Jakob Forssmed: Extra high support for those who need it most
With the leisure card, parents should be able to pay all or part of their child’s leisure activity. All children aged 8-16 receive support of SEK 500 per year, but for households that received housing allowance last year, the amount is higher, SEK 2,000 per child per year.
The bill that the government submitted on Thursday is included in the budget agreement with the Swedish Democrats and support is thus in the Riksdag for the card now becoming law. From September 1, parents should be able to use the support.
– We see that many children for financial reasons choose not to be part of the organized association life, or end when you are 10-11 years old. When they understand that this is competing with grocery bag and electricity bill. No child should have to take that kind of responsibility, says Jakob Forssmed.
The leisure card has been delayedinitially, it was intended to be introduced in 2024. Part of the criticism on the road has been that children to well -involved parents receive the support. The sports minister has two answers. Partly that it is equally important for all children to move and have the opportunity for a social community. And he hopes for a pushe effect; that the will to use the support should be great because it burns inside if not in use.
– That we give to everyone also reduces stigma. We hope there will be something to talk about: « Which association should you choose? » And then no one at school knows who gets what amount on his card, he says.
Why is the housing allowance the criterion for getting the higher sum?
– It is important to find a measure that is manageable. Being in a household that has such low incomes that you get housing allowance, we think we have been a good selection instrument, says the sports minister who is at the same time aware that a group can be missed – the adults who live on the margin but feel a pride in managing without grants.
– At the same time, we need a robust selection system. We do not want an extensive application procedure, that you run with receipts afterwards. In countries that have tried such a model, it is the resource -rich, those who have the power and energy, who benefit from the support. The idea here is that it should be very automated and easy for the individual.
A risk that Several referral bodies – the Prosecutor’s Office, the Swedish Crime Agency and the Social Insurance Office – pointed out is that the support may be used by criminals. Forssmed says the government took care of the views and changed the payment model. He also says that it will not be possible to start a new association and access these funds.
– Then of course we will follow up with checks. We will also strengthen the criminal regulation to ensure that you do not cheat with this in different ways.
We need to do something new. We have groups that are outside Swedish association life.
The investment in the leisure card costs SEK 800 million per year. « One of the biggest investments in children and young people in decades in Sweden, » according to the Minister of Sport.
Available It is not Other ways, such as supporting the associations more? Absolutely, says Forssmed, and responds to another criticism that the reform has met.
– But we need to do something new. We have groups that are outside Swedish association life. Where the economy plays a role. We are in a situation now where it is incredibly important to get more children and young people to move, to get good communities where you are seen and respected. And also prevents children from falling into other contexts that are destructive.
