In May 2020, the Parliamentary Ombudsmen criticised the Administrative Court in Malmö for the slow processing of a case involving occupational injury insurance and a so-called dental case. In August 2021, the Parliamentary Ombudsmen directed criticism towards the Administrative Court for the slow processing of two cases regarding sickness benefit and one case on culling. In the latter decision, the Parliamentary Ombudsmen observed that the court had continued its efforts to address processing times and that the situation in December 2020 had improved somewhat. However, the Parliamentary Ombudsmen were of the view that the processing times for several case categories, particularly social security cases, were still too long, and gave cause for concern.

In this decision, the Chief Parliamentary Ombudsman once again directs criticism towards the Administrative Court for the slow processing of a case. The processing time for the case, which concerned personal assistance under the Act concerning Support and Service for Persons with Certain Functional Impairments (“LSS”), amounted to one year and nine months. According to the Chief Parliamentary Ombudsman, this was an unacceptably long time.

The Chief Parliamentary Ombudsman observes that the Administrative Court has continued to take measures to address processing times in general, and in LSS and social security cases (among others) in particular. The number of pending cases also decreased between September 2022 and June 2023.

According to the Chief Parliamentary Ombudsman, the processing times the court has now reported for the period June 2022 to May 2023 are still too long for several case categories. The turnaround times have also increased compared with 2020 for several types of cases. The situation is therefore still worrying, in the Chief Parliamentary Ombudsman’s view. He therefore emphasises the importance of continuing the work to achieve shorter processing times and fewer pending cases, and of follow-up taking place continuously.

The decision is submitted to the Parliament, the Government and the National Courts Administration for information.