Govt moves to cut refugees´ integration spending

The four-party alliance government led by the Kansallinen Kokoomus (National Coalition Party-NCP) has taken an initiative to reduce the integration spending for the persons granted international protection and their family members.

The government´s proposal in this regard was circulated for comments from 26 September to 24 October 2024, said the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment in a press release on Thursday.

The Integration Act, which will enter into force at the beginning of 2025, would be amended with the view to save money of the general government.

The amendments would decrease specified government transfers to municipalities and reduce the obligations of municipalities.

The central government pays the wellbeing services counties, the municipalities of Åland and the Social Insurance Institution a specified government transfer for the cost of providing social assistance to persons granted international protection and their family members as well as beneficiaries of temporary protection who have a municipality of residence.

In future, the cost of providing basic social assistance under the Integration Act would not be reimbursed. The Act would increase municipalities’ incentives to promote immigrant employment.

Meanwhile, supplementary and preventive social assistance paid by the wellbeing services counties and Åland would be reimbursed for one year instead of current three years.

The central government pays municipalities and wellbeing services counties an imputed specified transfer for organising services promoting integration. Based on the proposal, these imputed specified transfers would be cut by EUR 58 million in 2025.

Because municipalities and wellbeing services counties would receive fewer imputed specified transfers in future, their tasks would be reduced.

The responsibility of municipalities and wellbeing services counties to plan, develop and monitor the promotion of integration would be reduced.

The obligation of municipalities and wellbeing services counties to draw up a multi-sectoral assessment of skills and service needs related to integration and a multi-sectoral integration plan, and the obligation of municipalities to draw up a family integration plan would be repealed from the Integration Act.

The government plans to submit its proposal to Parliament in autumn 2024, and the amendments would enter into force on 1 January 2025 when the reformed Integration Act takes effect.