Every year, the Swedish welfare systems are estimated to lose billions in fraud and organized crime.
- There is a very extensive misuse of the welfare state's support system, and the secrecy legislation places very great obstacles for government Sweden to put a stop to it, says Nils Öberg, Director General of the Swedish Social Insurance Agency.
To access the cheating, the Swedish Social Insurance Agency wants the authorities to have a greater opportunity to share information with each other.
- What we need to protect these assets is to be able to check whether the information that people submit is correct.
Very often the information is with other authorities, says Nils Öberg.
Today, the basic rule is that authorities may not share this type of personal data with each other.
Exceptions can be made, but each individual case must be tried, and according to the Swedish Social Insurance Agency, this makes it more difficult to disclose information.
They believe that the entire system of secrecy needs to be changed, so that the basic rule is that authorities may share information with each other without first making an assessment.
Bar Association critical
In a letter to the government, they now request that the entire system of secrecy between authorities be investigated, to see if it is possible to abolish part of the secrecy.
According to the Swedish Bar Association, the proposal is a major encroachment on personal integrity.
- It sounds like a very far-reaching proposal, says Mia Edwall Insulander, Secretary General of the Swedish Bar Association.
According to her, if this becomes a reality, it risks both affecting individuals and damaging society's trust in the authorities.
- There is a risk that it affects people to become more reluctant to contact authorities in certain situations because they are afraid that the information will be passed on to another authority, says Mia Edwall Insulander.