104 | Annual Report 2018 1 October Primary and lower secondary schools cannot require or expect pupils to bring their own laptop to school Public primary and lower secondary schools in Denmark are based on the principle of free schooling. This means that they can neither require nor expect pupils to bring their own laptop to school. As he also did in a previous case, the Ombudsman has emphasised this in a case involving Sønderborg Municipality which he has just concluded. 4 October Placement facilities without an in-house school are not permitted to teach children and young people placed in care outside their home Children and young people who have been placed in care outside their home are entitled to proper schooling. This means, among other things, that accommodation facilities without an in-house school are not permitted to provide the schooling for these children. So says the Ombudsman in a statement on an investigation which he has just concluded. • Significant errors have been made in the case in relation to the rules of the Social Services Act on the requirement for public employees to notify the municipality if a child or a young person is or may be in need of special support. 22 October Procedure followed by Customs and Tax Administration in cases opened on the basis of information from Panama Papers was correct The Danish Customs and Tax Administration (SKAT) complied with the rules when, based on information from the so-called Panama Papers, it wrote to a number of citizens, stating that they were required to send in information in order that it could be established whether they owed tax to Denmark. This is the Ombudsman’s conclusion after investigating, among other things, whether SKAT complied with the rules on the privilege against self-incrimination. The Ombudsman’s assessment is based on SKAT’s general description of the information available at the time and the procedure followed in the cases. 1 November 5 October Significant errors in ‘Ry case’ On 6 February 2017, a 16-year-old boy in the town of Ry was attacked with a fire bomb. Four boys of his age were subsequently convicted as the perpetrators in the case. On investigating the action of Skanderborg Municipality and the school of the boys in the years leading up to the attack, the Ombudsman concludes as follows in a statement on the case: • Significant errors have been committed in the case in relation to the rules of, among other things, the Access to Public Administration Files Act on the requirement to take notes and the requirement to keep records. Ombudsman raises questions about cases concerning cancellations of residence permits of Somali families The Parliamentary Ombudsman has today raised questions with the Ministry of Immigration and Integration about cancellations of residence permits of Somali families. 5 November Serious concern about processing times of Ministry of Immigration and Integration in cases about access to documents or information Journalists and others requesting access to documents or information from the Ministry of Immigration and Integration generally have to wait too long for a reply. This is the conclusion of a recent statement from the Ombudsman.