4.8 Current debates and reforms
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Forthcoming policy developments
In the overview of the policy proposals, the government expects to present in parliament in spring 2023 the Child’s Act (barnets lov). The purpose of the Act is to recognise the child as an independent individual, which means that regulations should be based on what is in the best interest of the child and not the parents or the authorities. The rights of the child will be strengthened, and the top-level legal framework must ensure that the child’s perspective is always in focus.
As of January 2023, the political negotiations on the allocation of the reserve for measures within the social, health and employment sector, or ‘SSA-reserven’ in Danish, has just begun. The reserve allocates funding, among others, for social inclusion projects and organisations.
Ongoing debates
The COVID-19 pandemic and young people in Denmark
As a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdowns of society in 2020 and 2021, young people have not been able to participate in associational life to the same extent as previously. This has spurred a debate on young people’s inability to thrive and loneliness because of their isolation and exclusion from communities in which they normally participate. Several representatives from education institutions, politicians, youth organisations, researchers and young people have expressed concern over young people’s well-being.