Vantaa City Council reviewed the Audit Committee’s Evaluation Report for 2024

Of the 45 binding budget targets for 2024, several were not achieved at all, including targets related to the economy, housing production, and reducing unemployment. Progress in reducing school bullying and improving literacy skills was again weak.

The targets set for major subsidiaries were achieved slightly better overall than in the previous year.

The city group recorded a negative result

Both the parent municipality and the group recorded a negative result. The group’s internal funding covered interest costs and loan repayments, but this was not the case for the parent municipality. The weak result was mainly due to reduced tax revenue, the use of temporary agency staff in early childhood education, and rising unemployment costs. In addition, the halt in residential construction has weakened the city’s economy. Internal funding covered less than 40% of investments in both the parent municipality and the group. External debt increased for both.

Students’ literacy declined and bullying increased

Literacy results for second-grade pupils in primary education have declined compared to the previous measurement. There has been positive development in the literacy skills of seventh-grade pupils. Students’ experiences of bullying have increased. New measures are continuously being sought to improve literacy and reduce bullying. In the future, support measures will be more strongly targeted at the schools and pupils who need them most.

Positive discrimination programme addresses regional segregation

The aim of the MEK programme is to reduce wellbeing disparities between residents and areas. Measures are mainly targeted at neighbourhoods where inequality is most pronounced. Preparation of a new action programme began at the turn of 2025. The programme aims to address segregation more comprehensively and is therefore being developed in cooperation with various stakeholders.

Preparedness and adaptation to extreme weather

A joint assessment by Helsinki, Espoo, Vantaa and Kauniainen examined cities’ preparedness for and adaptation to extreme weather phenomena. In Vantaa, adaptation measures have been compiled into a resource-wise roadmap. There is a growing maintenance backlog in streets, parks and sewer systems in many areas, which will continue to increase at the current investment level. At the same time, the risks of damage caused by extreme weather are also rising.

The Audit Committee also evaluated, among other things, the promotion of vitality, support for students with a foreign language background in primary education, the state of the city’s preventive substance abuse work, the Hobby Vantaa and Schools on the Move activities, the operations of Vantaan Tilapalvelut Vantti Ltd, public transport, and preparations for the reform of employment services and new integration legislation.