Bodø, Oslo, Kristiansand, Oslo and Trondheim are just some of the municipalities affected by the kindergarten strike. Despite the fact that kindergartens were closed, the kindergartens were paid millions in grants from the municipalities. Now several municipalities are warning that they want the money repaid. Stavanger municipality is the first to go and expects to get back just under NOK 8 million. But PBL replies that the municipalities do not have the right to demand the money back. Will not provide a subsidy for wages that were not paid During the strike, these municipalities were affected: Bodø, Bærum, Bømlo, Eidsvoll, Halden, Karmøy, Kristiansand, Oslo, Sandnes, Sarpsborg, Skien, Stavanger, Trondheim, Tønsberg, Ullensaker, Øygarden , Ålesund and Bergen. Until now, the grants have run as normal. But now Stavanger municipality is stepping in to have the grants cut short. – We will enter into a dialogue with each individual nursery school to get clarity on what they saved in wages based on who was taken out on strike and the extent. This is what Kjersti Lothe Dahl, head of the department responsible for the kindergarten authority in Stavanger municipality, says. Kjersti Lothe Dahl is head of department responsible for the kindergartens in Stavanger municipality. Photo: Ole Andreas Bø / news – It must be reduced by the actual saved wages. House rent, electricity, operation of buildings and salaries for employees shall not be included in the calculations for deductions from grants. Dahl explains that there will either be a reduction in future grants or repayments of what the kindergartens have already received. PBL reacts strongly The National Association of Private Kindergartens (PBL) reacts strongly to the fact that municipalities now want to be reimbursed. – We perceive it as an attempt at untimely political interference in a legal conflict. The municipalities have no legal authority to make such a move, replies Director of Communications Marius Iversen. Marius Iversen is director of communications at the National Association of Private Kindergartens (PBL). Photo: Barbro Andersen / news They believe that this creates great uncertainty in many private kindergartens in Norway. – The fact that someone is now trying to construct a basis for making such a move with retroactive effect shows that the will to target private kindergartens is stronger than the will to follow the law. He says private nurseries receive subsidies for long-term operation and nursery services. – No subsidy from hour to hour, day to day or week to week. Believes they have a basis in the law But in Stavanger, Lothe Dahl believes that they have precisely the law behind them when they now want money repaid. – Our assessment is that we have the authority to do so. Should it turn out to be a misinterpretation, we will take note of it. The legal disagreement in this situation should be clarified, both for us, but also for other municipalities, private kindergartens and for future situations. Stavanger municipality will save between NOK 7 and 8 million by being reimbursed or withdrawing future grants. – It is not the budget amount that is important for Stavanger municipality, but that the nurseries have not provided nursery services. Lothe Dahl says their assessment is based on the general regulations on subsidies, cf. the Kindergarten Act section 19 and letter from the Ministry of Education to KS. Oslo: – Does not have legal authority In the capital city councilor for education and knowledge, Sunniva Holmås Eidsvoll, believes that the municipalities should be reimbursed for parts of the subsidy given to private kindergartens. – But the municipality has no clear authority in the law to stop or reduce the subsidies if the kindergartens are closed due to a strike, she says and adds: – Without a clear legal authority, we cannot see that we can demand money now. Sunniva Holmås Eidsvoll (SV) is city councilor for education and knowledge in Oslo municipality. Photo: Heidi Fjørtoft Klokk The city council is nevertheless aware that the kindergarten strike has “revealed a serious gap in the regulation of private kindergartens”. Now she is passing the ball over to the state and the Directorate of Education, which last year took over the supervision of the accounts in private kindergartens from the municipalities. – When the kindergartens’ accounts for 2022 are ready, the Directorate of Education must carry out an inspection and ensure that all kindergartens that have had disproportionately low personnel costs due to the strike must pay the subsidies back to the municipalities. – This is how we can ensure that the money does not end up in the pockets of the owners of private kindergartens. No overview To news, PBL says that they do not have an overview of how much money has been saved on wages as a result of the strike. And when asked whether the private kindergartens have made a profit after the strike, Iversen points out that the economy throughout 2022 is very strained. Last week, Statistics Norway published fresh figures from the nursery sector. They show, among other things, that in the period from 2016 to 2020, seven out of ten private kindergartens had a positive annual result. In 2021, the accounting figures showed that six out of ten nurseries made a profit – if you keep sole proprietorships out of the calculation. – After that, the kindergartens have had to endure large subsidy cuts and significantly higher wage and price growth than was the basis for the calculation of subsidies for 2022, says Iversen in PBL. – That is why there are many private nurseries that are now fighting for existence, unfortunately this puts many good and popular offers at risk, he adds. This autumn, several private nurseries, such as this one in Bodø, have been empty as a result of the strike. Photo: Andreas Nilsen Trygstad / news Several municipalities in the think tank news has asked a number of municipalities whether they intend to make demands on the private kindergartens to be reimbursed for support. In Halden, municipal director Roar Vevelstad says that this is something they are considering, and will inform the municipal council of what they arrive at. In Trondheim, the director of upbringing and education Lasse Arntsen says that the municipal director is preparing a case for the chairmanship with an assessment of the basis for a possible reduction of the grant. Communications manager Margareth H. Langebro in Karmøy municipality answers the same. In Sandnes municipality, communications manager Ole Jørgen Alstadsæter replies that they have not yet decided on the question, but expect a decision to be made early next week. Communications manager Margareth H. Langebro in Karmøy says the municipality is preparing a case for the politicians on the question of whether money should be demanded back from private kindergartens that have been affected by strikes. Photo: Marthe Synnøve Johannessen / news
ttn-69
Municipalities will have repaid millions after the kindergarten strike – news Nordland
