Central government management of civil defence expansion
(RiR 2025:4)
Summary
The Swedish National Audit Office has examined whether central government management of the expansion of civil defence has been effective. In 2015, the Government decided to resume planning for total defence. A total defence system is the operations required to prepare Sweden for war. During the highest state of alert, total defence encompasses all operations that are to be conducted at such times. Total defence consists of military activities (military defence) and civil activities (civil defence). Civil defence and military defence mutually reinforce each other. Civil defence refers to the civil activities in which government agencies, municipalities, regions, individuals, companies, volunteer defence organisations and civil society and others engage to prepare Sweden for war. The ever-deteriorating global landscape, the fact that it is more than nine years since the Government and the Riksdag decided to resume planning for total defence, and that total defence capabilities are still far too low, prompted the Swedish National Audit Office to examine central government management of the expansion of civil defence.
The Swedish National Audit Office’s overall assessment is that central government management of the expansion of civil defence has not been sufficiently effective. The audit shows that it was not until 2022, in connection with Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the introduction of a new structure for civil defence and civil crisis preparedness, that the civilian elements of total defence planning properly gained momentum. Until then, expansion of civil defence capabilities had been slow.
Government agencies’ remits and duties have been unclear, and the division of responsibilities was established at a late stage of the period under audit
Audit findings suggest that, until the introduction of the new structure in 2022, agencies’ focus in most sectors appears to have been on their own operations. In many cases, taking the sector-wide perspective and capabilities into account did not commence until the sectors were formally established, and this has had an adverse impact on capacity development. This is the case in particular in relation to private operators in the business sector. In many sectors, a more structured dialogue with businesses was only initiated towards the end of the period under audit. The Swedish National Audit Office notes that the Government should have taken a comprehensive approach across all sectors and formulated tasks and allocated funds in the same way as it did for the food sector. Had government agencies been equipped with tools to engage in dialogue and planning based on sector-wide capabilities and with the involvement of businesses early in the process, they could have engaged in real capacity building when the sectors were formalised and appropriations increased significantly.
The Government manages civil defence at an overarching level, which means that government agencies find it difficult to know what they are expected to achieve. The overall objectives of civil defence have not provided any detailed direction in this respect. Likewise, the Government’s planning instructions do not provide sufficient clarity about what the government agencies are expected to achieve.
The government agencies feel that difficult trade-offs and prioritisation are already being made in their ordinary activities. They also find that the requirements on how and to what extent they are to take account of the total defence perspective in their operations are unclear. According to the Swedish National Audit Office, this has led to little or no account being taken of the requirements. To enable government agencies to take account of the requirements of total defence, clarification is needed on what they actually entail.
The Swedish National Audit Office considers that the Government has had sufficient documentation to enable clarifying or adjusting its management in relation to government agencies. At the same time, the Swedish National Audit Office assesses that the Government does not appear to have sufficiently intervened if it considers today that Sweden does not have the capacity it ought to have, and that government agencies must act and take on responsibilities to a greater extent.
Civil defence funding has not allowed for long-term and effective efforts
From the time the Government decided to resume total defence planning until 2018, there was no dedicated funding for civil defence. In 2018, additional funds of more than SEK 400 million annually were allocated to fund measures to bolster civil defence. However, it was not until the Total Defence Bill for 2021–2025 that more substantial funding was provided.
It is the assessment of the Swedish National Audit Office that, in numerous sectors, efforts were sparse on planning and capability-building measures before the decision on sectors came into force and additional funding was allocated.
With regard to the Government’s management through funding, one challenge is that, in many cases, government agencies have lacked a long-term approach. Temporary funding in one year, which then fails to transpire in another, impedes government agencies’ work. In the same way, contributions provided during the current year may be difficult for government agencies to channel into their operations. Even if the central government budget process is performed on a one-year basis, the political target of military defence as a percentage of GDP has sent a signal of a long-term perspective that has been lacking for civil defence. The civil framework that has been introduced may be a solution to that problem.
Recommendations
The Swedish National Audit Office makes the following recommendations to the Government:
- address ambiguities in the division of responsibilities, for example ensuring the inclusion of all areas/functions of essential services within a sector or authorising sectoral agencies to issue regulations.
- address ambiguities about what is to be accomplished, by whom it is to be accomplished and when it is to be accomplished in terms of civil defence capabilities.
- ensure that government agencies’ funding for both regular activities and capacity-building measures for civil defence is long-term.