Swedish government launches inquiry to boost due process in social services cases
The Swedish government has launched an inquiry aimed at strengthening legal certainty in particularly intrusive social services cases.
The move comes in the wake of severe criticism primarily concerning coercive interventions taken against an individual's will, such as when children are taken into public care. Both the Parliamentary Ombudsmen and the Health and Social Care Inspectorate have previously highlighted major shortcomings in these procedures.
The inquiry will also examine the division of responsibility between politicians and civil servants, and determine whether the framework for how decisions are made within social services needs to be restructured.
"Certain cases within social services operations are of a particularly intrusive and complex nature. These place exceptionally high demands on the decision-making process being legally secure," Social Services Minister Camilla Waltersson Grönvall told a press conference.
Swedish vocabulary: legal certainty – rättssäkerhet
Plastic bag use surges in Sweden following tax repeal
The use of plastic bags is rising in Sweden following a decision in 2024 to axe a plastic bag tax.
In 2025, the use of plastic carrier bags used to carry groceries home increased by just over 20 percent compared to previous years, new statistics from the Swedish Food Agency show. These bags are also commonly used as bin bags by households. Meanwhile, very thin bags, such as those used for fruit, surged by a whopping 65 percent.
"It is primarily the thin fruit and vegetable bags that are increasing. But overall, we are using more plastic bags," Fredrik Khayati, administrator for waste statistics at the Swedish Food Agency, told the TT newswire.
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Sweden still remains well within the EU target. On average, people in Sweden use 23 plastic bags per person per year – while the EU target is a maximum of 40 bags per person.
"I would say we have reached a plateau now. It has increased, and now it will probably stay at this level," said Khayati.
In total, around 400 million plastic bags were available for sale in Sweden in 2025. Of these, nearly 250 million were carrier bags used for bringing groceries home from the shop. In 2025, there were also 10 million thick plastic bags for sale, compared to just over 7 million the year before.
The plastic bag tax was introduced in spring 2020 with the aim of reducing littering in nature. The effect of the tax, which added three kronor to the price of carrier bags, was felt almost immediately. By the end of 2020, consumers had bought 55 carrier bags per person, compared to 74 bags the previous year.
Swedish vocabulary: a plastic bag – en plastpåse
Malmö toddler and grandmother still in hospital after lightning strike
Seven members of the same Malmö-based family, including a six-month-old baby, were struck by lightning at the Tosselilla amusement park in Tomelilla on Sunday, leaving four people still in hospital, reports regional newspaper Sydsvenskan. Among those being treated is a two-year-old boy.
Several people were injured in the incident, and four were taken to hospital by ambulance.
"It sounded like a bomb, a loud bang, and everything went completely white. I couldn't see anything but I felt it all through my back, my right arm, and my right leg, where I've got a wound," the boy's mother told the newspaper.
Doctors are currently monitoring the toddler's heart, and he is experiencing pain in his neck and the back of his head. The boy's grandmother was also among those injured.
"It was my mother who was hurt the most – in her head, her arm, her back and her leg. The lightning struck her right by her eye," said the two-year-old's mother.
Swedish vocabulary: a lightning strike – ett blixtnedslag
SAS poised for huge expansion with new fleet and routes
Scandinavian Airlines was set to present an order for new aircraft on Tuesday morning, according to Danish newspaper Berlingske.
It reportedly involves an extensive aircraft order, thousands of new jobs, and several new flight routes.
The investment plan spans the next five years and will make SAS a significantly larger airline.
"SAS is carrying out one of the most significant investments in our history," the airline's CEO, Anko van der Werff, wrote to Berlingske.
Bloomberg has previously reported that SAS is on the verge of buying 15-20 new aircraft, but van der Werff didn't immediately confirm this.
SAS was set to hold a press conference in Denmark at 10am on Tuesday.
Swedish vocabulary: aircraft – flygplan
Submarine export deal set to spark hiring spree in southern Sweden
Poland has signed a contract to purchase three A26 submarines, also known as the Blekinge class, from Swedish defence giant Saab. The first vessel is scheduled for delivery in 2031.
"This is a huge deal. We are talking about roughly 50 billion Swedish kronor in total," Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson told TT.
The submarines will be built at Saab's shipyards in Karlskrona and Landskrona. However, the contract – which also covers weapon systems, training and support – includes Saab investments of up to 100 million euros in Poland. This funding will be used to establish maintenance and repair capabilities in cooperation with Polish industry.
Thousands of jobs – including 7,000 in Poland – will be created, according to Kristersson.
Saab, whose business area Saab Kockums currently employs just over 2,500 people, confirmed that the deal will trigger a substantial recruitment drive.
"We have already been growing rapidly for several years and see a continued need to recruit new employees," Ulrika Langels, press officer at Saab, told TT in an email. "Thanks to the deal with Poland, we will be able to hire several hundred new staff members."
In Lund and Helsingborg, the focus will primarily be on recruiting more engineers, while production sites in Karlskrona and Landskrona will mainly require sheet metal workers, welders, mechanics and electricians, alongside a number of engineers.
Swedish vocabulary: a submarine – en ubåt