Speech by Alexander Zhukov:

Good afternoon,

Today, we are holding a video conference to assess preparations for the summer 2010 children's healthcare and holiday programme, scheduled to commence in ten days. This year's healthcare programme will be implemented in a new format because the required authority has been transferred to the regions.

Starting January 1, 2010, all vouchers issued under healthcare and leisure programmes for children are no longer covered by mandatory social insurance. Such projects are financed from regional and local budgets. In this connection, the constituent entities have received additional resources from a redistribution of the tax proceeds. Moreover, the federal budget subsidies to the constituent entities have increased more than three-fold to reach 4.1 billion roubles. The subsidies are used to implement healthcare and leisure programmes for children facing problems in life.

The quality of healthcare and leisure programmes for children depends on the capabilities of the constituent entities, the existence of the required regulatory documents, sufficient funding and efficient cooperation between all those organising the holiday season for children.

We need to reassess the planned number of children to be covered by all types and forms of leisure and healthcare.

I want to note the inadmissibility of reducing the number of children covered by the healthcare programmes and the quality of children's leisure. Please see that the required funding has been allocated. This primarily concerns those constituent entities where children's healthcare programmes are financed below 2009 levels, including the Republic of Komi and Tatarstan, the Leningrad, Astrakhan, Chelyabinsk and Omsk Regions.

Any arising problems should be dealt with in cooperation with labour union and employers' associations.

We should review the readiness of holiday hotels and healthcare facilities to admit children and whether the required fire-safety and emergency-prevention measures have been implemented. If necessary, medical aid and other services facilitating children's safe and healthy leisure activities have to be provided.

In addition, please discuss the safety of children at summer camps with the relevant departments at the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry for Civil Defence, Emergencies and Disaster Relief.

Every parent must know where to apply for vouchers and voucher-receipt terms. An active information campaign is required in this context. Please promptly notify the Ministry of Healthcare and Social Development about problems arising during the implementation of the healthcare programme for children.

For its part, the Ministry will monitor the implementation of healthcare programmes for children by regions in great detail, will promptly examine all appeals and take every action to resolve any problems.
Today, we will hear reports by regional leaders on what has been accomplished in preparing for the children's holiday season.

In your speeches, you should prioritise the following issues:

- The number of children, due to be covered by healthcare and leisure programmes in 2010, including types and forms of healthcare programmes;

- The procedures for providing vouchers and compensation to parents under healthcare and leisure programmes for children;

- The mechanism of cooperation involving executive and local-government agencies, employers and trade union associations to facilitate the children's holiday season.

In your speeches, please prioritise the capacity of summer camps to receive children, the transfer of children to and from the camps and their safety efforts.

If the regions have any unsolved problems, we will discuss them today.

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I would like to stress once again that only ten days remain until the start of the healthcare programme for children.

Today's discussion has revealed that the regions are generally ready to implement this programme.

I want to stress once again that this is the first programme implemented by the regions under their new authority. You are responsible for its implementation. I am asking the leaders of the constituent entities to personally oversee this issue.