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Norwegian Parliamentary Ombud

The parliamentary ombud scrutinising public administration

Latest from Norwegian Parliamentary Ombud

  1. Statement

    Ombudsman: Nav breached its duty to guide and investigate for a sick-listed person with several income sources and cognitive difficulties

    • A was 100% sick-listed on 25 March 2025 from a regular full-time job (salary NOK 700,000) after a head injury. He also held a Home Guard post, counted as 'freelance'. The sick note covered only the regular job.
    • On 2 May 2025 Nav granted only partial sick pay (86%) because he was not sick-listed from the post. A did not know he needed a separate sick note for it. Nav Appeals upheld the decision on 20 November 2025.
    DisabilityNational defencePublic administration
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  2. News article

    Parliamentary Ombud Hanne Harlem asks to step down on 10 August 2027 for health reasons

    • Ombud Hanne Harlem has written to the Storting (Norwegian parliament) asking to leave on 10 August 2027. She says her health no longer fits with the job.
    • She asks the Storting to find a stand-in until then, because she will probably be on sick leave.
    Public administration
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  3. Report

    In-depth review of Youth Unit East's confinement, isolation and exclusion practices reveals extensive legal and human rights breaches

    • The Ombud’s task is to prevent torture and bad treatment in prisons. They visited Youth Unit East in April 2026 to check the situation.
    • Young inmates are locked up over 13 hours a day with only one hour outside, often without daylight in winter.
    Children and youthMental healthPrison
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  4. Report

    Ombud: Children at Romerike Prison were locked in 13–14.5 hours a day, and isolation decisions may be unlawful

    • The Parliamentary Ombud visited Romerike Prison, Youth Unit East, on 14–16 April 2026. Children aged 15 to 18 are held there, in six places. The ombud checked how the prison used lock-in and isolation from 1 January 2025 to 16 April 2026.
    • Children were locked alone in their cells 13 to 14.5 hours every day. This much isolation can in itself be inhuman or degrading treatment, which breaks human rights.
    Children and youthMental healthPrison
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  5. Report

    Clarification of proportionality and coordination responsibilities in building authorities' enforcement of illegal measures

    • Authorities cannot issue correction orders that are unreasonable under the law; such orders are invalid or partly invalid.
    • Correction orders apply only if measures cannot be legalized, and authorities may issue partial or alternative sanctions if full correction is not possible.
    Construction rulesPlan and area
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  6. Statement

    Ombudsman: Nesseby municipality could not let an external lawyer decide access requests, and processing was too slow

    • Background: From September 2025 to January 2026, X asked Nesseby municipality for access to many documents. The municipality did not answer on time. X sent reminders, complained to the County Governor of Troms and Finnmark, and complained twice to the Ombudsman (23 January and 25 February 2026).
    • Processing time: The Ombudsman criticises the delay. The law says access requests must be handled without undue delay. Appeals should normally take no more than two weeks.
    LegislationMunicipalitiesPublic administration
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  7. Statement

    Norwegian Parliamentary Ombudsman finds Nav in breach of statutory processing-time requirements in disability pension case left unanswered for over three years

    • A person asked Nav in April 2023 to correct the start date of their disability pension. More than three years later, Nav still has not replied. The Ombudsman says this is unlawfully slow.
    • The problem: between 2010 and 2021, Nav routinely set the wrong start date for disability pensions. A tribunal confirmed this was illegal in October 2022.
    Public administrationWelfare
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  8. Statement

    NAV appeals body ruled invalid after ignoring twelve-month sick-leave history and taking nine months to process a wage subsidy appeal

    • An electrical engineer who owns his own company was put on sick leave in April 2024. After twelve months he applied for a temporary wage subsidy — a state payment to employers to help keep sick employees in work.
    • NAV said no on 19 June 2025 because the rules normally bar the subsidy when the applicant is effectively both the employee and the employer (he owns the company).
    Public administrationWelfareWork life
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  9. Decision

    Norwegian Ombudsman closes oversight of Grimstad municipality's building enforcement backlog after improvement, but corrects two key misunderstandings of statutory deadlines

    • The Parliamentary Ombudsman — the body that checks whether public authorities do their job properly — is satisfied enough to close its oversight of Grimstad municipality's building department. The municipality has closed 185 illegal-construction cases since November 2024, with 122 still open in March 2026.
    • To tackle the backlog, the municipality has set up new internal routines and advertised for a lawyer who will focus specifically on enforcement cases.
    Construction rulesMunicipalitiesPublic administration
    + 5 more bullets in the app
  10. News article

    Norway's Ombudsman investigates whether the Tax Administration adequately protects children's rights when garnishing parents' wages

    • Norway's Parliamentary Ombudsman — the body that checks whether the state treats people fairly — has sent formal questions to the Norwegian Tax Administration, due by 28 September 2026. The questions concern whether the Tax Administration gives enough weight to the needs of children when deducting money from a parent's salary to recover a government debt.
    • Ombudsman Hanne Harlem wants to know specifically whether parents are told which child-related costs the Tax Administration should take into account before deciding how large a deduction to make.
    Children and youthPublic administrationTaxes
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