Prime Minister Petteri Orpo's (NCP) government has set itself a target of reducing the number of people receiving basic social security assistance — a last resort form of support for households unable to cover daily essentials.
Compared to Sweden, Finland is home to nearly twice as many recipients of basic social assistance. Here, some seven percent of the population, or around 400,000 people, currently qualify for social assistance. The majority of these individuals are unemployed.
The right-wing cabinet wants to reduce long-term dependency on social assistance, cutting the number of recipients in half.
But researchers in the field of social welfare say Orpo's administration will have a difficult time reaching these targets.
"A significant reduction in long-term unemployment would be needed," explained Pasi Moisio, a research professor at the Finnish institute for health and welfare (THL).
With the government planning to cut spending on both housing and unemployment allowances, Finland may actually see more people applying for the last-resort benefit.
"The government's goal is a bit contradictory," said Tuija Korpela, researcher at social insurance institute Kela.
Sanni Grahn-Laasonen (NCP), who is the Minister of Social Security—a new post created by Orpo's government—agreed that the number of people on social assistance may in fact initially rise, but that the phenomenon would be temporary.
"In the longer term, the goal is for an increasingly larger proportion of our working-age population to be employed," she told Yle.
Sticks vs carrots
The government also plans to tighten the eligibility criteria for social assistance. Applicants may be compelled to work in public organisations or enroll in training programmes.
Grahn-Laasonen said she was particularly concerned about young people.
"I think it's a problem if someone can receive social assistance simply by submitting an application without meeting any professionals who could help young people move forward," she added.
In terms of individual attention, the government is on the right track, according to Juho Saari, a social and health policy expert at the University of Tampere.
Saari pointed out that one of the conditions for receiving social assistance is the requirement to seek employment, which means individuals need to register as jobseekers. There has, however, not been much emphasis on reciprocal obligations.
"Finland's undeniable weakness in this area is that we have allowed people to rely on social assistance," he said.
According to Saari, the idea of assessing people's situations on an individual basis was a sensible idea, but he noted that implementing these measures poses various challenges.
"It's easy for politicians to say that people should be encouraged to find employment. But what happens if they don't actually find a job?"
Can Finland deny social assistance?
The government also plans to investigate whether social assistance can be denied completely if an applicant fails to meet any imposed obligations.
This notion is problematic as the constitution guarantees the right to a basic livelihood.
"At the moment, it is unclear whether the basic social assistance provided by Kela or the supplementary assistance provided by wellbeing service counties is considered the last resort support," explained THL researcher Moisio.
He said that if the support provided by the welfare regions is considered the last resort, Kela's basic social assistance could be denied.
"In other Nordic countries, social assistance in the form of cash benefits can be denied under certain conditions," Moisio added.
Grahn-Laasonen told Yle that reforms will be carried out in accordance with the constitution. Ultimately, changes to social assistance payouts rest with Parliament's Constitutional Law Committee.
"It is very difficult to imagine that the Constitutional Law Committee would approve a situation where a person is left completely without any form of social assistance in Finland," said Juho Saari.