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Swedish inquiry rejects government calls for begging ban as unnecessary

A government-appointed inquiry has concluded that there is no need for a national begging ban, despite demands from the Moderates and Sweden Democrats to introduce one. Advertisement Krister Thelin, the former judge leading the inquiry, had nine months to investigate whether or not a national begging ban should be introduced. He concluded that such a ban would be unnecessary, partly due to the fact that there are far fewer beggars on Swedish streets than there have been previously. This, he believes, is due to the fact that Swedes use less cash, which means that it's harder for beggars to earn as much money ‒ figures quoted in previous years were as high as 150 kronor per day. That all makes Sweden a less attractive destination for beggars from elsewhere in Europe looking to earn a living. Another reason against introducing a national ban, Thelin said, is the fact that municipalities already have the right to introduce local begging bans ‒ and around 20 have already done so. The ruling Moderates and their allies the Sweden Democrats have already stated that they intend to introduce a begging ban, with the Sweden Democrats previously saying that they hope to introduce one before the next election in September 2026. The Liberals, who are in coalition with the Moderates and the Christian Democrats, are against a begging ban, but agreed as part of the Tidö Agreement with the other coalition parties and the Sweden Democrats that an inquiry into introducing a ban should be launched. In a comment to the TT newswire, the Liberals' parliamentary group leader Lina Nordquist said that the inquiry's recommendations were in line with Liberal policy. "We want to fight poverty, exclusion and mental illness, not put a ban on people asking for help," she said. Advertisement As part of the inquiry, Thelin was told to "no matter the conclusions of the inquiry" to put forward a proposal for how begging could be banned. Because of this, the inquiry has listed two possible legal ways in which a ban could be introduced, either by changing the Swedish Criminal Code or the Public Order Act. The government's next step is to send the inquiry out for consultation, with Justice Minister Gunnar Strömmer stating that the government would look into the issue in more detail at a later date. If the parties do decide to move forward with a ban, Strömmer said that it could "purely technically" be introduced before the 2026 election.