Today, there may be a situation where municipalities barely know who is engaged in blasting activities, says Minister for Civil Defence Carl-Oskar Bohlin (M).
It is the municipalities that grant permits for handling explosives and are responsible for ensuring that the permits are followed.
In 2022, the municipalities issued a total of 3,750 permits for explosive goods, but only 352 inspections were carried out.
There was no control over the permits and inspections were carried out to a far too small extent, says Justice Minister Gunnar Strömmer (M).
Obligation to Report
According to the government's investigator Fredrik Nydén, the reason for the lack of inspections is a lack of resources and competence in the municipalities.
Nydén is now presenting several proposals to strengthen supervision. According to him, one of the biggest problems is that a company only needs to apply for a permit for handling explosives in one municipality, even if the company has activities in several parts of the country.
This means that there may be a lack of knowledge about blasting activities at a construction site in the municipality. The investigator therefore proposes that all blasting activities should be reported to the municipality five days in advance.
The Swedish Agency for Civil Contingencies (MSB) is proposed to help municipalities coordinate and will also be tasked with checking that municipalities are conducting supervision correctly. MSB will be given the right to issue regulations and injunctions.
Urgent
Another proposal is that the police should be given the right to appeal municipalities' permit decisions and also be able to request that permits be revoked.
The investigator also proposes legislative changes that will make municipalities take greater account of the risk of explosives falling into the hands of criminals when deciding on permits. For example, association with criminal environments should lead to permits being denied.
Tighter regulations are also proposed for how leftover explosives and flammable goods should be handled after a permit has expired.
The government now intends to expedite the investigator's proposals so that supervision can be strengthened as early as this summer.
This is something we want to get right as quickly as possible, says Bohlin.
