Theme I - 1 ^st Working session: Improvement in the quality and efficiency of local social services

Mr Chair, excellences, ladies and gentlemen.

Three weeks ago, a new government was appointed in Norway. The new government will make the modernisation of the public sector its top priority.

The public sector exists to serve everyone. But it cannot do everything.

The welfare state in Norway is advanced. We are, however, facing major challenges. Also Norway is experiencing an increasing demand for public services, particularly welfare services. The long-term demographic pressures on these services are inescapable. And people have high expectations of what the welfare state should provide.

The Norwegian government is committed to the welfare state. It is, however, time to modernise and reform the welfare state. Improving the quality and efficiency of the welfare state will take more than money.

We must simplify administrative procedures. We should produce more services and less administration.

The welfare state in Norway is already decentralised. Local and regional authorities play an important role in the provision of social services. They provide basic social services such as health care, social assistance, childcare facilities and care for the elderly, the disabled and the mentally ill.

The local level provides welfare services of high quality, and is a more effective producer of welfare than central government. Welfare production at local level secures that the services provided are based on needs and priorities in the local community. Furthermore, we believe that the democratic mechanism contributes to the provision of high quality welfare services at a low cost.

The Norwegian government will revitalise and strengthen the public sector at national and at local level. We will try to find new solutions to provide the best production and equitable distribution of social welfare.

The government will assess the division of responsibility between the state, the regions and the municipalities. A commission that has been charged with reviewing the allocation of tasks and responsibilities between the levels of government will submit its recommendation this summer.

The government will also proceed with the recently established institutional dialogue between the state and the local government’s association. The local and regional authorities are consulted on matters concerning the national budget; the dialogue will thus take place annually. The aim is to involve the local and regional authorities in the setting of goals and objectives, and in the devising of strategies of how to achieve them.

Mr Chair, to conclude, I wish to underline that the local authorities must play a fundamental role in the provision of social services in a modernised welfare state.

Thank you.