Criticism of the Regional Assembly in Region Blekinge for a delay of almost four months in registering a whistle-blower report. Also criticism of the Regional Assembly for failing to meet its obligation to assist the Parliamentary Ombudsman’s investigation

Summary of the decision: On 2 July 2024, Region Blekinge received a report from a whistle-blower. However, the report was not registered until 28 October 2024, almost four months later. The Parliamentary Ombudsman notes that such a delay is of course completely unacceptable and criticises the Regional Assembly for this.

In a statement to the Parliamentary Ombudsman, the Regional Assembly initially claimed that the case was registered on 10 July 2024. It subsequently emerged, including from information in the media, that while the report had admittedly been registered then, it was only for a few minutes. When requested by the Parliamentary Ombudsman to clarify their statement, the Regional Assembly admitted that the report was not finally registered until 28 October 2024.

While, based on the investigation, it is not possible to conclude that the Regional Assembly has deliberately attempted to mislead the Parliamentary Ombudsman, the Regional Assembly has failed to meet its obligation pursuant to the Swedish Instrument of Government (SFS 1974:152) to assist the Parliamentary Ombudsman’s investigation, something that the Parliamentary Ombudsman takes a grave view of. The Regional Assembly is also criticised for this.

Finally, the Parliamentary Ombudsman notes that the Regional Assembly’s handling of the matter has led to speculation that it wished to suppress something in the report, with the concomitant risk of damage to public confidence and lingering mistrust.