Public Benefit Housing and the Public Procurement Act (LOU)

The plan demands that collective agreements be set as conditions in public procurement and that procurement be used strategically to strengthen labour rights. Completely exempting municipally owned housing companies from the procurement rules removes this tool in a sector where wage dumping and subcontractor chains are central problems according to the plan. At the same time, the plan wants substantially increased public housing construction, which provides some support for simpler rules, so the assessment is uncertain.

• collective agreements in procurementdecisive»Vänsterpartiet ställer krav på kollektivavtal vid offentliga upphandlingar.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The Left Party sets demands for collective agreements in public procurement.”
• procurement strengthens labour rights»för att garantera och stärka arbetsrätt och arbetsvillkor« (party programme ↗)“to guarantee and strengthen labour rights and working conditions”
• massive public housing construction»Vänsterpartiet vill se ett statligt byggbolag, investeringsstöd för ökat bostadsbyggande och en aktiv markpolitik.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The Left Party wants to see a state housing company, investment support for increased housing construction and active land policy.”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The plan's line is that public purchasers shall be models for sound competition and that workplace crime shall be eliminated, which argues against completely exempting public-utility enterprises from the procurement rules. The programme simultaneously sees strong public-utility companies as necessary for low housing costs, and the manifesto wants to continue building affordable rental apartments, which pulls in the opposite direction. Taken together, the plan does not support a complete exemption, which is why certainty is low.

• procurement as a modeldecisive»Arbetslivs kriminalitet ska inte finnas på svensk arbetsmarknad och offentliga arbetsgivare och upphandlare ska vara föredömen i att verka för en sund konkurrens.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Workplace crime shall not exist on the Swedish labour market and public employers and purchasers shall be models in working for sound competition.”
• strong public-utility enterprise»Starka allmännyttiga och kooperativa företag är nödvändiga för att« (party programme ↗)“Strong public-utility and cooperative companies are necessary for”
• affordable rental apartments»Vi ska fortsätta att bygga hyresrätter som vanligt folk har råd att bo i.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“We shall continue to build rental apartments that ordinary people can afford to live in.”
• effective competition»konkurrenslagstiftning ska motverka monopol och koncentration.« (party programme ↗)“competition legislation shall counteract monopoly and concentration.”

flags: citat_migrerat

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The party programme requires that environmental and quality aspects be weighted significantly more heavily in public procurement, that requirements be set on environment, social conditions and working environment, and that freedom of expression and the principle of transparency apply to publicly funded activities. To completely exempt general-interest housing corporations from procurement regulations removes both requirement-setting and oversight. The plan certainly wants to make rental housing construction cheaper, but through investment support rather than deregulation.

• environmental and quality requirements in procurementdecisive»redovisas öppet. Vid offentliga upphandlingar ska« (party programme ↗)“disclosed openly. At public procurement, shall”
• social and working environment requirements»krav ställas vad gäller miljö, sociala villkor samt« (party programme ↗)“requirements be set regarding environment, social conditions and”
• oversight in publicly funded activity»Meddelarfrihet och offentlighetsprincipen ska gälla« (party programme ↗)“Freedom of expression and the principle of transparency shall apply to”
• cheaper building through investment support»bygga fler klimatsmarta hyresrätter med rimliga hyror, utveckla och utöka investeringsstödet som gjorde det billigare att bygga och se till att fler kan äga sin bostad.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“build more climate-smart rental housing with reasonable rents, develop and expand the investment support that made it cheaper to build and ensure that more can own their home.”

The plan does not address procurement obligations for non-profit housing, but requires competition-neutral regulations and simple rules that increase construction throughout the country. That housing companies should not bear requirements that private developers avoid follows from that neutrality principle, which is why the counter-proposal's demands are supported. At the same time, the plan wants to tighten rules against corruption, which argues for continued transparency in public procurement; the conclusion is therefore uncertain.

• competition-neutral regulationsdecisive»Viktigt är också att näringslivet får konkurrensneutrala regelverk« (party programme ↗)“It is also important that business gets competition-neutral regulations”
• more homes throughout the country»En förutsättning för utveckling är att det finns tillräckligt med bostäder i hela landet.« (party programme ↗)“A prerequisite for development is that there are enough homes throughout the country.”
• fewer unnecessary rules»Vi ska rensa upp bland överflödiga regler och byråkrati.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“We should clean up unnecessary rules and bureaucracy.”
• predictable rules»Ekonomin ska ha givna och förutsägbara spelregler« (party programme ↗)“The economy should have given and predictable rules”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The party programme requires that public procurement takes place in ways that ensure equal treatment and stimulate competition and that the public shall only conduct business activities when there is a strong public interest, without crowding out private alternatives. Completely exempting municipal housing companies from the procurement regulations gives them an advantage over private builders instead. While the plan certainly wants to simplify building regulations and increase competition, that does not justify a general exemption for public companies.

• equal treatment in procurementdecisive»Offentlig upphandling ska ske på sätt som ger skattebetalarna låga kostnader,« (party programme ↗)“Public procurement shall take place in ways that give taxpayers low costs,”
• limited public business activities»Det offentliga ska endast driva affärsverksamhet om det finns ett starkt samhällsintresse.« (party programme ↗)“The public shall only conduct business activities if there is a strong public interest.”
• increased competition in building»För att öka byggandet i Sverige bör konkurrensen öka och reglerna kring byggande« (party programme ↗)“To increase building in Sweden, competition should increase and regulations around building”
• public housing's task is conversion»Kommunala bostadsbolag ska både arbeta för att fler hyresrätter i utsatta områden omvandlas till bostadsrätter och för att få fler med egen försörjning och färre med försörjningsstöd att flytta till utsatta områden.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Municipal housing companies shall both work for more rental apartments in disadvantaged areas to be converted to cooperative apartments and to get more people with their own income and fewer with benefits to move to disadvantaged areas.”

The plan requires that public activities that are not government administration be procured in competition and that the state ensures equal terms between different business forms. A complete exemption for non-profit housing associations from the procurement regulations contradicts this. At the same time, red tape according to the plan must not hinder municipalities' housing provision responsibilities, which pulls in the opposite direction.

• procured in competitiondecisive»Övrig offentlig verksamhet, som inte är myndighetsutövning, bör« (party programme ↗)“Other public activities, that are not government administration, should be”
• equal terms»övergripande ansvaret för att likvärdiga villkor ska gälla« (party programme ↗)“overall responsibility that equal terms must apply”
• no unnecessary obstacles for the municipality»onödiga regler får inte stå i vägen för en kommun« (party programme ↗)“unnecessary rules must not stand in the way for a municipality”
• secure housing provision»bostadsförsörjningen åt alla, i olika åldrar och med olika sociala och ekonomiska förutsättningar« (party programme ↗)“housing provision for all, at different ages and with different social and economic conditions”

The plan wants to implement reforms that increase construction of both rental and owner-occupied housing, replace complicated development plans with simpler building plans and remove one-third of bureaucratic red tape. An exemption that makes non-profit housing's building and renovation faster and cheaper is in line with that direction. The plan does not address procurement rules, and the demand that the state shall promote competition pulls partly the other way.

• more housing shall be builtdecisive»Vi vill genomföra reformer som ökar byggandet av såväl hyressom bostadsrätter.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“We want to implement reforms that increase construction of both rental and owner-occupied housing.”
• reduced bureaucratic red tape»Ta bort en tredjedel av företagens administrationskostnader och en tredjedel av regelkrånglet« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Remove one-third of companies' administrative costs and one-third of bureaucratic red tape”
• simpler building regulations»Ersätta avancerade detaljplaner med enklare byggplaner« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Replace complicated detailed development plans with simpler building plans”
• competition on equal terms»skydda penningvärdet, främja konkurrensen« (party programme ↗)“protect monetary value, promote competition”

flags: citat_migrerat

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The plan wants to facilitate housing construction by simplifying and speeding up decision-making processes and reviewing the extensive regulations that govern construction, with the goal of increasing housing construction and slowing down housing costs. Exempting non-profit housing companies from public procurement regulations is such a simplification that makes construction and renovation faster and cheaper. The plan's demand for public benefit for public funds is a counterweight but does not change the conclusion.

• simplify building regulationsdecisive»Sverigedemokraterna vill underlätta bostadsbyggande genom att förenkla och snabba på beslutsprocesser och se över de omfattande regelverk och krav som styr bostadsbyggande.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Sweden Democrats want to facilitate housing construction by simplifying and speeding up decision-making processes and reviewing the extensive regulations and requirements that govern housing construction.”
• faster building processes»Anpassa och förenkla regler och processer för planering och byggnation« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Adapt and simplify rules and processes for planning and construction”
• increased housing construction»Öka bostadsbyggandet« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Increase housing construction”
• public benefit for tax funds»Begära tydliga resultat för varje offentlig satsning« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Demand clear results for every public investment”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.