Annual Report 2017/18 SUMMARY in ENGLISH
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Annual report 2017/18 SUMMARY IN ENGLISH the swedish parliamentary ombudsmen observations made by the ombudsmen during the year 1 observations made by the ombudsmen during the year © Riksdagens ombudsmän (JO) 2018 Printed by: Lenanders Grafiska AB 2018 Production: Riksdagens ombudsmän (JO) Photos by: Pernille Tofte (pages 4, 12, 20, 28) and Anders Jansson 2 observations made by the ombudsmen during the year Contents Observations made by the Ombudsmen ...............................................................4 Chief Parliamentary Ombudsman Elisabeth Rynning .............................................4 Parliamentary Ombudsman Lars Lindström ........................................................... 12 Parliamentary Ombudsman Cecilia Renfors ........................................................... 20 Parliamentary Ombudsman Thomas Norling ......................................................... 28 OPCAT activities ..................................................................................................38 International cooperation ....................................................................................45 Summaries of individual cases .............................................................................47 Courts ............................................................................................................................ 48 Public courts .......................................................................................................... 48 Administrative courts ............................................................................................49 Education and research .............................................................................................. 50 The Enforcement authority ......................................................................................... 51 Health and medical care ............................................................................................. 52 Migration ...................................................................................................................... 53 Cases involving police, prosecutors and custom officers ....................................... 54 Prison and probation service ..................................................................................... 59 Public access to documents and secrecy as well as freedom of expression .......... 64 Social insurance ........................................................................................................... 67 Social services .............................................................................................................. 68 Social services act .................................................................................................. 68 Care of Young Persons (special provisions) Act (LVU) ................................... 73 Care of Abusers (Special Provisions) Act (LVM) ..............................................75 Case handling ........................................................................................................ 76 Support and service for persons with certain functional impairments (LSS) ...... 76 Other areas .................................................................................................................... 78 Statistics ................................................................................................................81 3 observations made by the ombudsmen during the year Elisabeth Rynning Chief Parliamentary Ombudsman The supervision within my area of responsibility comprises, inter alia, the correctional care system, the Armed Forces, health and medical care services and, as of 1 February 2018, taxation and population registration. The Area of responsibility also comprises a number of other government agencies including the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority, the Swedish Competition Author- ity, the Equality Ombudsman and the National Board for Consumer Disputes. In organisational terms, the OPCAT unit belongs to my area of responsibility in an organisational respect, but the unit’s inspections are carried out uoon the instructions of the Ombudsman that supervise the authority to be inspected. A more detailed account of the OPCAT unit’s activities is found in a separate section. During the fiscal year, the division received 1,765 new complaint cases, which is around the same number as the preceding year. However, approximately 200 of these complaints were such that, upon receipt at the Parliamentary Ombuds- men’s secretariat, they were deemed to fall outside the competence area of the Parliamentary Ombudsmen – e.g. complaints against private businesses – and were thus dismissed following decisions delegated to Heads of Division. During the fiscal year, a total of 1,626 cases were settled at the division, of which 17 per cent were settled by delegated Heads of Division. As with previous years, the majority of the division’s work related to cases concerning the correctional care system. Around 16 per cent of the settled cases that were assessed as falling within the competence area of the Parliamentary Ombudsmen had been subject to a full enquiry, and a little over 9 per cent led to criticism. Within the large group of cases dismissed, either following some investigation or solely based on the information provided by the complainant, there are some forty cases where I nevertheless found reason to remind the authority of the provisions that apply to the organisation, and around twenty five cases which were dismissed with reference to another case where the same issue had been the subject of enquiry or had already resulted in criticism. 4 observations made by the ombudsmen during the year Areas of responsibility • The Armed Forces and other cases rela- companies and partnerships, trade ting to the Ministry of Defence and its names, trade registers, patents, trade- subordinate agencies which do not fall marks, registered designs, and other within other areas of responsibility cases pertaining to agencies subordinate • The National Fortifications Agency. to the Ministry of Industry, Employment and Communications which do not fall • Prisons and probation service, the within other areas of responsibility. National Prison and Probation Board and probation boards. • The Agency for Public Management; the National Financial Management Authori- • Health and medical care as well as dental ty; the Legal, Financial and Administrati- care, pharmaceuticals; forensic medicine ve Services Agency, the National Appeals agencies, forensic psychology agencies; Board, the National Claims Adjustment protection from infection. Board; the National Agency for Govern- • Income and property tax, value added ment Employers, the Arbitration Board tax, fiscal control, with the exception, on Certain Social Security Issues; the however, of the Taxation Authorities Cri- National Property Board; the National minal Investigation Units as laid down in Government Employee Pensions Board, the Act on the Participation of Taxation the National Pensions and Group Life In- Authorities in Criminal Investigations surance Board; the Financial Supervisory [1997:1024] ); tax collection. Authority, the Accounting Standards • Excise duties and price-regulating Board; the National Institute of Economic fees, road tax; service charges; national Research; Statistics Sweden; the National registration (including cases concerning Disciplinary Offense Board. names); other cases connected with the • The Equality Ombudsman; the Board Ministry of Finance and its subordinate against Discrimination. agencies which do not fall within other • Cases that do not fall within the ambit areas of responsibility. of the Parliamentary Ombudsmen; • Public procurement, consumer protec- documents containing unspecified tion, marketing, price and competition complaints. within industry and commerce, price • The Opcat unit regulation, cases concerning limited During the fiscal year, a total of 14 inspections were carried out within my areas of responsibility. Together with co-workers from the supervisory division, I have inspected the correctional facilities Saltvik and Hall, Uppsala Probation Author- ity and the psychiatric clinic in Västerås. Inspections of Sollentuna Probation Authority and the National Board for Consumer Disputes have been carried out by Heads of Division. A further eight inspections have been conducted within the framework for the Parliamentary Ombudsmen’s assignment as a national preventive mechanism according to the protocol OPCAT that supplements the UN Convention Against Torture (see section 4). One visit to an authority has been carried out at the Health and Social Care Inspectorate (IVO). In addition to the inspections, five enquiries have been concluded during the fiscal year and six new have been initiated. The issues that are being addressed in the new cases include the following: the conditions for tube-feeding against the patient’s will within compulsory psychiatric care, the conditions for detainees under the Aliens Act who are placed in a remand prison, and the regulations for the late termination of pregnancy. There have been no prosecutions during the fiscal year. I have initiated and closed a preliminary investigation concerning the obligation of secrecy, and I have closed another previously initiated preliminary investigation with the same crime classification. 5 observations made by the ombudsmen during the year In six cases I have, pursuant to Section 4 of the Act with