Several feared that Østfold’s problems would be hidden when it entered Viken in 2020. Akershus lowered the average so that the disability percentage in the new county was just over 10 per cent – compared to Østfold’s over 15 per cent. At the same time, there were no longer any statistics on how things went with Østfold. But calculations news has made show that a surprising change has quietly taken place: While the number of disabled people in Buskerud and Akershus has climbed steadily upwards, Østfold flattens out and even goes down a little. The same trend also shows up if we look at the percentage of the population: This is how we compared old and new counties When Viken was established in 2020, a number of municipalities were merged across the old county borders at the same time. In addition, some municipalities were added to Viken that did not previously belong to the old counties of Akershus, Buskerud or Østfold. In order to obtain a comparable series over time, we have taken as a starting point how the new counties of Akershus, Buskerud and Østfold will look when they are resurrected at New Year 2024: Jevnaker and Lunner have been added to Akershus, since the municipalities were incorporated into Viken in 2020 and will belong to Akershus when Viken is dissolved. Røyken and Hurum have been removed from Buskerud and added to Akershus, since the municipalities were merged with Asker in 2020. Rømskog has been removed from Østfold and added to Akershus, since the municipality was incorporated into Aurskog-Høland in 2020. Svelvik has been added to Buskerud, since the municipality was incorporated into Drammen in 2020. We have then obtained figures on disability from the municipal statistics of Statistics Sweden from 2015 to 2022 and grouped them in the new counties. – Good news At the Storting, the new trend in Østfold’s disability statistics is welcomed with open arms. – That sounds good. We have had many disabilities for a long time. If this is about to turn around, it is good news, says Freddy André Øvstegård (SV), Eastfolding and head of the labor and social affairs committee at the Storting. SV’s Freddy André Øvstegård calls the disability trend in Østfold good news. Photo: Javad M. Parsa / news Nav is also looking forward to the development. – It is gratifying to see that the number of disabled people in Østfold has fallen in the last two years, says department director Lise Westly in Nav Øst-Viken. She points to two possible explanations: High demand for labor Less labor immigration Westly explains that the challenges in Østfold have been a mismatch between what the employers demand and what the people of Østfold can do. – We therefore have several labor market initiatives underway where we qualify residents for positions that are vacant, she says. The Nav director particularly highlights programs that will bring in more men and minority speakers as healthcare workers. Nav director Lise Westly believes that more jobs and fewer migrant workers can explain some of the change in Østfold. Photo: Kim A. Dalskau Social assistance increases in all the counties At the same time as Storting representative Freddy André Øvstegård is happy about the decline, he also fears that it is because more people have ended up outside the disability scheme. – There may be people who have ended up on social assistance because the regulations are tightened in order to receive disability benefits or employment verification money, he says. Figures from Statistics Norway show that there has been an increase in the number of social assistance recipients in all three future counties in the last three years. Up and down within the county Although the figures from Østfold point in the right direction, there are large differences within the future county. In several of the large towns in the outer part of the county, there are approximately 2 percent fewer disabled people than before Viken was established. While in the large municipality of Indre Østfold there is an increase of just over 2 per cent. – It is nice for Østfold as a whole that the numbers are going down, and hopefully this is a positive trend that will spread. But why it turns out differently for Indre Østfold, I don’t have a good answer to, says acting mayor Kathrine Hestø Hansen (Ap). Deputy mayor Kathrine Hestø Hansen in Indre Østfold municipality. Photo: Annika Byrde/NTB She points out that one of the most important things they are working on in the long run is getting more people to start and finish upper secondary school. In addition, the municipality collaborates with Nav to reach those who are furthest away from working life and help them into work. New county, new opportunities From New Year 2024, Østfold will again be a separate county and will again appear in the statistics in Norway. Storting representative Freddy André Øvstegård looks forward to it becoming easier to follow how the Eastfoldings are doing. – If you want to do something positive for Østfold, it is an advantage that it is on the map, he says.
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Fewer disabled people in Østfold while it was Viken – news Oslo and Viken – Local news, TV and radio
