In-depth comments on the 2014 state budget
IT&Telecom companies welcome the fact that the government sees IT and telecom solutions as important for creating growth and making public administration more efficient. Below are in-depth comments on some of the areas of expenditure in the government's budget for 2014.
In expenditure area 2, Economy and finance (to some extent also commentary on expenditure area 22 on e-government):
Re-use of public sector information
It is not clear here whether any new funds are intended. It reports on ongoing activities such as the new PSI Directive from the EU, the Swedish investigation into the implementation of the Directive and Vinnova's öppnadata.se. The Government intends, on the basis of these various initiatives that have already begun and information from government agencies, to take the further measures needed to ensure that public sector information - where possible and appropriate - is made available in a simple way for re-use. The use of public data for commercial purposes has not received the necessary clear legislative support. IT&Telecom companies have therefore provided input to the Swedish PSI inquiry.
Electronic administration
In the coming year, the Government intends to start preparing the question of how the work of digitizing public administration should best be coordinated at government agency level. According to its directives (dir. 2009:19), the E-delegation is to submit proposals by 31 March 2014 on how the work can be taken forward in a longer perspective. The central government will work together to a greater extent to develop and share digital solutions that create a simpler, more transparent and more efficient administration for the benefit of citizens and businesses.
As previously announced, the government intends to allocate SEK 38 million to launch an initiative next year called The Digital Step, a development program over several years with the aim of making it easier for citizens and businesses to have contact with public administration. It is intended to include a service called My Messages. The ambition is that the government-wide e-mail box will replace the different versions of "my pages" that exist today.
The Government has signed an agreement with the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions on closer collaboration on digitization issues. How this collaboration will take place will be investigated further. The government intends to find forms for concrete collaboration on digital cooperation projects. There are signs of an increased desire for central control of digitization work. Somewhat worrying are the statements that the central government will develop and share digital solutions. This could be interpreted as meaning that this should be done in-house, but we expect the central government and SALAR to give the market the chance to develop digital solutions that create a simpler, more transparent and more efficient administration for the benefit of citizens and businesses.
Unified procurement support
The Government believes that public procurement support needs to be concentrated, improved and strengthened. At present, procurement support is spread across a number of authorities. The Government intends to gather the current support for guidance and information on public procurement, including innovation procurement, at the Swedish Competition Authority. The Government also considers that these activities should be further strengthened, which is why the Swedish Competition Authority's appropriation will be permanently increased by SEK 35 million from 2015. The central purchasing office at Kammarkollegiet is not expected to be affected by the change. Many people have asked for the procurement support functions to be coordinated in one authority, which is good, but it is not unproblematic to have support and supervision under the same roof. Read more on our blog, tyckomit.se
In area 4, Justice:
The government's ambitions to strengthen the justice system's ability to both use digital technology and prosecute crime in the digital environment are of course commendable. However, it is important to take into account both personal integrity (good with the committee, see below) and the parts of the business community affected by the increased need for the judicial system to operate in the digital environment. The sum of the new tools for the judiciary in recent years is not negligible. In particular, it is important that the government consults with the business community at an earlier stage in future regulation to avoid unwanted and costly consequences.
Otherwise, IT&Telecom companies consider the following initiatives to be particularly welcome:
Establishment of a committee to consider privacy in the digital society
In light of the rapid digitization of society and the fact that we are all moving more and more online, the government intends to set up a parliamentary committee to strike a balance between the protection of privacy and other societal interests.
Deeper cooperation between the defense and law enforcement agencies
The government wants deeper cooperation between the defense and the police in order to strengthen the police's threat analysis. This is reasonably intended to give the police and other law enforcement agencies greater access to FRA's resources. In light of the revelations about the extensive information gathering by the American and British counterparts and the fact that Swedish authorities regularly exchange information with them, an expanded use of defense resources must be prepared transparently and with respect for both personal privacy and the interests of the companies concerned.
Digitization of criminal case management
Continued collaboration between nine relevant authorities.
In area 9, Health and social care:
In this area of expenditure, there is indeed a clear will on the part of the government to modernize and streamline with the help of IT. This is to be welcomed. Among other things, it is intended to continue the work of establishing the national service HälsaFörMig, which will be a digital tool for individuals to be able to save, monitor and manage their health information.
It also chooses to focus specifically on improving care for people with long-term or chronic conditions, allocating SEK 150 million in 2014-2015.
The government also intends to develop a strategy that will show the direction of how healthcare can be developed to become more efficient, involve patients to a greater extent and increase their access to information. Here, IT solutions are particularly suitable for streamlining, facilitating and better organizing the care chain and we naturally intend to highlight and emphasize this in the investigation that will be appointed.
It also raises the issue of the future supply of skills in the field and notes that more efficient use of the professions' resources is necessary if Sweden is to continue to offer high-quality healthcare. The Government therefore considers that there is a need to analyze how the profession's resources can be used in the most appropriate way and for the right tasks. Here we hope that the efficiency effects that IT and welfare technology can generate are taken into account - read our report from this summer "Welfare technology in health and social care - a study of socio-economic effects and policy proposals for increased use"
In area 16, education and university research:
Despite the fact that the government's minister responsible for IT, Anna-Karin Hatt, has advocated investments in the billions to improve teachers' IT skills, there is not a single line in the budget bill about any investments in IT in schools. This lack of coordination within the Alliance, and in general the non-existent will to invest in modern teaching methods, is remarkable. It makes it even more important that the proposals presented in July by IT&Telekomföretagen together with Datorn i Utbildningen ("Decision Book") are really taken seriously and implemented.
In area 17, Culture:
In the area of culture, the Swedish Film Institute is tasked with digitizing the Swedish film heritage and will be allocated SEK 30 million between 2015 and 2018. The extra money is expected to be enough to digitize about 500 films (the Swedish Film Institute's archives contain a total of about 2,500 Swedish feature films). Next year, the government also wants to shift SEK 10 million from digitizing cinemas to digitizing films.
In area 19, regional growth:
The Government commendably emphasizes that a high level of IT and internet use and a well-developed IT infrastructure in all parts of the country are important prerequisites for Sweden's sustainable growth, competitiveness and innovative capacity. It is also emphasized that it is important that Swedish companies and households in all parts of the country can benefit from the opportunities provided by access to broadband with high transmission capacity so that working methods can be streamlined and new services and business models can be developed. Access to broadband infrastructure is central to being able to live and run businesses throughout the country and to providing and taking part in good public services and dealing with global societal challenges.
It is noted that it is first and foremost the task of the market to make investments in broadband infrastructure. In sparsely populated and rural areas in Sweden, there are no incentives for the market to make the necessary investments. The Government therefore considers that there is reason to prioritize support measures for broadband with a high transmission capacity in areas where the commercial conditions for the expansion of broadband are lacking.
However, the total allocation for the expenditure area is SEK 1.5 billion, which is intended to cover all types of measures. IT&Telekomföretagen notes that the debate on broadband coverage in sparsely populated areas is not fully reflected in the budget allocations and that it is still considered to be the market's task to make investments in broadband infrastructure.
In area 21, energy:
The government's vision is commendable and this year's budget points in the direction of Sweden wanting to participate in an environment-related arrangement. However, IT&Telecom companies lack clarity on cooperation within the EU and the use of global products where Sweden lacks its own alternatives. Tax breaks for the introduction of renewable energy sources for small houses hardly stimulate the use of existing energy-efficient everyday tools such as computers and smartphones. Financial incentives for the adoption of existing processes and tools in the public sector would have shown the way, also for private consumers.
In area 22, communications:
This is where the policy for the information society can be found, and it can be seen that the government's ambitions in this area are moving in the right direction. The importance of a good and well-developed robust infrastructure, the benefits to society of greater digital participation, e-services that facilitate both business and individual citizens, and how IT can function as an important component in environmental work are all highlighted. This makes for pleasing reading, and despite the fact that appropriations in this area are slightly lower than last year, we still see a clear will and ambition on the part of the government with regard to IT policy. However, much (perhaps even too much...) of this will is placed on the Digitalization Commission's mission and work. Expectations and demands on what the Commission will deliver are already high and will hardly diminish with this.
We will have occasion to return with more detailed comments on this area of expenditure when we have had the opportunity to analyze the proposals and the expenditure items proposed in more detail.
In area 24, Enterprise:
Although no new initiatives directly affecting the ICT sector are announced, the government is nevertheless clear about the need to support service companies, especially knowledge-intensive ones. They recognize that much of the growth is to be found in small, fast-growing service companies. And that these have a great need for capital and skills supply and market support. The government's stated ambition to support these companies is excellent.
Otherwise, IT&Telecom companies consider the following initiatives to be particularly welcome:
Venture capital
In order to strengthen the supply of private venture capital for early stage companies and to promote the existence of private venture capital managers, the government proposes to set up a fund with EU regional funds to invest in new and existing private venture capital funds.
Tax relief
R&D deduction - To stimulate investment in research and development, the government therefore proposes to introduce a tax incentive for R&D. The tax incentive will take the form of a deduction in the calculation of employer contributions for people working in R&D.
Employee options: Have the tax rules for financial instruments such as options and other share-related instruments investigated
Increasing collaboration to support exports and applied research
Internationalization - The Government intends to promote greater collaboration and coordination between promotional actors in order to increase awareness among companies of the support available (cf. Olle Wästberg's article in today's DI).
Innovation strategies
Based on the research and innovation policy bill (Bill 2012/13:30), the government is implementing a number of measures to increase collaboration between universities and colleges and the surrounding society. SEK 700 million has already been announced in the research program for Vinnova's SIO program for 2013-16.