Part 5
Financial and administrative implications

12 Financial and administrative implications

Norway has enjoyed deep peace and financial leeway and prosperity for a long time. Preparedness actors, public agencies, business and industry and the general public have, to a great extent, based their lives on lasting peace. In this white paper, the Government makes it clear that all civil sectors must prepare for situations at the high end of the crisis spectrum, including armed conflict and, in the worst case, war. This ambition requires new assessments of the considerations to be weighed when decisions are made about laws and regulations, the economy, cooperation and about individuals’ own preparedness. The fact that crises and wars must be included in society’s preparedness work also means that security and preparedness must be given higher priority, which may come at the expense of other considerations. The authorities alone cannot prepare civil society for crises and war. Society as a whole must adapt to the risk and vulnerability situation and make choices that strengthen Norway’s resilience. This must be done over time and on a well-considered basis.

The Government believes that security policy developments make it necessary to change how Norway organises its work on security and preparedness. Amendments are proposed to laws, regulations and procedures in addition to specific measures in selected areas. Follow-up of the measures will require inputs from both the public and private sectors in terms of personnel, technology, organisation and budget funding. Some measures will be followed up immediately, while the follow-up of others will take longer because their financial implications must be analysed in more detail.

Some proposals entail relatively large administrative implications compared with the resources currently spent in the respective areas. The measures presented in the report are subject to budgetary coverage. Proposed studies and assessments must, as a rule, be covered within the applicable budget framework. Reference is also made to the intention to compensate the municipal sector for additional expenditure in connection with new tasks and regulatory amendments. Measures that, after prior assessment, cannot be covered under the current framework will be examined further and, if necessary, put forward in the ordinary budget process.

A majority of the measures in the report deal with organisation, collaboration and cooperation across organisations, sectors and countries. As a rule, organisational measures can be implemented within the applicable budget framework. Some selected measures, which are expected to have major financial implications, are discussed at the end of this chapter.

The principle of responsibility stands firm. Whoever is responsible for a given area in a normal situation is also responsible for the necessary emergency preparations and incident management in their area. Based on threat and risk assessments and other relevant knowledge, the responsible body must decide the acceptable level of risk and act accordingly. Risk acceptance assessments fall under exercising the principle of responsibility. It is neither desirable nor possible to create a society that is free of risk. Work on public security and preparedness must be adapted to the challenges we face. This responsibility includes assessing the financial and administrative implications of measures that are necessary to reduce risks that are considered unacceptable. Measures that have financial implications will be presented to the Storting in the annual national budget proposals.

In this white paper, the Government is introducing a number of organisational measures, but also concrete proposals to increase society’s collective defence capability. One of the measures proposed by the Government is a new structure for preparedness planning and status assessments in civil sectors, which will provide a good basis for developing long-term and cross-sectoral planning, including cross-sectoral budget priorities. This work is partly motivated by the Total Preparedness Commission’s proposal for a more comprehensive and coherent council structure and more long-term and consistent management of the central emergency preparedness resources in the civilian sectors.

The Government’s opinion is that the proposed organisational changes will improve utilisation of society’s emergency preparedness resources through systematic information gathering from all levels of the public administration. The Government will formalise the requirement that all municipalities must have or be affiliated with a municipal preparedness council. The central aim of the municipal preparedness councils is to support greater compliance with the municipalities’ existing obligations under the Civil Protection Act, including the municipality’s role as a driving force and partner for other actors of importance to public security at the local level. Reference is also made to the principle that municipalities should be compensated for new statutory tasks and their implications.

Business and industry and the voluntary sector must also be involved in emergency preparedness planning and incident management. The aim is to develop a consistent total defence, where society’s preparedness needs and resources pull in the same direction across all sectors of society. The proposed measures are expected to have several positive effects, such as better coordination across sectors and administrative levels, including increasing expertise and improving networks between preparedness actors, and more efficient resource utilisation through improved work processes.

Strategic corridor for military mobility in Norway, Sweden and Finland

The Government proposes developing a strategic corridor for military mobility through northern Norway, northern Sweden and northern Finland. This measure will have significant financial implications. The three countries must identify bottlenecks and consider updating regulations and plans before reaching any conclusion on specific investment needs. The planning will not in itself have significant financial or administrative implications.

Implementation of the NIS2 Directive and the CER Directive

The Government is preparing to incorporate the NIS2 Directive and the CER Directive in Norwegian law. Among other things, the directives stipulate basic requirements for security, notification and procedures. The incorporation of the directives into Norwegian law, could have financial and administrative implications for the organisations covered. The directives will apply to more sectors, which may mean financial and administrative implications of a given scope for undertakings that are not currently subject to such security requirements. The Ministry of Justice and Public Security will further investigate the financial and administrative implications in connection with the legislative work.

Emergency shelters

The government will revoke the temporary construction moratorium on shelters in new buildings from 1998. The proposal entails significant financial and administrative implications with the potential to affect many administrative entities, including the municipal sector and private sector organisations. The measure will also require the allocation of funds in the national budget. The Directorate for Civil Protection has made some preliminary estimates of the costs associated with establishing emergency shelters in new buildings. The costs will vary between different buildings and the building plans for the buildings themselves, for example whether they have underground areas. The Directorate estimates an additional cost for the developer of NOK 30,000 per shelter space and annual maintenance costs of NOK 85 per space. The Directorate has calculated an additional cost for the developer of NOK 6,000–10,000 per smaller shelter space and virtually no annual maintenance costs. The Ministry will specify the financial and administrative implications in connection with the regulatory work and public consultation on the matter.

The Norwegian Civil Defence

The Government will strengthen the Civil Defence’s ability to meet the new challenges by increasing the target number of conscripts from 8,000 to 12,000. The measure will result in an annual increase in allocations in the national budget of around NOK 87 million, and will trigger a one-off investment of NOK 30 million in the Civil Defence Centre of Excellence. Administrative considerations indicate that the proposal will be implemented over a period of around eight years. The Directorate for Civil Protection will prepare an implementation strategy. The measure also entails an opportunity cost equal to the production and leisure time lost in connection with training exercises and deployment of new conscripts. Strengthening the Civil Defence could also have administrative and financial implications for the municipalities, which under the Civil Protection Act are responsible for storing civil defence material.

Volunteers

A financial escalation plan for increased grants to voluntary organisations of up to NOK 100 million will have financial implications. How great such implications will be depends on the rate of escalation and must be clarified through the ordinary budget processes.