Response to interpellation 2025/26:53 on gains in welfare
Translated from Swedish by AI; the translation may contain errors. The Swedish text is the original.
Summary AI, written in advance
L argues that unserious actors should not be allowed to operate within the school system and that those who run companies must have a serious commitment to high quality 1. L is working on a complete renovation of the friskola system where the investigation proposes, among other things, a repayment obligation in the event of incorrect payment, a ban on value transfers during new establishment or change of ownership, as well as requirements for separate reporting 1. L also proposes sanction fees for violations 1. S argues that profit-seeking within welfare is a systemic error where tax money flows away to private profit withdrawals instead of to the children's activities 2. S believes that the government's proposal only addresses the symptoms and not the fundamental problem that it is legal to take profits out of the school 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.
Utbildnings- och integrationsministern Simona Mohamsson (L)
Mr. Speaker! Anna Wallentheim has asked me when I intend to take the initiative to stop profits in the welfare sector and ensure that every tax krona in the school goes towards the students' education and care, not to profit withdrawals.
Conducting education within the school system in Sweden means managing society's trust for that mission. I and the government have been clear that unserious actors who act inappropriately shall not be allowed to occur within the school system. It must be ensured that those who own and operate companies within the preschool and school sector have a long-term perspective and a serious commitment to providing an education of high quality, so that all children and students receive the education they are entitled to. Therefore, we are now working hard on a complete renovation of the Swedish independent school system.
The investigation on profit in schools (U 2022:08) submitted the report Stricter conditions for the independent school sector (SOU 2025:37) in April this year. The investigation proposes, among other things, an obligation for private operators to, in certain cases, repay municipal grants (the so-called school money). It is proposed to apply in cases of incorrect payment, if the municipal grant has been used in a crime, and if the operator does not do what should be done with the students' school money. The investigation also proposes a ban on value transfers during new establishment and change of ownership, if there are irregularities leading to an order from the supervisory authority or if the operator receives targeted state grants. The ban would, in such situations, prevent private operators from, for example, distributing profit from independent schools, preschools, or after-school centers. In order for it to be possible to follow the ban on value transfers, requirements for separate reporting are also proposed, which means that private operators who conduct school or preschool activities in more than one school unit or preschool unit shall report the activities in each individual unit separately.
Furthermore, the investigation proposes that sanction fees should be introduced in the Education Act and that supervisory authorities – the Swedish Schools Inspectorate and the municipalities – should be able to decide on these. Sanction fees are proposed, among other things, to be able to be charged in the event of a violation of a value transfer ban or if a separate reporting has not been established in a timely manner.
The proposals have been referred and are now being prepared further in the Government Offices. In the budget bill for 2026, the Government has proposed that 38.5 million kronor be invested in 2026 so that the proposals can be implemented.
The investigation on profit in schools shall submit its final report no later than 31 December 2025. The investigation has, among other things, a mandate to propose how unsuitable owners can be prevented from owning or exercising influence over schools. The investigation shall also propose whether other owners in the same group should be taken into account when it concerns a lack of will or ability to fulfill their obligations in the event of recurring deficiencies in operations. In addition, the investigation shall propose how a requirement for new approval shall be designed when an owner completely or substantially changes owner, changes, or moves its already approved operation.
Anna Wallentheim (S)
Mr. Speaker! The reason I am standing here today and having this debate with the Minister for Education is that it has now been revealed during this autumn that a free school in my own home municipality, Hässleholm, has received over 80,000 kronor per month for places that are not used. It concerns approximately 1 million kronor per year that could have gone to children's activities, more adults in the school, safety, or support for some of our schools in the municipality, but which are now instead being paid out as a surplus to a private company.
That is exactly the core of the problem, namely that we have a profit hunt within welfare. It is not an individual mistake, but it is a systemic error. We see the same pattern time and again. It is school money that is not used for teaching, municipalities that are forced to pay for empty seats, and companies that make large profits while teachers have to struggle with large groups with too few resources.
I am a teacher myself. I know that every krona counts. I know how it feels when a school has to choose between more adults in the operation, new teaching materials for the classrooms, or a safer school environment. It hurts me both as a teacher and as a mother that money that should have gone to the children's future is now instead draining away into private profit withdrawals. This is money that never reaches the classroom.
Mr. Speaker! I of course thank the Minister for Education for the answer. But I hear that it is yet another attempt to attack the symptoms rather than the system. The problem is not just that we have unserious actors who cheat to get money. The problem is that we have a system that makes it fully legal to extract profits from our jointly funded school.
Demanding separate reporting or introducing sanction fees for mismanagement is right and reasonable. But it does not solve the fundamental question. Why should it be possible at all to run schools for profit when every krona is needed for the students' safety, knowledge, and support?
We know that over half of all independent schools are run as limited companies. We know that large corporations distribute large sums in profits every year while municipal schools are forced to save. We know that the system favors those schools that opt out of students who need more support because it is cheaper to teach children and young people who are already doing well. It is not just about a few unscrupulous school owners in Hässleholm or anywhere else. It is about a model that makes it possible and even profitable to let tax money drain away from the classroom.
The government speaks, among other things, about a form of complete renovation of the independent school system. It is good that one tries to plug some of the leaks and that one wants to change the system to stop unserious actors. But one ignores the biggest leak, namely the profit opportunity itself. Then money will continue to disappear from the children's activities.
Mr. Speaker! I naturally welcome all the initiatives we have heard that strengthen oversight. But I mean that it does not change the fact that profits will still be allowed. My question to the Minister remains: When does the government intend to tackle the core problem, namely that tax money for children's education can be distributed as profit in private companies?
Source: The Swedish Parliament. The speeches come from the open data of the Riksdag, translated into English by AI, which may contain errors.