On Tuesday, news told about the county group to Nordland Frp who traveled on city jumping in the USA – at the taxpayers’ expense. The online newspaper first told the story as part of a longer series of articles. During the trip, they visited the three major cities to learn more about snow crab fishing, the UN and the space agency NASA. The bill for the trip is paid by one of the country’s least known and most secretive support schemes for politicians, called “group support”. Unlike in the Storting, the use of the county groups’ funds is usually exempt from public access. On Wednesday, Nettavisen published a new article. Here they write about the use of money in a similar study trip as the Labor Party did in 2016. Håkon Møller is group leader at the county council in Nordland for the Green Party (MDG). He reacts to the revelations that have now emerged. – Part of the problem with the scheme is that an incredible amount of money is set aside for the groups. The group leader says that they do not have a chance to use up the money they receive – which is around 100,000 kroner a year. This is despite the fact that MDG’s county group in Nordland only has two representatives. – Today we have 300,000 kroner on the books, which disappears when the period is over, says Møller. The county hall in Nordland. Photo: Josef Benoni Ness Tveit He makes no secret of the fact that MDG also spends money on travel, seminars, conferences and consultancy. – If we are to have a chance to use up the funds set aside, we are tempted to challenge the regulations. Or simply spend unnecessarily much money on travel and more. The politician does not want to speculate on whether the other parties spend unnecessarily much of the money they are granted in the County Council. Proposes cuts Based on MDG, the MDGs have proposed cuts in group funds. – We have proposed cuts in the scheme. First 50 per cent in December 2020, linked to restrictions on travel activities due to the pandemic – then 25 per cent in last year’s budget treatment. This has not received support from the other parties. Today, group support for the parties amounts to around one million kroner. – We believe that there is so much money here, that the groups are tempted to spend far more money than there is a need for purely professional. The Green Party has two representatives in the county council in the period 2019 to 2023. They are group leader Håkon Møller and representative Sirianna Stormo Pettersen. According to Møller, no other parties supported the proposal. The Labor Party: – No need to spend all the money The Labor Party’s county group in Nordland now has 13 representatives. They receive in excess of 200,000 in group funds since they are a larger party, and are in position in contrast to the MDGs. This is what the county group leader for the Labor Party (Labor Party) Odd Arnold Skogsholm says. – I think it is good that what we as politicians do is followed. What we do must withstand the light of day, says county group leader for the Labor Party, Odd Arnold Skogsholm. Photo: Kåre Riibe Ramskjell / news He says that his party has not discussed whether the funds for the county group should be reduced. The MDG proposal is unknown to him. – I think that the rule for use is fair and we relate to the County Council’s administration, says group leader in the Labor Party Odd Arnold Skogsholm. Both the budget and the program must be approved by the county mayor before a party can go on a trip abroad, for example. But it is the party group itself that will define the need they have for the use of the funds. But according to Nettavisen’s article, Nordland County Municipality provides little group funding compared to other county municipalities in the country. Nordland is also the only county that provides access. – For our part, this has not led to any issues. We also do not need to spend all the money, says Skogsholm. – It is useful for us to travel around to meet people and the business community. These funds are a help to us to get around. Stimulates spending money Møller in MDG believes it should be entirely possible to travel around both in Norway and abroad, without transferring as much money as you do today to the county groups. – It is a scheme that encourages and stimulates waste. It is too much money the county council allocates to itself, says Møller. He does not want to speculate on whether the other parties’ spending is professionally sound or not. Møller agrees with Skogsholm that the regulations that approve before and after travel work, but still believes it can be tightened. – If the groups are unnecessarily creative when it comes to what they spend money on, it goes a bit by itself, says Møller. – If the spending is tightened, you become more selective about what you spend money on.
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Sitting with several hundred thousand they do not get b – news Nordland
