The Social Welfare Committee in Skellefteå Municipality is criticised because two people were only permitted written contact with social services in cases related to financial assistance

Summary of the decision: A unit of social services in Skellefteå Municipality sent letters to two people who had applied for financial assistance notifying then that they were only permitted to have contact with the unit in writing while their applications were being processed. The reason given was that relatives of the people in question had threatened and harassed staff at social services.

In their decision, the Parliamentary Ombudsman concludes that imposing such a categorical restriction on contact is incompatible with the provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act (2017:900) concerning service and access, and the right of a private party to give information orally in a matter. The Social Welfare Committee is therefore criticised for its decision to permit only written contact during the processing of the applications.