Government proposal on cuts to integration spending submitted to Parliament

Government proposal on cuts to integration spending submitted to Parliament

The Government proposes that the Integration Act, which will enter into force at the beginning of 2025, be amended to strengthen central government finances. The proposal aims to achieve the savings target set in the government session on spending limits and the government budget session.

The Government submitted its proposal to Parliament on 21 November 2024.

"Specified government transfers to municipalities relating to integration will be reduced and the obligations of municipalities alleviated. The savings will strengthen central government finances, while increasing immigrants' own responsibility for their integration," says Minister of the Interior Mari Rantanen.

The Government proposes that, in future, the central government would not reimburse the cost of providing basic social assistance under the Integration Act. The central government has paid the wellbeing services counties, the municipalities of the Province of Åland and the Social Insurance Institution a specified government transfer for the cost of providing social assistance to persons granted international protection and their family members as well as beneficiaries of temporary protection who have a municipality of residence. The proposal would increase municipalities' incentives to promote the employment of migrants.

Meanwhile, supplementary and preventive social assistance paid by the wellbeing services counties and Åland would be reimbursed for one year instead of current three years.

Obligations of municipalities and wellbeing services counties to be reduced

The Government proposes that imputed specified transfers be cut by EUR 58 million in 2025 and by EUR 52 million in 2026. In addition, the functions of municipalities and wellbeing services counties would be reduced and their obligation to plan, develop and monitor the promotion of integration would be alleviated. For example, the obligation of municipalities to establish a cooperation group on the promotion of immigration and integration would be abolished. The central government pays municipalities and wellbeing services counties an imputed specified transfer for organising services promoting integration.

The number of persons who receive services promoting integration has increased since the submission of the budget proposal. For this reason, the Government will increase the level of imputed specified transfers in 2027 and 2028 through later amendments to the decree to ensure that the savings will be achieved on the scale agreed in the spending limits session.

The Government aims to implement the changes so that they do not weaken the provision of language training, early childhood education and care or education services or employment-promoting services. Technical corrections would also be made to the Integration Act and the consistency of the Act's Swedish version would be improved.

The amendments would enter into force on 1 January 2025, except for the termination of reimbursement for the cost of providing basic social assistance, which would enter into force on 1 April 2025.

Inquiries:
Juha-Pekka Suomi, Chief Specialist, Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, tel. +358 295 047 146
Paula Karjalainen, Ministerial Adviser, Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, tel. +358 295 047 117
Maria Paaso, Special Adviser to the Minister of the Interior, [email protected] (requests for interviews with the Minister)