All agenda items

The Service Committee met, opening the meeting and approving the agenda. They also selected certifiers for today's minutes and added various reports and protocols from previous meetings to the documents. The Head of Administration informed about ongoing work with operational plans and year-end accounts, and that employees will receive Christmas fika instead of a Christmas dinner this year.

This document outlines the 2026 operational plan for the Service Board's recruitment department, aiming to streamline the city's administrative functions and ensure economic stability. The plan focuses on delivering quality-assured recruitment services to preschools, schools, social services, and elder care, while also reducing prices by 1.0 percent through efficiency improvements.

The City Executive Board has referred an action plan for an age-friendly city to the Service Board. This plan aims to ensure older individuals have equal rights and opportunities for societal participation. The Service Board, via Contact Center Stockholm and "Äldre direkt," supports the plan but emphasizes the need for increased resources to handle higher caseloads and develop digital solutions for feedback collection and improved accessibility for seniors.

The City of Stockholm plans to implement a new "food program" to improve the city's food and meals from a health, climate, and preparedness perspective, affecting all city operations including schools and eldercare, and aiming to reduce climate impact from food by 40% by 2030 and decrease meat consumption. While the Service Department welcomes the program, it requests clarifications regarding concepts, goals, and its connection to existing procurement systems.

The Service Committee has decided to procure a new case management system, a crucial tool for the Service Department to fulfill its duties, as the current contract expires in 2027. This procurement, estimated to cost up to 35 million SEK over ten years, will be conducted via a negotiated procedure.

The Service Committee has approved its annual report and financial statements for 2025, showing a surplus of 3.2 million SEK which the committee wishes to transfer to a fund for 2026. Efforts focused on developing the city's administrative functions, procurement, finance, and digitalization, alongside strengthening Stockholm's preparedness capabilities.

Stockholm's municipal primary and upper secondary schools will soon receive new sports equipment, including balls and items for athletics and gymnastics. The current contract expires in February 2026, necessitating a new procurement process. The Director of Education is now assigned responsibility for all decisions related to this procurement, which is estimated to cost approximately 4 million SEK annually.

Liberal councillor Jan Jönsson inquired about how Stockholm schools restrict social media access on iPads and other digital devices during school hours, and any plans for improvement. While technical solutions to block social media during school are currently lacking, tests have indicated no technical obstacles. The Education Administration plans to implement blocking features in 2026 across all digital devices, which may also offer protection against harmful content.

The Liberal Party, represented by Jan Jönsson and others, asked the Education Committee about how Stockholm schools are working to counteract extremist clubs and far-right recruitment among young people. The Education Administration responded that they actively work against hate and violence by, among other things, providing schools with guidance on symbols and recruitment methods, and ensuring school premises are not rented out to extremist groups. Additionally, staff are offered skills development initiatives to identify and manage risk behaviors in students.

Andréa Hedin (M) proposed that Stockholm develop an AI strategy for primary and secondary schools, including a professional development plan for teachers. The Education Administration is positive about the idea, but notes that extensive work is already underway to develop guidelines, approve AI tools, and offer courses for school staff to ensure safe and ethical AI use in education.

The Liberal party proposed that Stockholm City implement a model, similar to UppSam in Uppsala, to better coordinate and strengthen schooling for children in care, including those from other municipalities. The aim is to provide these vulnerable children with more stable schooling. The Education Administration responded that the city already has similar cooperation between social services and schools (the SAMS model) and has introduced school coordinators. The administration is already investigating internally whether parts of the UppSam model can be used in Stockholm and believes the current work with school coordinators should be allowed to establish itself before further large development projects are initiated.

A motion proposes that Stockholm introduce "SAO jobs" (study-motivating work-life orientation) as a new model to help young people enter the labor market. The proposal suggests converting 1,000 existing summer jobs into these SAO jobs, which are a form of year-round employment where young people work part-time alongside their studies, focusing on meaningful tasks and collaboration with the business sector. While the Education Administration agrees on the importance of young people accessing the labor market, they reject converting summer jobs to SAO jobs because they target different age groups (SAO jobs for 8th graders and summer jobs for high school students). However, the Administration notes that a budget mandate already exists for 2026 to pilot the SAO job model in specific focus areas, in collaboration with Stockholm Business Region AB and district administrations.

The Education Committee will comment on a new proposal for Stockholm City's Food Program, which replaces the existing food strategy. The program aims to improve health, the environment, and food preparedness by, among other things, increasing the proportion of organic food to 70 percent and reducing meat consumption in schools. The committee is largely positive but emphasizes that the School Act's requirements for nutritious meals must be met and that a new food procurement agreement is needed to achieve these ambitious goals.

The City Executive Board has developed an action plan for an "age-friendly city," aiming to ensure older citizens have a good life with favorable conditions in Stockholm. While the Education Administration supports the plan, they object to being required to set their own goals and follow-up, as older adults are not their primary target group. They suggest that the requirement to formulate specific activities should only apply to boards and companies directly involved with elderly affairs. The action plan focuses on five areas: participation, collaboration, social inclusion, housing/urban environment, and communication.

The Education Committee will no longer build a new primary school in the Slakthusområdet in Johanneshov. This is because the city's population forecast shows a decrease in school-aged children, and there will be sufficient school places in the area until 2034. The 2021 decision to build the school has therefore been withdrawn, though it's not ruled out that a school might be needed after 2045, and a school at Årstafältet could be built sooner.

The Education Committee presents its 2025 activity report, which indicates a balanced budget and positive development in upper secondary schools, including high student safety. However, not all goals were met regarding primary school student performance and the proportion of organic food in school meals needs improvement. The committee will continue its work to increase school equity, strengthen student health services, and reduce schools' climate impact, including investing in more sustainable school meals and staff professional development.

The Education Administration has provided feedback on the Environment Administration's proposed new recommendations for artificial turf, rubber granules, and poured rubber, aimed at reducing the spread of microplastics and harmful substances. While positive towards the proposal, the Administration wishes to clarify the operational and maintenance costs of alternative materials and emphasize the importance of involving children and young people in discussions about the design of outdoor environments. These new recommendations aim to phase out artificial turf with plastic granules by 2031 and gradually phase out poured rubber, focusing on the use of environmentally friendly alternatives like sand and grass in schoolyards and playgrounds while maintaining safety and accessibility.

The Municipal Council has approved a new action plan for the municipality's activity responsibility (KAA) in Stockholm for 2025–2027, aiming to support young people under 20 who have not completed upper secondary education to start or resume studies, or find employment. Additionally, a new school library plan for Stockholm's preschools and schools has been approved, emphasizing equal access for all children and pupils to excellent libraries with diverse collections and dedicated staff.

The Södermalm District Council will select Carin Hellström (Green Party) as a new member of its social delegation. This by-election is being held because a previous member from the Green Party has resigned, leaving a vacancy.

The Södermalm district administration discussed sick leave and work environment issues, noting low sick leave rates but union concerns about referring cases to occupational health services. A significant portion of the meeting focused on elderly care, revealing a surplus of 52 million SEK for 2025, yet 164 million SEK was reallocated away from elderly care before 2026. Unions criticized this reallocation, demanding increased investment in elderly care, including more staff and higher salaries.