The changes will be presented already tomorrow, according to what news learns. The purpose is to remedy the municipalities, which are now experiencing strong pressure on their services. It is about health services, language training, housing and places in schools and kindergartens in the municipalities. These are the most important measures now being considered, according to news’s sources: Tightening the way refugees are registered on arrival. The government wants Ukrainians to be registered more like other refugees. The government will consider whether Ukrainians who come to Norway should still be able to receive one year’s child benefit in arrears. Tightening when it comes to accommodation after arrival. Today, several refugees are first settled in hotels. Considering restrictions on Ukrainian refugees who return to their home country for a longer stay there. The Ukrainians who come to Norway have so-called collective protection as a group. The scheme has been used twice before, in connection with the mass flight from Bosnia and Kosovo. CHANGES: Minister of Labor and Inclusion Tonje Brenna (Ap) and Minister of Justice and Emergency Emilie Enger Mehl (Sp) at their previous Ukraine press conference. Photo: Emilie Holtet / NTB Unrest in the government In November, the Directorate for Integration and Diversity (IMDi) asked the municipalities to resettle 37,000 new refugees in 2024. But news is aware that there is now growing unrest within the government that this number is far too high, and that the municipalities are simply unable to follow up on the order. That is the backdrop for the austerity that is now coming. Several municipalities have already notified that the prayer from IMDi will not be followed. “Unfortunately, we have to let you know that we cannot accept as many people as IMDi requests,” Arendal municipal director Inger Hegna told news this week. The municipality has been asked to accept 275 refugees next year, but believes that even the capacity cannot exceed 100 new refugees. Housing pressure It is the supply of housing that is the main challenge for Arendal, which has few vacant housing units for rent. Osterøy mayor Lars Fjeldstad raised the same issue during a mayor’s meeting in the Center Party recently. – I’m getting worried about how heavy this bag is getting, he said. Fjeldstad emphasized that the municipality wants to help with settlement, but added that the burden is becoming too great on the municipal services, not least when it comes to housing. DISTURBED: SP mayor Lars Fjeldstad in Osterøy. Photo: Synne Lykkebø Hafsaas – Some of the challenges can be solved with money, but some cannot. If there are ever longer queues at the doctor’s office, increasingly difficult to get municipal services also for ordinary residents, then I am very worried that we may have a change of attitude in the future, said Fjeldstad. In his reply to the mayor, SP leader and finance minister Trygve Slagsvold Vedum said that the government is working on changes. – We are looking at making new moves. Over time, it becomes demanding with such a large influx. Then we are not very successful with integration either, said Vedum at the mayor’s meeting. Minister for Employment and Inclusion Tonje Brenna (Ap) has also announced changes. – The government’s aim is for arrivals in Norway to be more on par with arrivals in our neighboring countries. We are therefore working on various measures for a more sustainable level of arrivals, she recently told news. Troubled Minister of Justice Emilie Enger Mehl (Sp) explained about the Ukrainian refugees in the Storting a month ago. At that time, Norway already had 50,000 Ukrainians living there. – Over time, however, the municipalities’ and public authorities’ services can be pressured in a number of areas, she said. – These capacity challenges cannot be solved with money alone, the service offering is not very elastic in the short term. Several municipalities are now expressing concern that their service offering will not be sufficient, Mehl said. She pointed to health services, schools and kindergartens. – At the same time, I receive reports that it is becoming difficult to find suitable housing stock for asylum reception or settlement in several places. CHALLENGES: Minister of Justice and Emergency Preparedness Emilie Enger Mehl (Sp). Photo: William Jobling / news Open to coercion Already earlier this autumn, the government announced that it may have to take measures to provide enough housing for the refugees. At the end of October, the ministry submitted for consultation a proposal for an emergency shelter in the Immigration Act. There it is proposed that the state administrator can order municipalities to establish and operate a temporary accommodation offer for asylum seekers if necessary. – I emphasize that this is a solution the government does not want to adopt. The home appliance will only be used when other available solutions and emergency measures have been tried, Mehl said in his statement. She stressed that the municipalities will be compensated for their efforts, if the legal framework were to be adopted. No new forecasts According to news’s understanding, there will be no new forecasts for arrivals from Ukraine on Thursday. It also means that the government is still working from a scenario where 25,000 refugees come to Norway next year, 20,000 of them from Ukraine. But if more were to arrive, it would trigger large additional costs for the government in 2024: If a total of 30,000 refugees arrive, there will be 1.5 billion in additional costs. 35,000 will cost 3 billion more. 45,000 will cost NOK 6 billion extra And a total of 50,000 refugees will cost NOK 7.5 billion extra. The estimates appear in a letter to the Storting from the Ministry of Finance, which emphasizes that there is uncertainty about the cost.
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Tightening up for Ukraine refugees – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
