the government announced that it intends to introduce an arrangement whereby Försäkringskassan annually submits proposals to the government regarding the hourly rate for the assistance allowance in its budget basis for the coming year. The purpose of that arrangement is to create better accuracy in the calculation of the assistance allowance.
Nadja Awad (V)
Mr. Speaker! Thank you, Minister, for the answer! I hope that we can have a constructive debate on the assistance allowance.
I submitted the interpellation and hoped that the debate could be carried out before the spring budget was presented, but I understand that the minister has fulfilled his duty.
The situation within personal assistance is catastrophic. The assistance allowance is too low. The promise that the government and Sverigedemokraterna have given regarding an indexing of the assistance allowance has been put on ice; this was revealed in the spring budget.
The government also chose to ignore the announcement from a majority in the Riksdag regarding an indexing of the assistance allowance. It is a democratic issue.
It is also a question of reality and what that reality will look like for those entitled to assistance, for the staff within the assistance services, and for the assistance providers. Who is going to take the shifts this summer or in other unmanned schedules? I assume it is not the government's ministers who will do it, but the government and the Sverigedemokraterna will force relatives to cover more than they already do.
It will be difficult to retain skilled assistants, as they are low-paid today. Those entitled to assistance will not receive the assistance they need and depend on. Reductions are being made in induction and training for personal assistants, which particularly affects the person entitled to assistance.
As the Minister mentioned, the government in the spring budget has written that it intends to let Försäkringskassan submit a proposal regarding the hourly template. Those who follow the debate and who themselves have been affected by the design of the assistance allowance over the years know that Sweden has had this system already before. The system that Försäkringskassan then used to calculate the size of the assistance allowance's hourly template did not correspond to how it looked in reality. The assistance was underfunded, because there were no reliable figures on the assistants' actual wage levels, regardless of whether one worked municipally or privately.
I am now going to rattle off a very complicated way of working: When Försäkringskassan calculated the size of the hourly template, they started from the consumer price index for what were not wage costs, for example education and work environment. When it came to wage costs, the starting point was data from previous SKL and SCB regarding wages for personal assistants. Based on their wage data, Försäkringskassan weighted the whole thing according to the proportion of municipal and privately employed in the current situation and then – in this complicated way – calculated the estimated hourly wage increases according to Konjunkturinstitutet's forecasts. In summary, this was therefore a very complicated and not so accurate system.
It was also the case that Försäkringskassan often nevertheless proposed relatively large increases of the hourly template. But after the government at the time constantly set the template to a different level than the one that Försäkringskassan proposed, the demands were dampened after these signals from the government.
My initial question to the Minister is therefore: Why does the Tidö Government choose to go back to this system, which obviously did not work?
Socialtjänstministern Camilla Waltersson Grönvall (M)
Mr. Speaker! According to the Social Insurance Code, a standard amount for the assistance allowance shall be determined and calculated every year, guided by the estimated costs that exist for obtaining assistance.
In the 2026 economic bill, the government announced that it intends to introduce an arrangement whereby Försäkringskassan annually submits proposals to the government regarding the hourly rate for the assistance allowance in its budget basis for the coming year.
The purpose is to create better accuracy in the calculation of the assistance allowance. How it is designed is something that is currently being worked on, so I would advise the member not to assume in advance what the design should look like. This is a matter that is currently being prepared in the Government Offices, and I will return with a timetable.
For 2026, the government increased the amount by 1.5 percent and for 2025 by 3 percent. Overall, both during this mandate period and during the previous Alliance government, the government has increased the amount by larger figures than the basis supported by the member's party did during the previous eight years. It is also necessary to look back and see what one has done oneself and how one has worked to ensure that this functions in the correct way.
The government is investigating the introduction of an indexation. Nothing else has been stated in the budget bills that have been submitted, neither for 2025 nor for 2026. It would be very appreciated if the member did not choose to be so resistant to facts. We have chosen to stand here several times and reason about the indexation.
I also believe that the member at this stage is well aware that a mistake occurred at a press conference. Human mistakes happen, and the government has reported this very clearly. Therefore, I hope that the discussion is over once and for all.
The reasoning has been that we need long-term and stable conditions both for those who receive the assistance and for those who organize it.
Nadja Awad (V)
Mr. Speaker! I shall address a few matters. The Minister mentioned the assignment that the government presented in the spring budget regarding letting Försäkringskassan submit a proposal on the hourly tariff. I have checked this to see if Försäkringskassan has received the assignment. It has been almost two months since the spring budget was presented, and according to information from Heja Olika and Försäkringskassan, no information has still been provided regarding either how or when Försäkringskassan is to propose the hourly tariff.
Försäkringskassan has until today still not received the government mandate regarding the adjustment of the assistance allowance. I wonder why it has taken so long without Försäkringskassan having received any official mandate from the government to look into, as the minister was touching upon, how the work should be designed going forward, the size of the hourly rate, as well as how and when it should be presented.
The concern is growing now because the adjustment of the hourly template is both too late and too small, given that Försäkringskassan has not yet received this government mandate. It is actually my question to the minister: Why has the government not given this mandate to Försäkringskassan yet?
Socialtjänstministern Camilla Waltersson Grönvall (M)
Mr. Speaker! As I am stating very clearly, this is a task that is currently being worked on in the Government Offices. The presentation of the autumn budget and our government bill was one and a half months ago. One might think that is a long time, but intensive work is currently being carried out in the Ministry of Social Affairs. I can assure the member that we are working at full capacity on a number of different reforms that are linked to the issues for which I am responsible.
Furthermore, I would like to give the member a small tip. At half past nine today, I would advise the member to place themselves in front of a screen or a TV. Then it becomes a press conference, and I believe and hope that many will be very happy about the announcements that will then be made.
But this is, therefore, a mission that is currently being prepared. It will be clear that Försäkringskassan, as the processes look over a year, will be able to influence this fully before the 2028 budget year.
Nadja Awad (V)
Mr. Speaker! I will certainly watch the press conference. I hope that the government then presents a proposal on how to restore the intention of the LSS Act and ensure that everyone receives assistance, guidance, and a contact person. This is being cut right now all over the country, because the government has prioritized tax cuts for the very richest so that municipalities are ruined financially and cannot grant interventions. It looks unequal across the entire country, and we have court cases that govern LSS practice. I hope that the government can present something that would mean that the intention of the LSS Act is truly restored.
The second question concerns the fact that everything regarding the right of people with disabilities to a life of freedom and with the same participation as everyone else must once again be delayed. We have waited for many years for a government bill on the nationalization of assistance. We have waited for many years for an inquiry on needs assessments to see them as a whole based on basic needs. We have waited for many years for the transport service inquiry and the interpretation service inquiry to be picked up and dusted off at the Government Offices.
This is about people with disabilities and their relatives experiencing that it takes far too long in these areas. Now, it has been said in the spring budget that Försäkringskassan shall receive this assignment. Almost two months have passed, and they still have not received it.
The clock is ticking, Minister. The election is soon. I urge the Minister to hurry up a bit on these issues if confidence is to be truly restored.
Socialtjänstministern Camilla Waltersson Grönvall (M)
Mr. Speaker! Thank you very much, Nadja Awad, for the opportunity – even though the interpellation was originally addressed to the Minister for Finance – to once again discuss issues that are very important!
During this mandate period, quite a lot has happened, compared to previous mandate periods when things have been rather still in this area. It is therefore interesting that the member chooses to have such a high tone.
Regarding the interpretation service, we have introduced En väg in. There is a competence center on site regarding persons with intellectual disabilities and autism, something that has been requested for decades but which has been established during this mandate period. We have the new national plan, where we are working intensively with the proposal that Myndigheten för delaktighet has just submitted to the government.
These are just a few examples of what is happening right now. The work continues, and there, the assistance is naturally an incredibly important and prioritized part – also being able to achieve a nationalization of the assistance on site. Many people experience today that they find themselves in a municipal prison.
All this work is moving forward, where nothing happened during the time when the member's party supported the previous government.
Once again: I advise the member to place themselves in front of the TV at half past nine, as there will be further news which I hope, above all, people in need of support regarding disabilities will be pleased by.
Source: The Swedish Parliament. The speeches come from the open data of the Riksdag, translated into English by AI, which may contain errors.