Minutes of negotiations with wellbeing services counties

The Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Social Affairs and Health and Ministry of the Interior hold annual negotiations with each wellbeing services county on the implementation of the functions that the county is responsible for organising and on the financial management of the county. 

The purpose of these negotiations is to support the effectiveness, economic efficiency and performance of the wellbeing services county. The negotiations also provide strategic guidance for the county's responsibility to organise services within the framework of the Government’s national strategic objectives. The negotiation process for counties is also applied to the HUS Group, which is the joint authority for Helsinki and Uusimaa. The City of Helsinki and the wellbeing services counties in Uusimaa also participate in the negotiations with the HUS Group.

The negotiations monitor and assess the realisation of the county’s responsibility for organising services. The negotiations also discuss targets for the functions of the county as well as measures to support those targets. The negotiations cover the realised and future development of the costs and funding of the county. They also cover cost management and other measures implemented in the county to secure the performance of the counties functions and to secure the availability of services with the available funding. 

If necessary, the ministries must provide the county with recommendations for measures to support the county’s effectiveness, economic efficiency and performance with respect to finances and organising services. The monitoring and assessment of the realisation of the county’s responsibility for organising services makes use of the annual reports referred to in the Act on Organising Healthcare and Social Welfare Services and the Act on Organising Rescue Services. It also uses expert assessments from the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare and Regional State Administrative Agencies and, if necessary, assessments from other authorities.

Minutes are kept of the negotiations. The minutes record the matters discussed and the conclusions reached in the negotiations as well as any recommendations for measures that may have been issued by the ministries. The minutes are available on the page Hyvinvointialueiden neuvotteluiden pöytäkirjat (in Finnish).