Danish oversight body urged to investigate Funen municipality over alleged legal violations

A national oversight authority is being called upon to examine Nyborg Municipality’s handling of a long-running social services case, following new allegations of unlawful conduct in its administration of support for a brain-injured child, DR reports.

The advocacy group Hjernebarnet (The Brain-Child Association) has formally requested that the Board of Appeal’s Supervision Unit investigate whether the municipality’s case management complies with Danish law. The request, also shared with Nyborg’s municipal council, cites concerns over persistent failures in processing reimbursements, specialist assessments, and approved support measures—including a medically prescribed ketogenic diet for the boy, whose epilepsy places him at risk of life-threatening complications if the diet is disrupted.

“We are asking the Board of Appeal’s Supervision Unit to assess whether Nyborg Municipality’s overall case handling and practices in this matter are lawful and defensible,” the association stated in its notification.

The case centers on Charlotte Svensson of Ullerslev, who has spent over a decade disputing the municipality’s provision of home-based training and other essential support for her son, Tristan, who suffers from brain injury and epilepsy. Svensson alleges the municipality systematically “obstructs the case,” including delaying or refusing reimbursement for expenses it had previously approved—effectively forcing her to extend what Hjernebarnet describes as an unofficial “credit line” to the local authority.

“All the professionals involved in Tristan’s care recognize his needs. The only ones who don’t are Nyborg Municipality. As a mother, that’s impossible to comprehend,” Svensson told DR.

In January 2024, following a directive from then-Social Minister Pernille Rosenkrantz-Theil, the municipality acknowledged a litany of errors in its handling of the case, admitting in a formal report that its conduct had been “wholly inadequate” and “below all criticism.” It pledged to rectify the failures and restore proper case management. Despite this, Hjernebarnet asserts that no meaningful improvement has occurred, describing the situation as “grotesque” and the most severe case the organization has encountered.

Liberal Alliance’s social affairs spokesperson, Katrine Daugaard, has separately filed a notification with the oversight body after meeting with the Svensson family. Daugaard told DR the case exhibits “very serious rule-of-law problems,” warranting a thorough investigation into whether illegal or severely deficient practices persist despite prior commitments to reform.

“Breaking the law and undermining citizens’ legal safeguards—as we see here—must have consequences. That’s why I’m intervening,” Daugaard said.