sou · H7B356 · 2019-12-12 00:00:00 — Utredningen föreslår också att det ska införas en bestämmelse i LOV som gör det möjligt att reservera rätten att ansöka om att få delta i ett valfrihetssystem. Det ska dock krävas särskilda skäl för det. De idéburna aktörerna menar att det i många befintliga valfri- hetssystem är svårt att få fram information till brukare om de idé- burna organisationernas särart. Utredningens bedömning är att det är möjligt och även lämpligt att vid information till enskilda om leve- rantörer i ett valfrihetssystem lämna information om att en leveran- tör är en registrerad idéburen aktör. Andra områden där definitionen skulle kunna användas När det finns en tydlig definition av idéburna aktörer i offentligt finansierad välfärdsverksamhet kan denna även användas vid bidrags- givning från såväl staten som kommuner och regioner i de fall detta anses lämpligt. Definitionen kommer också att innebära förbättrade möjligheter att ta fram statistik om idéburna aktörer. Sådan statistik kan an- vändas för olika sorters jämförelser mellan idéburna aktörer och andra aktörer, offentliga eller privata. Den kan även exempelvis användas för att undersöka om regler gett de effekter som avsetts. Definitionen kan få fler användningsområden. När den väl finns på plats kommer det att vara möjligt, om det befinns lämpligt, att exempelvis besluta om särregler för idéburna aktörer. Den nya lagen om registrering av idéburna aktörer i offentligt finan- sierad välfärdsverksamhet och de föreslagna ändringarna i LOV och föreslås träda i kraft . not-for-profit organisations have several important roles in society. Getting engaged in an organisation gives individuals meaning, a sense of community and a force for their own liberation. People who would otherwise have had difficulty being heard are given a collective voice. Civil society contributes perspectives different to those held by public authorities and private companies. Engage- ment can also contribute to greater social cohesion, and voluntary and community organisations are an important schooling in democracy. Moreover, values-based organisations of various kinds have long played an important role in welfare service provision. Many of the welfare state’s institutions have their roots in activities once deve- loped by voluntary associations or faith communities. organisations have been pioneers of what is now core welfare services, at the same time as they have continued to identify, articulate and meet needs neither public nor commercial actors have been able to pick up. This makes values-based actors important innovators in wel- fare service provision. organisations are often strongly anchored, and enjoy great confidence, among the people who need the welfare services they provide, and include individuals with their own experience of e.g. substance misuse, homelessness, long-term unemployment and dis- abilities. Often these are groups that are for the public institu- tions to reach. Local roots, in a community or a housing area, are another distinctive feature of values-based actors, and this can be particularly important in places where both public and commercial services have disappeared. actors contribute to diversity and to freedom of choice for users in ways that include providing adapted or niche services. Compared with most other countries in the Nordic region and across Europe, values-based not-for-profit actors account for a small share of the welfare services sector in . Moreover, the in- crease in recent decades in the share of welfare services delivered by external suppliers is mainly due to provision by commercial actors, while the values-based share has remained low. At the same time, it is not necessarily the case that increased participation by values- based actors in welfare service provision would have to be at the expense of commercial actors. It could instead involve activities other- wise produced in-house by public actors or completely new types of services, initiatives or solutions not available from either public or commercial actors. One feature shared by all of the Inquiry’s proposals is that they increase the possibilities for values-based actors to participate in the delivery of publicly funded welfare services and for municipalities and central government agencies to benefit from the skills, experience and other resources of values-based actors. Another common feature is that everything is voluntary. actors decide by them- selves if they want to register as values-based actors in welfare service provision and if they want to take part in a values-based public partner- ship, a procurement or a free choice system. In the same way as municipalities, regions and central government agencies are free to choose whether they want to use the instruments proposed by the Inquiry. The Inquiry has had the remit of drafting a proposal of a clear define- tion of ‘values-based actors’ that can be used to identify them and distinguish them from other actors in welfare activities and closely- related publicly financed and subsidised activities. The purpose of this definition has been to draft proposals that promote greater values- based participation in welfare service provision. Therefore the Inquiry has also had the remit of developing examples and describing potential areas of application in welfare service provision where a definition of values-based actors can be used. In order to promote collaboration between values-based actors and public institutions, the remit of the Inquiry has also covered proposing guidelines, criteria or applicable instruments for entering into values-based public partnerships. Our remit has also included mapping and analysing how non-economic services of general interest are regulated in other EEA countries. The remit has not included presenting proposals in the area of taxation. The concepts of welfare service provision and welfare activities Unlike regarding previous inquiries with closely related remits, the Inquiry’s terms of reference do not identify any specific areas or activities. So, the Inquiry has been relatively free to define what to include in the concept of ‘welfare service provision’ in this context. There is no generally accepted definition of the concept. The starting point for the Inquiry’s definition of the scope of welfare service provision has been the Inquiry’s remit. The activities that are of interest are those that are included in a broader use of the concept, that are covered by some form of public funding and that are conducted by values-based actors who receive such funding. In the view of the Inquiry, the concept of ‘welfare activities’ means, in this context: •health promotion activities; •social care services; •education regulated by the Education Act, education and adult education delivered by folk high schools and study associations and other education and training whose organiser is a munici- pality, region or central government agency; •activities in the labour market area; and •activities intended to increase people’s integration and inclusion in society and to combat segregation and isolation. How the values-based sector or its equivalent is organised in other EEA countries The Inquiry has looked at a number of countries judged to be of particular interest. The Inquiry’s review shows that there are great cross-country variations regarding both forms of funding and what share of welfare service provision is conducted by values-based actors or their equiv- alent. There are several reasons for this great variation. Part of the explanation is to be found in how welfare systems are designed and how they have evolved. It is common to have special rules for non- profit organisations in the countries we have examined. Several, but not all, countries have a definition of non-profit organisations or their equivalent. Definitions when given are often found in tax legislation, and the special rules usually consist of special tax rules. In two of the countries examined, and , legislative pro- cedures are in progress in order to increase the activities of non- profit organisations or to make it easier for them to conduct activities. In the procedure concerns a provision in procurement legislation. In it involves a law about the whole of the non-profit sector that also includes various kinds of forms of collaboration. In the provision is still at the level of a proposal. In the law has been adopted but has not yet begun to be applied. A definition of values-based actors in public funded welfare activities The definition that the Inquiry has had the remit of drafting is to be long-term, sustainable and monitorable. To achieve its purpose, the definition also needs to be predictable and easy to apply. In the view of the Inquiry, this is ensured through a legal definition in a law and aregistration procedure to distinguish values-based actors from other actors. A procedure like that also means that there will be a con- sistent assessment of which actors fulfil the definition. In addition, the administrative burden will be smaller for municipalities and regions and for central government agencies that would otherwise need to check compliance with the requirements in each specific case. The same applies to values-based actors. It will also be possible to pro- duce statistics about values-based actors if they are simple to identify and follow over time. One important restriction is that the definition is to apply to values-based actors conducting publicly funded activities in welfare service provision. The definition is not intended to be a general defini- tion of values-based organisations or activities, and is only aimed at organisations in their capacity of actors in publicly funded welfare activities. welfare activities that are not publicly funded are not affected. actors currently conduct activities in several different legal forms. In the view of the Inquiry, it would be inappropriate to design the definition in a way that forces existing values-based actors in welfare service provision to change their legal form in order to meet the definition. The purpose of the definition is not to exclude any values-based actors but to differentiate them from public and commercial actors. The definition and procedure must also be designed so as to minimise the risks of misuse. The Inquiry’s proposal is that in order to be classified as a values-based actor in publicly funded welfare activities an organisation has to be legal person that: 1.is not directly or indirectly owned or controlled by the State, a municipality or a region; 2.has a purpose that is altruistic; 3.conducts or intends to conduct publicly funded welfare activities; and 4.does not make any value transfers to parties other than registered values-based actors or to scientific research. The values-based actors that meet the requirements in the definition should be able to register in a special register. Registering as a values- based actor in publicly funded welfare activities should be voluntary. However, the actors that have registered should have to meet the legal requirements while in? In addition, the provision about restrictions of value transfers in the fourth point of the define- tion should continue to apply for five years after deregistration. It should be possible to impose a fine a person who breaches the rules on value transfers either intentionally or through negligence. The Inquiry proposes that the Government should decide which authority will be responsible for the register. However, the Inquiry’s assessment is that the county administrative boards, which are cur- rently supervisory and registration authorities for foundations, should also be responsible for the register of values-based actors in welfare service provision. public partnerships are a form of collaboration between public and values-based actors. They are based on the insight that several perspectives and several different types of resources may be needed to solve certain problems, especially more complex ones. On the basis of an analysis of the purpose of these partnerships and the requirements imposed by EU law, the Inquiry has concluded that a values-based public partnership in publicly funded welfare activities can be summarised in the following way: 1.The partnership is a cooperation between one or more public actors and one or more values-based actors in welfare service provision. 2.Its purpose it to achieve a common public benefit objective. 3.Both the public actor and the values-based actor contribute resources. The partnership must not contain an award of a public contract, a procurement of a concession or a framework agreement. The partnership must be consistent with the EU’s State aid rules. The Inquiry describes several different possibilities available concern- ing the application of State aid rules to values-based public partner- ships. If the public actor is a municipality or region, there are also provisions in the Local Government Act and special legislation to take into account. On the basis of the above criteria, the Inquiry has produced a special guide, containing concrete examples, that describes various alter- native ways of being able to enter into a values-based public partner- ship that are consistent with the applicable regulatory frameworks such as the Local Government Act, procurement legislation and the State aid rules. A commission to the for Public Procurement The Inquiry also proposes giving the for Public Procurement a commission to work on information measures in relation to public and values-based actors on the basis of the criteria proposed by the Inquiry. We also propose that the for Public Procurement should manage and develop the Inquiry’s guide on the basis of case law and practical experience. Proposals concerning public procurement A commission to the for Public Procurement In the Inquiry’s assessment, there are possibilities, within the frame- work of current procurement legislation, of making better use of the added value that can be contributed by values-based organisations. Part of the role of the for Public Procurement is to make it easier for values-based organisations to participate in procurement. However, the Inquiry notes that the support and guides produced up to now do not have any focus on values-based organisations. The Inquiry therefore proposes giving the Agency a special mission to work on targeted information measures in relation to values-based actors and contracting authorities, so as to increase the participation of values-based actors in procurements. Under this proposal, the mission would be carried out in collaboration with relevant actors, such as representatives of contracting authorities and the values-based sector. Possibility of reserving contracts for values-based actors The Inquiry makes the assessment that there is legal scope that makes it possible to reserve contracts for values-based actors for social and other specific services, i.e. services covered by the Light Touch Regime in the Public Procurement Directive that applies to the classic sector and, as regards , Chapter 19 of the Public Procurement Act. According to the Inquiry, the main support for this assessment is to be found in the case law of the Court of of Union. Under this proposal, contracting authorities would be given the possibility of reserving the right to participate in a procurement of the welfare services enumerated in Schedule 2 a of the Public Pro- curement Act to values-based actors. The services covered by that Schedule include health care, social services and closely related service as well as teaching and education services. The possibility of reserving the right to participate in procurements to values-based actors applies provided that this contributes to the realisation of the social objective and leads to budgetary efficiency. However, a wish on the part of the contracting authority to have a certain share of values-based actors is not, in itself, enough to justify reserving a pro- curement. As the proposed possibility of a reservation is based on the special standing that social services have been given in the Public Procure- ment Directive, what is said there about taking account of the need to ensure the quality, continuity, accessibility, affordability, avail- ability and comprehensiveness of the services, the specific needs of different categories of users, including disadvantaged and vulnerable groups is of importance. If a reservation for values-based actors con- tributes to the realisation of the social objective through higher ful- filment of any of the above, this indicates that the reservation is permitted. actors can contribute to higher quality in several ways. If the altruistic purpose of the values-based actor has a link to the service concerned, this can be an indication that quality has been given a higher standing than other considerations when the service is performed. Quality can also be promoted by values-based actors working for a specific target group from a holistic perspective. With regard to continuity, the fact that values-based actors have an altruistic purpose may make it more natural for them to look both to the needs of the target groups and to the long-term effects of the services they perform. Many values-based actors have a close link to users of their service. This gives their activities a distinctive character, a special value com- pared with activities conducted by public actors in-house or by com- mercial actors. According to the Court of of Union, when there is no objective of distributing funds to owners, this may result in budgetary efficiency since any surplus will be reinvested in the activities and will therefore benefit the community and the users. Proposals concerning free choice systems In order to increase the participation of values-based actors as suppliers in free choice systems, the Inquiry proposes amending the Act on to state that the fundamental principles that follow from the Treaty on the Functioning of Union (TFEU) shall not apply to free choice systems that do not have a definite cross-border interest. The Inquiry also proposes adding a provision to the Act to make it possible to reserve the right to apply to participate in a free choice system. However, special reasons should be required for this. actors claim that in many current free choice systems it is difficult to communicate information about the distinctive character of values-based organisations to users. The Inquiry’s assess- ment is that, when informing individuals about suppliers in a free choice system, it is possible and also appropriate to provide the information that a supplier is a registered values-based actor. Other areas where the definition could be used When there is a clear definition of values-based actors in publicly funded welfare activities, this definition can also be used in the award of grants both by central government and by municipalities and regions when considered appropriate. The definition will also provide better possibilities of producing statistics about values-based actors. Statistics of this kind can be used for various types of comparisons between values-based actors and other actors, either public or commercial. They can, for example, be used to examine whether the rules have had the intended effects. The definition may be given additional areas of use in the future. Once it is in place, it will be possible, if judged appropriate, to, for instance, adopt special rules for values-based actors. 1.1Förslag till lag om registrering av idéburna aktörer inom offentligt finansierad välfärdsverksamhet Härigenom föreskrivs följande. Idéburen aktör inom offentligt finansierad välfärdsverksamhet 1 § Med idéburen aktör inom offentligt finansierad välfärdverk- samhet avses i denna lag en juridisk person som 1.inte är direkt eller indirekt ägd eller kontrollerad av staten, en kommun eller en region, 2.har ett syfte som är oegennyttigt, 3.bedriver eller har för avsikt att bedriva offentligt finansierad välfärdsverksamhet, och 4.inte gör några värdeöverföringar till annan än registrerade idé- burna aktörer eller till forskning. 2 § En idéburen aktör får ansöka om att registreras i ett register över idéburna aktörer inom offentligt finansierad välfärdverksamhet. Den idéburna aktören ska registreras om aktören uppfyller för- utsättningarna i 1 §. Att 1 § 2 är uppfylld ska framgå av aktörens stadgar, bolagsordning, urkund eller motsvarande handling. Den myndighet som regeringen bestämmer (registermyndigheten) ska besluta om registrering av idéburna aktörer. 3 § Registreringen ska omfatta 1.den idéburna aktörens namn och postadress, 2.den idéburna aktörens stadgar, bolagsordning, urkund eller mot- svarande handling, och 3.en kontaktperson som är behörig att företräda den idéburna aktören i frågor om registrering samt kontaktpersonens namn, post- adress och personnummer eller samordningsnummer. Ändringar i något av dessa förhållanden ska genast anmälas till registermyndigheten. 4 § får ta ut en avgift för registerhållning. Regeringen eller den myndighet som regeringen bestämmer får meddela föreskrifter om avgiftens storlek. 5 § Med värdeöverföring avses i denna lag: 2.förvärv av egna aktier, dock inte förvärv enligt 19 kap. 5 § aktiebolagslagen (2005:551), 3.minskning av aktiekapitalet eller reservfonden för återbetal- ning till aktieägarna, 4.minskning av reservfonden för återbetalning till medlemmarna, 6.avhändande av egendom till underpris, 7.förvärv av egendom till överpris, 8.lön eller arvode för tjänster eller arbeten som inte alls eller endast delvis motsvaras av utbetalningen, 9.utlåning av medel till en i förhållande till marknadsräntan lägre ränta eller upptagande av lån till högre ränta än marknadsräntan, 10.avskrivning av fordringar eller att låta fordringar preskriberas, 11.annan affärshändelse som medför att den idéburna aktörens förmögenhet minskar och som inte har rent affärsmässig karaktär för denna aktör. 6 § En registrerad idéburen aktör ska skriftligen till register- myndigheten lämna uppgifter om beslutade värdeöverföringar. Första stycket gäller även en aktör som omfattas av 9 §. 7 § En registrerad idéburen aktör ska ha en bestämmelse i aktörens stadgar, bolagsordning eller motsvarande handling som anger att kvarvarande tillgångar vid aktörens upplösning ska skiftas på ett sätt som inte bryter mot begränsningen beträffande värdeöverföringar i 1 § 4. Första stycket gäller även en aktör som omfattas av 9 §. För stiftelser gäller i stället vad som anges i 7 kap. 11 § stiftelse- lagen (1994:1220). 8 § ska besluta att den idéburna aktören ska avregistreras om de krav som gäller för registrering enligt 2 § är uppfyllda. får även besluta att en idéburen aktör ska avregistreras om aktören inte har följt ett föreläggande enligt 11 § första stycket. En idéburen aktör ska på egen begäran avregistreras av register- myndigheten även om kraven i 2 § är uppfyllda. 9 § efter ett beslut om avregistrer- ing ska begränsningen beträffande värdeöverföringar i 1 § 4 fort- farande gälla. 10 § ska utöva tillsyn över registret över idé- burna aktörer i offentligt finansierad välfärdsverksamhet. En registrerad idéburen aktör är skyldig att på registermyndig- hetens begäran lämna sådana uppgifter som är nödvändiga för tillsyns- verksamheten. 11 § får meddela de förelägganden som behövs för att denna lag eller de föreskrifter som har meddelats i anslutning till lagen ska följas. Förelägganden enligt första stycket får förenas med vite. 12 § Till böter döms den som uppsåtligen eller av oaktsamhet gör värdeöverföringar från en registrerad idéburen aktör eller en aktör som omfattas av 9 § till annan än en registrerad idéburen aktör eller till forskning. 13 § beslut får överklagas till allmän förvalt- ningsdomstol om myndigheten har beslutat att 1.skriva av eller avslå en ansökan om registrering enligt 2 §,