Communication and media
Listed below are the latest news articles published on the Swedish NAO website. Previous news related to our reports and review results can be accessed from our reports page or by using the website search in the page header.
News articles
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Several consumer protection improvements in the financial area, but problems remain
The work to protect consumers in the financial area is better today than in 2006 when the area was last audited by the Swedish National Audit Office (Swedish NAO). Nevertheless, consumers are still experiencing problems. The Swedish NAO is now recommending a number of measures to improve central government supervision.
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Many government agencies have obsolescent IT systems – the Government should have done more
Many government agencies have obsolescent, business-critical IT systems. The audit conducted by the Swedish National Audit Office also shows that neither the government agencies nor the Government are working efficiently to solve the problems caused by obsolescent systems.
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Different assessments of women and men on sick leave, despite the same work capacity
Women with mild or moderate mental ill health diagnoses are sicklisted 30 per cent more than men, despite being assessed as having the same level of disability and activity restriction. The Swedish National Audit Office’s audit shows that the sickness insurance system appears to be unable to achieve a consistent assessment of women and men.
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Overcrowded accommodation, as defined in Sweden’s standard, has no negative impact on health or performance at school
An audit done by the Swedish National Audit Office shows there is no evidence that cramped living conditions increase the risk of ill health and poor performance at school, at least, not when the Swedish standard for overcrowded accommodation is used.
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Large numbers of low-income earners fail to claim thousands of kronor in housing supplement
Almost 170,000 old-age pensioners and people on low incomes who are sick-listed or with disabilities are not receiving the housing supplement, despite being deemed eligible. On average this is a matter of about SEK 1,300 per month – money that could raise many above the poverty threshold.
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Central government nuclear safety and security work needs to be developed
Central government work to prevent nuclear accidents has some shortcomings. Nor is preparedness to deal with the consequences of an accident adequate, according to the Swedish National Audit Office’s audit of nuclear safety and security work.
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Support for starting up a business underestimates risks
The Swedish Public Employment Service’s support to people wanting to start their own business leads to reduced unemployment. But the programme has a weak effect on employment and the participants’ incomes are low for many years. In addition, the Swedish NAO’s audit shows that the support increases the risk of the participants’ becoming over-indebted.
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More redistribution needed in the municipal financial equalisation system
The municipal financial equalisation system is not designed so that municipalities can provide their populations with an equivalent service level – the Swedish National Audit Office’s audit shows a need to increase the amounts redistributed between Sweden’s municipalities.
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Common Nordic challenges for digital services for entrepreneurs
In the Faroe Islands, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, ambitious work is underway to simplify starting a business using digital public services. In a joint report, the National Audit Offices of these countries now find that much work remains before the objectives can be achieved.
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Swedish Competition Authority’s supervision: unclear priorities and weak internal control
Every year the Swedish Competition Authority receives about a thousand tip-offs about cartels and other unfair market practices. The Swedish NAO’s audit shows that the Authority lacks effective tools for prioritising between different measures, and that the internal control has deficiencies.
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Failure of renovation initiative in areas with socio-economic challenges
In 2016, the Swedish Government earmarked SEK 800 million a year up to 2019 for renovation and energy efficiency measures for housing in areas with socio-economic challenges. However, only a fraction of the money was used, and the initiative contributed only marginally to the political objectives.
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Operation and basic maintenance of public roads is considerably more expensive than agreed
The final cost of operation and basic maintenance of the national road network is on average more than 40 per cent higher than initially procured. The Swedish NAO’s audit also shows that speculative pricing may be one of the causes.
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Sanctions against municipalities have contributed to improved legal security
Municipalities that do not enforce decisions on assistance must report to central government and risk paying a penalty charge. The Swedish National Audit Office’s audit of the sanctions shows that they have contributed to improved legal security. However, the system has weaknesses and can be further developed.
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The Swedish Public Employment Service's job matching: weak knowledge base and inadequate governance
The Swedish Public Employment Service (PES) is to bring together jobseekers and employers. The Swedish NAO’s audit shows that the matching activities carried out by PES have never been systematically evaluated and rests on a weak knowledge base. This increases the risk of jobseekers not receiving equivalent support.
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Ineffective state support for increased housing construction
Since 2016, the State has invested more than five billion kronor in grants to municipalities to increase housing construction. The Swedish National Audit Office’s audit shows that the support has been ineffective and should have been designed differently.
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Inadequate prerequisites for effective use of Swedish development aid
Despite being prioritised by the Government and Sida, collaboration between humanitarian aid and long-term development cooperation has not been given sufficient prerequisites to succeed. This limits the possibilities for effective use of Swedish aid resources, according to the Swedish National Audit Office.
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The Discrimination Act’s equal pay survey requirement needs reviewing
To counteract unfair gender pay differences, all employers must carry out equal pay surveys. A Swedish National Audit Office audit shows that the legislative requirements can only affect pay differences to a minor extent, particularly among small employers.
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Visit from the Armenian speaker – building democracy on the agenda
The speaker of the Armenian Parliament, Mr Ararat Mirzoyan, is on an official visit to Sweden. As part of the visit, the Speaker together with a delegation consisting of members of the Armenian parliament and Armenia’s ambassador to Sweden, had a meeting with the Auditors General, Ms Helena Lindberg and Mr Stefan Lundgren.
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Risk of undermining trust when purchasing from related parties
Government agencies will sometimes make purchases from companies with ties to the agency’s employees or their relatives – at times with very large sums involved. These purchases can be completely legitimate, but they can also entail a risk of corruption and other irregularities. The Swedish National Audit Office (NAO) has examined the scope and management of related-party transactions.
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Deficiencies in digital support for businesses
By digitalising contacts with government agencies, Sweden could make it considerably easier to start a new business. The deficiencies are partly the result of outdated technical solutions, fragmented governance and split responsibility.
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Governance of authorities in the judicial chain is not adequately integrated
The Swedish NAO’s audit of the judicial chain shows that the Government has not had sufficient focus on the entire chain in its governance. The judicial chain consists of the police, prosecutors, courts, and the prison and probation service.
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Shortcomings in Government initiatives for compulsory school for students with learning disabilities
Compulsory schools for students with learning disabilities are disadvantaged when the Government develops the school system in Sweden. Less support to assessment and poorer monitoring of knowledge and reporting to the Riksdag are some of the consequences.
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Swedish Customs needs to improve intelligence activities to make its controls more effective
Swedish Customs lacks detailed knowledge of smuggling to Sweden. In addition, the agency’s work in obtaining and managing intelligence is inadequate. In combination, this leads to reduced effectiveness of control activities.
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Embellished picture of Almi’s contributions to gender equality
State-owned Almi is to promote having more women running businesses in Sweden. However, for several years, Almi’s reporting of its commission has been misleading, thereby giving an overly positive image. The Swedish National Audit Office’s audit also indicates deficiencies in the central governance.
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Mauritius is awarded the Prize for the best Performance Audit report in AFROSAI-E
The supreme audit institution in Mauritius (National Audit Office of Mauritius) was today awarded the prize for the best performance audit report in the AFROSAI-E region, the African Organization of English-speaking Supreme Audit Institutions.
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The Government manages companies and foundations in the cultural sector as if they were government agencies
The Government’s management of the cultural institutions has become clearer and more long-term, according to the latest audit by the Swedish National Audit Office. However, this management is not adapted to different forms of operations. This means that state-owned companies and foundations are managed as if they were government agencies.
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Weak governing of the work against organised crime
For several years, twelve government authorities have invested considerable resources into fighting organised crime. An audit by the Swedish National Audit Office (NAO) has shown that government steering has been unclear and uncoordinated. Shortcomings in follow-ups also mean the impact of the efforts cannot be evaluated.
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Lack of efficiency in the premium pension system implies lower pensions in the future
The premium pension system is not efficient, something that will have a negative impact on future pensions. An audit report from the Swedish National Audit Office indicates that the requirement for pension fund managers to systematically report all costs should be tightened up.
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Lack of a holistic perspective in the central governance of the county administrative boards
The central governance of the county administrative boards is lacking a holistic perspective and limits the possibilities of long-term and sustainable operations. The Swedish National Audit Office is now recommending the Government Offices to improve the coordination of governance and to introduce more unison funding.
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Inadequate follow-up of supervisory decisions regarding schools
The Swedish Schools Inspectorate allocates considerable resources to identifying problems in schooling, but often closes cases without ensuring that the deficiencies are corrected. The National Audit Office also identified shortcomings in transparency, urgency and equivalence in relation to follow-up of supervisory decisions.
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Short-term implementation of export initiative
The regional export centre initiative, implemented nationally, is intended to improve the export capabilities of small and medium-sized companies. The National Audit Office’s audit shows that it could have been implemented more efficiently and that the results should be followed up on and accounted for more clearly to the Riksdag.
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Klimatklivet: A comprehensive environmental initiative with deficiencies in efficiency and reporting
Klimatklivet is a comprehensive environmental initiative that was introduced 2015. The audit by the Swedish National Audit Office reveals that the aid is not cost-effective, and that the government's reporting to the Riksdag has been too positive.
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Lacking basis for long-term planning and policy decisions
Long-term social planning and policy decisions are often based on future scenarios produced by government agencies. The Swedish National Audit Office’s audit shows that there are significant differences between the government agencies’ scenarios, and that this can have consequences for the weighing and prioritisation of various government initiatives.
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The safety work of the museums falls short
The national central museums do not always have control over which objects they have in their collections, where these items are located, or the condition they are in. Furthermore, the museums do not implement sufficient measures to prevent theft and vandalism, and find it difficult to achieve the desired level of protection against long-term destruction.
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Shortcomings in state support to municipal alcohol and environmental inspections
Sweden's municipalities carry out supervision in several areas. For the supervision to be of equivalent value throughout the country, state authorities must support the municipalities with guidance. The audit shows that there is room for improving the guidance to alcohol and environmental inspections.
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The governance of the higher education agencies UHR and UKÄ should be more closely coordinated
To clarify the roles in the area of higher education, two new government agencies were created in 2013, and three old ones were dismantled. The Swedish National Audit Office’s audit reveals that the reform has largely achieved its objectives, but that the governance of the two agencies should be more closely coordinated.
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Shortcomings in the work to prevent the dissemination of national tests
The audit of the Swedish National Audit Office indicates that the Swedish National Agency for Education has had great difficulty in dealing with the increasing dissemination of national tests. Improvements have been made in the course of 2018, but certain measures will not be in place until 2019.
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Good results from the Swedish National Audit Office’s international development cooperation
The Swedish National Audit Office’s international development cooperation has contributed to strengthening supreme audit institutions and improving transparency and accountability, according to the report on results delivered to the Swedish parliament. Efforts are increasingly focused on supreme audit institutions in fragile states and young democracies.
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The least expensive alternatives are rarely reviewed in large infrastructure investments
Although the Swedish Transport Administration is supposed to review alternative measures for renovations and new construction, this is only done in half of the infrastructure projects. The Swedish National Audit Office (Swedish NAO) is now recommending the Government to clarify what applies.
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Small positive effects of extended choices for upper secondary school
The Swedish National Audit Office’s new audit report shows that the extended opportunities to choose an upper secondary school have had small but positive effects on the future incomes and level of education of pupils. The changes have been most significant for children of parents with a low level of education.
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