Chancellor of Justice says STEA grant criteria needed better preparation

Finland’s Chancellor of Justice Janne Salminen says new criteria for STEA grants should have been prepared more carefully, Yle reports. The wording could have given the impression that some organisations would be excluded automatically before their applications were assessed.

Salminen issued a decision on Social Affairs and Health Minister Wille Rydman’s handling of the criteria, which he proposed for 2027 state grants supporting health and social wellbeing. The Chancellor of Justice drew Rydman and the ministry’s attention to the need to follow state grant legislation and the principles of good administration.

Salminen said the minister can set more detailed guidelines for awarding grants, but the criteria must not conflict with laws or regulations.

Rydman’s proposed criteria required organisations to have a clear connection to health promotion or limitations in functional capacity. They would have ended funding for social advocacy and advisory work. Central organisations would have received support only in exceptional cases, while organisations focused on a particular background or identity group would have been excluded if their work had no health-related basis.

The criteria sparked disagreement within the government, and Parliament also voted on Rydman’s confidence. The government had unanimously agreed to cut STEA grants by 84 million euros. In August, it approved an amendment to the decree governing grant distribution, as demanded by Prime Minister Petteri Orpo.