There has been a storm around the Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth since it was discovered that the authority had more than 5,000 appealed cases, up to five months old, pending - cases that in just a few days were handed over to administrative courts which thus drowned in cases.
Entrepreneurial Sweden is upset for several reasons.
Partly that the cases were without action for so long, which resulted in companies not receiving their money as they were out with, and partly that the Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth did not comply with the courts' decision on how the law should be interpreted.
- It is extremely remarkable, says Göran Grén, Head of Corporate Law at the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise.
Tillväxtverket: Has been a high load
The main criticism is that the authority has been too rigid in its interpretation of the rules, where negligible small errors have led to companies being rejected, which have since also ended up in a high without reaction.
The Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth points to an extreme workload, among other things.
And so it is, of course, with completely new tasks when the corona crisis began and up to 90,000 cases of redundancy support and over SEK 30 billion in paid support.
Baylan: Wants to wait with criticism
Minister of Trade and Industry Ibrahim Baylan does not currently want to criticize the authority, at least not yet.
The information that there were 5,000 appealed cases at the Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth was new to him, he says.
He wants more information from the government management.
- I have asked the ministry to call the agency's management later this week, to hear what explanation they have, he says.
He does not want to comment directly on the criticism that the authority does not follow the court's ruling.
- I assume that they follow the laws and rules that exist.