The leisure card was included in the Tidö Agreement and the plan was to introduce it last year. But it has been more complicated than Jakob Forssmed expected.
Doing new things in Sweden is very challenging, trying to cut through GDPR, personal data, legislation and technology has taken a little longer than I assumed, he says.
But this fall, it will be launched for all children in Sweden between the ages of 8 and 16. The support is 500 kronor per child and year for various leisure activities. For children in families who receive housing allowance, the annual support is 2000 kronor.
"Think what a difference"
Think what a difference for a single parent with three children, it becomes 6000 kronor per year for the children's leisure activities, says Forssmed.
In that group, there are, according to Forssmed, 120,000 children.
My goal is that we should get the participation as high as possible among those children, he says.
A similar test in Norway showed, however, that it was primarily families with good economy who used the support. According to Forssmed, this was partly because the system was too complicated.
They had to run with receipts and it required a great administrative ability to take part in that. That's why we've built it in a way so that no one needs to be out with any expenses or run with any receipts, he says.
Warns of gangs
Several referral bodies have also warned that gang criminals can exploit the system to get to the money. According to Forssmed, a number of measures have been taken to avoid this.
It's never possible to have a hundred percent system, but we've designed the payment service in a way that minimizes, for example, the risk of money laundering, he says.
In addition, an association must have existed for five years to be allowed to participate and must have previously received state support.
I dare say that this is a very well-examined reform, says Jakob Forssmed.
The support is estimated to cost 800 million kronor per year.
Fact: The leisure card
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The leisure card applies to children between the ages of 8 and 16. The support is 500 kronor per child and year for all children. In families with the right to housing allowance, the support is 2,000 kronor per child.
The money can be used for various activities within sports, culture and association life. It must be a continuous and leader-led activity, at least six times per term.
To receive the support, the child must have been given a place and an invoice must have been sent out.
In August, the application for associations that want to participate will open. And in September, families with children will be able to apply for the support on a special website.
