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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Uncertain route back to work after refused sickness benefit
The number of people who are refused sickness benefit has increased in recent years. Most return to their previous job, but often only part-time and many are again on sick leave after 9-15 months. The Swedish National Audit Office is now calling for measures to facilitate return to work.
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No evidence that the local income equalisation system hampers municipal growth
The purpose of the local income equalisation system is to increase the abilities of the municipalities to provide equivalent services. There is a long-standing concern that the system hampers the growth ambitions of municipalities. The Swedish National Audit Office’s audit shows that there is no empirical evidence for this.
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Tanzania is awarded the Prize for the best Performance Audit report
The National Audit Office of Tanzania has today been 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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Return activities: weak governance, conflicting objectives and lack of coordination
The Swedish National Audit Office has audited the work of the State to get people who are not allowed to stay in Sweden to leave the country – voluntarily or through the use of coercive measures. The audit shows that it is not effective. The Government should therefore review the governance of these activities and the distribution of tasks between different government agencies.
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Shortcomings in governance and evaluation of innovation investments
The Swedish National Audit Office has identified a number of shortcomings in two major Government investments in innovative capacity and competitiveness. These include unclear governance, time pressure in planning and lack of follow-up and evaluation.
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Ineffective support to green cars
Despite the lack of adequate cost-benefit analysis and environmental impact assessments, the Government has invested several billion kronor to increase the share of green cars. The Swedish National Audit Office audit shows that this has been relatively costly and ineffective in reducing the CO2 emissions of the transport sector.
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The Government should review the large-family supplement in the child allowance
When the limit for the large-family supplement in the child allowance was lowered from three to two children in 2005, the efficacy of the allowance decreased considerably. The Swedish National Audit Office now recommends that the Government considers removing support for child number two and instead spending the money on more effective measures.
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Major potential for development of National Board of Trade’s work to overcome trade barriers
The National Board of Trade is to promote Swedish companies’ export opportunities. This work can be developed in several ways, including increased knowledge of companies’ experiences of trade barriers and the National Board of Trade’s activities becoming better known among export companies.
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Deficiencies in governance and administration when universities and other higher education institutions run holding companies
The Swedish National Audit Office (Swedish NAO) has examined how higher education institutions run their holding companies and has found that deficiencies in governance and administration result in the companies not being run in a sufficiently business-like and effective manner. The deficiencies are partly due to the Government’s governance of universities and other higher education institutions.
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Major deficiencies in consumer protection for buyers of new apartments
Buyers of newly built tenant-owned apartments have far worse protection than consumers in other markets. The buyer’s position is weak, while there are significant risks. The Swedish National Audit Office (Swedish NAO) now calls on the Government to take the initiative to amend the Swedish Tenant Ownership Act.
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The RUT deduction generates some positive effects but burdens public finances
The RUT (household services) tax deduction has resulted in more work and higher incomes for some groups buying the services. Foreign-born people who started working in the RUT sector have increased their income and strengthened their position in the labour market. However, the Swedish National Audit Office notes that the Government’s assessment that the reform is self-financing has little empirical support.
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New cooperation agreement between the Swedish NAO and national Supreme Audit Institutions in Southeast Asia
The Swedish National Audit Office has signed a new cooperation agreement with the regional organization ASEANSAI, which consist of national Supreme Audit Institutions in ten countries in Southeast Asia. The new cooperation agreement runs until 2022 and the objective is to strengthen public sector audit capacity in the region.
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New strategy for international development cooperation
The Swedish National Audit Office has adopted a new strategy for its international development cooperation. The objective is to promote effective management and democratic development in developing countries, thereby contributing to achieve the goals for sustainable development in Agenda 2030.
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The Swedish NAO extends the cooperation with the Office of the Auditor General of Zimbabwe to 2021
The Swedish National Audit Office has extended the cooperation with the supreme audit institution in Zimbabwe for an additional two years. The objective is to further strengthen public auditing in Zimbabwe in line with international standards.
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Swedish NAO to sign a new agreement on support to national Supreme Audit Institutions in Africa
From January 2020, the Swedish National Audit Office has a new cooperation agreement with the umbrella organisation, AFROSAI-E, which organises national Supreme Audit Institutions in 26 African countries. The objective is to strengthen these countries’ public audit.
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Successful free admission reform, but with a risk of negative consequences
Free admission to state museums has been efficiently and successfully implemented — despite unclear governance and objectives. However, the compensation for loss of admission fees does not always cover increased costs. The Swedish National Audit Office is now calling for measures to ensure that museums are able to perform their tasks even in the future.
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Fiscal policy targets are achieved, but the Government should improve follow-up
The fiscal policy framework is to ensure long-term sustainable and transparent fiscal policy. The Swedish National Audit Office’s audit of this year’s fiscal policy bills shows that the Government adheres to the framework rules, but that follow-up and reporting to Parliament can be further improved.
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Great variation in the application of the rules of the Education Act on compulsory school attendance
Unclear rules and insufficient supervision currently allow for great variation between and within municipalities when granting exemption from compulsory school attendance. The Swedish National Audit Office now proposes that the law be clarified.
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Svenska Skeppshypotekskassan’s corporate form should be reviewed
The Swedish State formed Svenska Skeppshypotekskassan to provide loans to Swedish shipping companies. Today, Svenska Skeppshypotekskassan conducts extensive credit operations with no yield requirement or satisfactory means of central government governance. The Swedish National Audit Office (Swedish NAO) recommends that the corporate form be reviewed and that the question of state aid be investigated.
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The electoral process can be improved, a new ballot paper system should be investigated
Sweden has a largely well-functioning system for general elections. However, the Swedish National Audit Office audit shows that some improvements could be made. In addition, the ballot paper system itself needs review.
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Deficiencies in planning of high-speed railways
To ensure that new infrastructure investments are cost effective, alternative and cheaper measures should be considered first. Planning of the high-speed railway has not followed that principle. The Swedish National Audit Office is now recommending that the Government should not take any new decisions until the planning has been properly carried out.
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Inadequate conditions for supervision of health and social care
The Health and Social Care Inspectorate (IVO) was created to make supervision effective and strategic. The Swedish National Audit Office’s audit shows that IVO has not yet fully lived up to these expectations, partly because the Government did not provide the Inspectorate with a stable and long-term framework.
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National accounts statistics need improvement
While the quality of the national accounts is adequate, the statistics have some shortcomings that may lead to fiscal decisions being made on erroneous grounds, according to a new audit by the Swedish National Audit Office.
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New and innovative methods in international development cooperation
The Swedish National Audit Office is currently hosting its largest event of 2019 in international development cooperation. For the first time, performance auditors from six countries in Africa, Europe and the Middle East are gathered in Stockholm together with Swedish colleagues to try new practical methods and develop a deeper understanding of the audited contexts.
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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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