Agencies to relocate in push for jobs and growth

The Swedish Polar Research Secretariat and the Swedish Council for Higher Education are among seven public agencies to be relocated from Stockholm, the government has said.

The polar research secretariat will move to Luleå, while the higher education council will be relocated to Visby on the island of Gotland, the government announced on 30 August. The move forms part of the government’s decentralisation initiative to spread jobs and skills throughout the country, said prime minister Stefan Löfven.

“Nobody should doubt that the government is serious about bringing Sweden together,” said Ardalan Shekarabi, the minister for civil affairs, at a press conference. ”We will continue to relocate government bodies and continue to deliver our promise—people and counties will not be abandoned by the government.”