The case in summary: • Fauske municipality agreed to accept 40 refugees, but UDI decided that they should accept over 400.• The municipality has three asylum reception centers and 435 places, which requires infrastructure and expertise, and costs money.• The administration in Fauske believes that the financial subsidies do not cover the expenses.• The municipality has calculated that they will probably spend NOK 23.5 million, but the estimated cost is NOK 34.3 million.• Municipal director Ellen Beate Lundberg expresses concern about the financial situation.• The municipality is concerned that the situation will affect the services of permanent residents.• The Ministry of Justice and Emergency Preparedness underlines that the state has an obligation to offer foreigners who seek protection an offer of accommodation. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAi. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. The Robek municipality Fauske agreed to house 40 refugees. UDI decided that they will accept ten times as many, and so it did. Three asylum reception centers and 435 places require infrastructure and expertise. This of course costs money, something Fauske municipality has little of. Now the administration in the marble municipality turns over every single stone both once and twice. They believe that the financial subsidies are not close to covering the expenses. – With each passing day, new challenges arise. We have no overview, says municipal director Ellen Beate Lundberg. REORGANIZATION: Municipal director Ellen Beate Lundberg says that Fauske has been conducting restructuring for several years to turn around the financial situation. The refugee trauma makes things even more difficult. Photo: Daniel Hong Hansen / news Will lose money The municipality itself has prepared a calculation that gives a picture of probable costs and income in connection with the refugees. The income will be the sum of: Fixed grant for host municipality: NOK 756,551. NOK 11,611 per ordinary reception place. NOK 103.00 per child in primary school. NOK 18,300 per adult in adult training. There are other rates for unaccompanied minors. Fauske municipality has envisaged two different scenarios where the sums for income are NOK 22.4 and NOK 18.9 million respectively. In 2021, Fauske municipality had 1.5 billion in debt. They have done a lot to save money. Among other things, cuts in after-school services and moving out of their own town hall. Photo: Andreas Nilsen Trygstad / news But how much will it cost? The municipality has also counted on that. In a minimum alternative, it is likely that they spend NOK 23.5 million. The estimated cost is nevertheless NOK 34.3 million. In other words, the municipality believes that they will have to spend approximately NOK 10 million. – It is actually very unpleasant not to know where it is going, says municipal director Ellen Beate Lundberg. Says to himself that things take time One of the three asylum centers Fauske will run is located in Sulitjelma, a short hour outside Fauske. It is run by Corvita-care. On 23 August, the first refugees arrived at the old hotel in the village. – We will soon be full here. It has gone very quickly, says reception manager Hilde Skramsett. – There were bus loads about every single day. Things were a bit marked by chaos and that things happened quickly, but we are starting to feel that we have our heads above water and order in the chaos. Hilde Skramsett says that there will be singles, mothers, fathers and children. From zero to 80 years. Photo: Daniel Hong Hansen / news – Fauske municipality knows its way around. What do you think about it? – I understand that very well. There are 350 people living in Sulitjelma, and now 185 refugees are arriving, 30-40 of whom are children. It is clear that it can be a challenge for the municipality, answers Skramsett and adds: – It goes without saying that it takes a lot of time to get professionals, educators, nurses and doctors. The reception already has people at the reception who work long days. – We have many people who are actually supposed to have an offer which is now at reception all day. There will be long days and boring days. It is demanding, but we understand that things take time in the municipality. The reception in Sulitjelma houses many refugees, and several of them are actually entitled to services during the day. Photo: Daniel Hong Hansen / news Demanding itself for a growth municipality On the other side of the country, Holmestrand municipality continues to do the same as Fauske. Rigging for many refugees. But unlike Fauske, Holmestrand is used to growth over several years. – We are a growing municipality and are relatively accustomed to growing. Many people move here from Drammen and Oslo, among other things because it is possible to commute, says mayor Elin Weggesrud (Ap). In total, Holmestrand grows by around 2 per cent a year. But accepting 400 new refugees in the short term is tough even for someone who is used to growing. – 400 refugees is of course demanding for the municipality, but everyone is determined that we will make it happen and it looks like we will be able to do it. Elin Gran Weggesrud (Ap) says that it is too early to say anything about the economy linked to the refugees from Ukraine. Photo: Philip Hofgaard / news She adds: – It puts our services under a lot of pressure. Among other things, we have appointed a nurse and will appoint another relatively soon, explains the mayor. Kindergartens, schools, GPs and adult education are also ready for the refugee trauma. The first arrived in Holmestrand at the end of August. Weggesrud emphasizes that they still need more time before they know whether there will be a financial loss in connection with the emergency department. – We need more time, but we can sense that it can be demanding. We are a low-income municipality and there are tight margins. Will go beyond permanent residents The municipal director in Fauske is ready that Norway, like the rest of the world, must do its part to welcome refugees in a good way. But it is difficult for a municipality, which even before the refugees arrived, struggled to offer good enough services to permanent residents. – Health services, teaching positions and other relevant positions that will help to cover statutory services challenge us every day. The refugee situation challenges us even more. – Will permanent residents in Fauske municipality notice this? – It cannot be avoided that it will be noticed in one way or another. The municipal director says that she is concerned about how they will deal with the refugee trauma in a good way. Lundberg describes the situation as so challenging that she doubts whether they will manage to be a good host municipality. – We have had a dialogue with UDI and pointed out these challenges. As a municipality, we are not heard considering that we must deliver statutory services. She adds: – It is very important to point out that we do not want to whine because we are going to host. We welcome you. But we wish we were a better host. Should cover the average The Ministry of Justice and Emergency Preparedness says the war in Ukraine is causing us to experience historically high incomes of asylum seekers. At the time of writing, 60,031 people from Ukraine have applied for asylum. Just yesterday, 184 people applied for the same. The state has an obligation to offer foreigners who seek protection an offer of accommodation. – Host municipalities for asylum reception receive, among other things, a host municipality subsidy, which must cover the average expenses a municipality has as a result of being a host municipality for an asylum reception, the ministry wrote in an email to news. Read the full response from the Ministry of Justice and Emergency Management here: Can grant exceptions to municipalities The Ministry of Justice and Emergency Management says the war in Ukraine is causing us to experience historically high arrivals of asylum seekers. The state has an obligation to provide foreigners seeking protection with an offer of accommodation. UDI has been given responsibility for this and gives its overall guidance. – Host municipalities for asylum reception receive, among other things, a host municipality grant, which will cover the average expenses a municipality has as a result of being a host municipality for an asylum reception, the ministry writes in an e-mail to news. The host municipality grant is regularly evaluated. The next evaluation is planned to be carried out in 2024. – UDI considers continuous adaptation of the reception capacity in line with the situation. Even with good planning and basic preparedness, a situation with many people arriving within a short time is demanding to handle. Acquiring accommodation capacity is currently carried out by UDI entering into private law contracts with external suppliers of accommodation services (operating operators). The procurement must take place within the framework of the law and regulations on public procurement and other relevant regulations. The ministry also states that UDI requires the provider to document that all permits are in place. They also say that UDI has a dialogue with host municipalities and state administrators through various forums. UDI can exempt individual municipalities in advance from tendering competitions in connection with announcements. – However, the threshold for exempting individual municipalities must be high in practice, so that we can be sure that we have sufficient preparedness to handle high numbers of arrivals and to fulfill our statutory duty to offer accommodation to asylum seekers. Widespread exemptions will also limit the reception market and contribute to more resource use. There must be very special circumstances which, in sum, warrant an exception. According to the ministry, UDI can exempt individual municipalities from tendering. Fauske municipality agreed to accept 40 refugees, but received over 400. The ministry emphasizes that the threshold for exceptions must be high. – We must be sure to have sufficient preparedness to handle high numbers of arrivals and to fulfill our statutory duty to offer accommodation to asylum seekers. There must be very special circumstances which, in sum, imply an exception.
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Fauske goes into the red on refugees – loses money and struggles with recruitment – news Nordland
