Events

 
 
 

Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, during a working visit to Troitsk in the Moscow Region, holds a meeting on organising children’s recreation during summer holidays

 
 
 

In summer children should be improving their health, participating in sports and creative endeavours and having lively experiences. This is important for every family, for every child and for the state as a whole.

Transcript of the meeting:

Good afternoon, colleagues. We are meeting on June 1, and therefore I’d like to congratulate all of you on the International Children’s Day. And, of course, it’s not just Children’s Day that is of symbolic significance but also the beginning of summer holidays for the majority of school children in this country. So, we will discuss a topical issue – how to organise children’s leisure.

We all understand what we need leisure for but not everyone can make good use of it. In summer children should be improving their health, participating in sports and creative endeavours and having lively experiences. This is important for every family, for every child and for the state as a whole. We have just seen the stand and it appears we have a lot of facilities for children. How many do we have all in all? Is the minister here?

Olga Golodetz: 52,000.

Dmitry Medvedev: So, we have 52,000 children’s recreation facilities. But I suppose some of them are adjacent to schools, so children in fact spend their vacations in schools. This is not quite good for recreation, but in any event this is an impressive figure. Colleagues reported to me that practically all 52,000 facilities are working except for 200 that have been withdrawn from exploitation. However, conditions in these places are very different. I am impressed with what I have just seen at the children’s health centre Krasnaya Pakhra. Historically, good conditions were created there and it continues working in the same direction. There are many other interesting facilities and projects. Good experience must be spread. I hope that new buildings will be commissioned as planned, allowing the health centre to accommodate up to 600 children. It will become one of the biggest health centres in the country.

More than two years have passed since funding of summer vacations has been transferred to the regional level (now we will have to speak about unfortunate or, at least, complicated things). Some experience has been accumulated and a legislative foundation built over this time. In the last few years I held two meetings on this issue – one in the Moscow suburbs and the other in Sochi. By and large, we have achieved some results but there are problems as well. According to the available data, 8,800,000 children will go to health resorts and leisure facilities in 2012. This is about 200,000 more than in the past year. During summer 5,400,000 children will go to summer camps and health centres. But, as I’ve mentioned, some of the 52,000 facilities are located in city schools. Of course, it is impossible to significantly improve health there. Let’s be clear – this is simply a chance to give children some supervision during summer rather than leave them on their own. This is a simple way of resolving social tasks.

There are other problems as well. Far from all facilities meet accessibility requirements although now this is an urgent need because we must abide by the existing conventions and rules all over the country. I think that creating normal conditions for rest for children with disabilities is a very important government task. Today, we are implementing the federal programme Accessible Environment for 2011-2015 that the government endorsed last year. Under this programme, the share of accessible general education institutions should reach 20% by 2020. This is not a fantastic figure but still something.

We must also pay special attention to children from socially disadvantaged backgrounds. In 2012, 4.6 billion roubles from the federal budget have been spent on the health-improvement holidays for children who need protection and have found themselves in difficult circumstances. I’d like to hear how this work is going.

Of course, I’d like to hear reports about the preparations for this season. Let’s also talk about the plans to develop the infrastructure for children’s holidays, repairs of summer camps and health resorts and renovation of their technical base, which has changed considerably in the last few years. Some facilities have been upgraded but some others are on the verge of collapse and we must decide what to do with them. A number of big agencies and public organisations own children’s facilities but do not invest anything into them. Nor do they want to give them up. This is outrageous. We must decide what to do next. We have some resources for this purpose but they should be used effectively.

Finally, children should have a meaningful holiday at summer centres. I’ve just seen what they do there. Obviously, this is a well-organised process. If the management of a health centre is in charge of it, everything is in order, but if they let matters drift, difficulties and problems may arise. We must create the conditions for teenagers to meet their potential. It would be best if they use the talents that everyone has in summer time as well.

Educational tourism – children’s centres in the private sector – is also gaining momentum. This is very good. This kind of holiday may be much more useful than anything else but at the same time it is necessary to make sure that the companies that offer these services comply with the law because quite often they are not up to the mark and, regrettably, sometimes their negligence ends in tragedy. We have here today not only ministers and regional heads, but also heads of various children’s camps and centres. I would like them to speak about how they organise their work, what problems worry them, and also about common problems that should be addressed at the federal level. We did this last year and the year before, but as they say, there’s no limit to perfection, and new problems crop up. Let’s talk about this.

Of course, safety during children’s holidays is an absolute priority. I am referring to all elements of safety, from meals to fire safety rules, safe transportation of groups of children, safety on the water, and so on. The organisers of holidays for children and those who work with children and so logically bear maximum responsibility for their safety must take all of this into account. We spoke about it many times, but let’s address the issue once again. Let’s start working. Ms Golodets (Olga Golodets, deputy prime minister), you have the floor. Happy birthday, by the way. You’re spending it as you should – with your colleagues, working. Please.

Olga Golodets: Good afternoon, colleagues. I will start with a quick review of preparations for summer holidays. Mr Medvedev said that summer holidays have already begun in many regions. The regional authorities worked very hard to prepare for the summer period. A total of 52,000 holiday centres satisfy all the requirements, including fire and epidemiological safety requirements, which means that they are safe for children.

This year Russian regions have allocated 40.2 billion roubles for organising children’s holidays. This is considerably more than last year, 36.6 billion roubles, which is very good. It means that the regional administrations take the issue of summer holidays seriously and that more children will go to camps that have been prepared for summer holidays in a responsible manner.

It has been said that 8.8 million children will spend the summer at various camps in Russia this year. The important thing is that 79 Russian regions have introduced certificates for children’s recreational facilities. Such certificates are not dogma or an additional bureaucratic procedure, but an important element guaranteeing that a camp is safe for a large group of children. It is gratifying that the regions have organised this work so well. Some regions have been working better than others, in particular the Belgorod, Vladimir, Vologda, Nizhni Novgorod, Smolensk, Sverdlovsk, Tula, Yaroslavl and other regions.  Indeed, all regions worked very responsibly to prepare children’s camps for the summer.

The material and technical supply of the camps has been improved. It is interesting that we now take over camps from those organisations that have no funds for maintaining them. The municipal and other authorities are doing this very responsibly, not converting these facilities into some other establishments but keeping them for children, so that they will have such wonderful holiday centres as the one we have visited today. I could cite examples of similar centres in Moscow, in the Volgograd and Leningrad region, St Petersburg, and the Novosibirsk and Rostov regions, where the regional authorities have taken over children’s camps and renovated and modernised them to ensure comfortable conditions for children’s holidays.

Special emphasis has been placed this year on the preparation of summer camps in terms of their fire safety. We’ve held a conference on this involving all the regions, because heat waves and wildfire smoke are not uncommon in summertime and children may find themselves affected. And so the Emergencies Ministry has arranged for all the camps to be inspected and for potential evacuation measures to be formulated. We should be ready for anything.  

Russia’s main sanitary watchdog, Rospotrebnadzor, has done serious work in that direction, and as of now, 97% of the camps meet its requirements. The rest are catching up, because no camp may open without Rospotrebnadzor’s authorisation. Some of the camps are scheduled to open their doors on June 5th or the 10th. There isn’t much time left, but the staffs are working against time, and I hope the situation will be improved before the start of the season.

The Health Ministry has carried out a series of measures to prevent epidemics. Related documents have been released. Ms Skvortsova will speak on this briefly. Special attention has been paid to treating the camp grounds and surrounding areas to eradicate mites. Medical personnel have been trained to deal with the problem, ensuring there’s no mite-borne encephalitis breakout. All appropriate preventive measures have been carried out, so in sanitary terms, too, we’ve got our summer camps ready for the new season.

Police have checked the areas in and around the summer camps, and conferences on their security have been held with all the regions, as, obviously, places where large groups of children come together require special security measures.

We’ve heard some interesting educational programmes presented, as in the summer, special emphasis is usually placed on the development of children’s creativity and talents. Many camps run extra-curriculum creativity programmes so that kids can try their hand at various types of creative work. I think this summer will be a good and interesting one for all of Russia’s young holyday makers. Well, that’s what I have to say.

Dmitry Medvedev: Thank you. Here’s what I suggest. Let’s listen to what our governors and other government officials have to say and then I’ll open the floor to chiefs of summer camps and health resort institutions. After which I’ll invite government ministers to comment on the situation briefly and to express their wishes. Mr Tkachyov (addressing the governor of the Krasnodar Territory), let’s hear from you first, as your region is one of the most popular destinations for children who spend their holidays away from home. Please go ahead.

Alexander Tkachyov: Mr Medvedev, ladies and gentlemen.

More than 700,000 school children build up their health in Kuban every year; less than a third of them come from other regions of the country. It is very important that our territory has preserved a broad network of children’s health centres. We have managed to prevent their conversion although this was not easy because we don’t have many levers of influence on health centres. For the most part, they are owned by private companies and we can’t tell them with whom to work. Nevertheless, during this season, after inspections by monitoring services, all of Kuban’s 1,545 health centres will accommodate children. About 30,000 children, including 12,000 from other regions, have already been in our health centres since the start of the year but the overwhelming majority will come for the summer swimming season.

All children’s health resorts in our territory received certificates by June 1. They have been put on the registry of health centres that fully meet the requirements of the Ministry of Healthcare and Social Development. We have fulfilled your instruction – the information about children’s centres and compliance with standards has been published on the internet.

We have also fulfilled another instruction – on insuring children during their stay in health centres. The latter has assumed this responsibility until the federal government determines this mechanism. Thus, out of 30,000 children that stayed in Kuban since the beginning of the year, practically everyone was insured. Paradoxically, private and departmental resorts insure children whereas federal institutions refuse to do this, citing a lack of money.

Dmitry Medvedev: I’d like you to explain this in more detail. You have federal institutions in the Krasnodar Territory. Are you saying they don’t insure children?

Alexander Tkachyov: No, they don’t. They say they either don’t have an item in the budget for this, or they don’t have the right to do this, or they don’t have the money. There are not many of them, but the problem exists.

All children should enjoy a safe summer – this is the cornerstone of the health-building campaign and the preparations for it.

We consider our main task is to ensure comprehensive security of children both in health centres and on the way to them. Nothing is a trifle here. We are working in close contact with federal services and check health centres in all respects – from fire safety and sanitary norms to the conditions of beaches for children. Today, every health centre in Kuban is equipped with a whole range of protection systems, including alarm buttons and CCTV cameras. We are working with the police to ensure safety of children on the road. We are checking all buses to make sure they meet modern requirements. We don’t want anyone to be even tempted to drive children in dilapidated buses.

Despite the instruction that requires traffic police to escort only columns consisting of three or more buses, we have accompanied every bus with children for many years now, even if there is just one bus. We consider this necessary for safety and are grateful to the Interior Ministry for its support on this important issue. All in all, 5,000 policemen will guard children during their summer vacations in Kuban.

Now I’ll say a few words on what we are doing to enable our children make the most of summer. Our goal is to make sure that every Kuban school student (and there are 570,000 of them) should not only rest in summer but also build up their health. The budget for children’s holidays is growing with every year. In 2012 it has reached 2.173 billion roubles – 38 million roubles more than last year. The cost of children’s vouchers has remained practically the same in the last three years. Moreover, our territory has adopted a whole package of support measures to allow as many families as possible to send their children to a health resort by the sea or in the mountains. To begin with, we have allocated about one billion roubles for free vouchers to different health centres for almost 191,000 children this year (last year the relevant figure was 180,000). This is also the second year when any Kuban family or company are reimbursed for half of what they spend on the vouchers for children’s vacations. We compensate them even if children go to centres outside the Krasnodar Territory.

More and more Kuban children spend their vacations in our territory, whereas the flow of children from other regions is falling by 30,000-40,000 per year. This is primarily happening because the right to fund children’s vacations was transferred to the regions two years ago. As a rule, they prefer to leave children at home or send them abroad. But is it normal when the Moscow Region is paying budget funds to Bulgaria, and Primorye Territory to the Republic of Korea or China? We think that even the economic benefits of spending funds in suburban health centres should not override an opportunity to go to Kuban where the health effect is much higher because of its sea and alpine climate.

The argument against all Russian resorts is high transportation costs. People from many regions have to pay more for travelling to national resorts than for buying a voucher. A flight from Yekaterinburg to the Krasnodar Territory costs 40% of the entire cost of the holiday, and the relevant figure for the Far East is 70%. Paradoxically, it is sometimes less expensive to fly to more distant foreign resorts.

Every summer we pay special attention to the wellness of orphans and wayward teenagers – you’ve spoken about them. This summer we will help more than 60,000 of them improve their health in a variety of ways. Thus, we have converted a closed orphanage into a health centre. Orphans were taken to families (all in all we shut down 20 orphanages in the last few years). This alpine centre accommodates more than 1,000 orphans every year. We also provide them with vouchers to Black Sea resorts, conduct artistic contests and hold tourist forums.

Disabled children need warmth and care no less than others. This year we will buy them about a thousand Mother and Child travel vouchers to Black Sea resorts where they will be able to take a rest and improve their health for free. These vouchers cost over 40,000 roubles. We are consistently advancing to a point where every sanatorium, every hotel might become a truly accessible environment for people with disabilities. Today all health resorts hosting people with disabilities are already equipped with access ramps, special lifts and other accessories supporting this category of children.

The territory pays serious attention to the development of tourism, which does not require much funding but is a very efficient type of active summer recreation and summer employment. For several recent years we have trained instructors, licensed old and new routes. We even have such teams for teenagers at risk who participate in hikes together with the special committee for minors.    

Tourism in our region is attractive for residents of other regions, yet unfortunately we have seen a large number of children’s tours that we are not informed of. Teams of up to 200 people travel to mountains, set up camp and raft down rivers, and local administration and rescuers learn about them only in case of accidents. We ask all regions again and again to observe the law requiring the organisers of a children’s outing to coordinate their travelling with local authorities and the Ministry of Civil Defence, Emergencies and Disaster Relief a fortnight in advance.  

The warm climate of the Krasnodar Territory, unique in terms of its restorative properties, as well as the highly effective restorative services of the health resorts makes it possible to host children all year round. By the way, off-season prices are much lower, while the restorative effects are no less beneficial. I take the occasion to invite all children of this country to visit our parts. Everybody will enjoy his share of the Krasnodar Territory’s seaside, sun and warm weather.

Dmitry Medvedev: That is rather an optimistic conclusion, although some of your points have not been so optimistic. Why should they send children abroad or to other places? Yes, please, colleagues…

Sergei Sobyanin: May I answer to the critical remark of my colleague? That is true, we send a considerable number of children, about 10,000 children a year, to Bulgaria, but that is not a Bulgarian resort, that is a Moscow resort. They began to build this camp in 2008, and now it is one of the best camps on the post-Soviet space, it has modern sports and healthcare buildings, buildings for accommodation, education and sports. It is indeed a very comprehensive compound. We will continue to build it to completion to ensure its efficient use. It is impossible to halt the project halfway, so we continue to develop it. On the whole, it is a very comfortable modern camp.

In addition, we are investing on the camps in the Moscow Region. Unfortunately you were right to say that they have not seen major repairs or renovation for decades. They are out of the last century, and so we had to take nine camps under the direct Moscow control, and we have carried out major repairs in six camps. On June 3, they will be reopened with new buildings, new canteens, sports facilities and so on. We are still renovating three resorts, they will be ready at the end of this year.

On the whole, Moscow offers organised recreation to about 300,000 people, that includes city and country camps. We are working jointly with trade unions and we transfer some of the funds to trade-union organisers of summer vacations: we cover 30 percent of the price of a health resort voucher. Similarly to Mr Tkachyov’s practices, we cover the costs for parents who choose their vouchers on their own. I mean preferential categories of people. We cover up to 5,000 roubles. In addition, we cover 100% of the cost for children of low-income families, orphans, people with disabilities and so on. The programme spending amounts to 4.7 billion roubles, this is a considerable amount.   

Today you are in Krasnaya Pakhra, we have a network of sanatoriums (over 30 year-round sanatoriums) – this is rather significant network. In recent years we have invested in renovation work. Krasnaya Pakhra is erecting two new buildings and installing new medical equipment. This programme is working for the whole network. This year we are investing over 1 billion roubles in only updating the material base, so I think we will not only support the existing material base of camps and sanatoriums but also upgrade them, provide a new look for them. 

In fact, this work needs constant attention and a systemic approach. I want this market to see – in addition to budget allocations – non-budget investment from  private companies, because essentially we are buying a service. This needs long-term contracts, not for one summer but for three or five years so that an investor should have a real stimulus and a vision of his prospects. In this case, such investors will perhaps invest more in summer camps, create year-round bases once they get a permanent cash flow, a permanent order. But this is an issue related to organising our work. Thank you.

Dmitry Medvedev: Thank you, Mr Sobyanin. Colleagues, please, if you wish…

Please, Mr Radayev (Valery Radayev, Saratov Region governor).

Valery Radayev: Thank you, Mr Medvedev, colleagues. Recreation, rehabilitation and attention to children’s needs in the summer period are priorities of the Saratov Region government. Today, on June 1, a health campaign starts, with 64 suburban and rural summer camps, 1,800 day camps and three recreation tent-based summer camps to be working in the region. A total of some 100 million roubles has been allocated for the purpose from various government sources. The regional and city budgets provide 506 million roubles, with another 65 million coming from the federal budget, for recreational and health improvement activities. This year’s health campaign is aimed at providing recreation services to all local residents for children and families at social risk. Today, there are 3,100 such children, including 2,400 school students. We are making every effort to help these families. For the first time this year, both healthy children and those with disabilities can attend two rehabilitation centres, which were organised as an additional project of the Accessible Environment pilot programme. All 39 sports and recreational centres in the region will be used daily for sports events and teaching children swimming. Specialists will work with athletes, gifted children and cadets using specially designed programmes. Traditionally, our children spend their vacation on the Black Sea coast. These are primarily kids in difficult life circumstances, and those provided with follow-up medical care. Overall, 2,100 children will travel to the southern coast. 

Mr Medvedev, as you have mentioned, ensuring children’s security and safety is a key task for authorities. We have an interdepartmental commission working on a daily basis, and I personally oversee these issues, and I think security will be ensured. All organisational measures and events have been implemented, and now the recreation activities have started. That concludes my report.  

Dmitry Medvedev: All right, now to avoid everything seeming smooth and problem-free, let us listen to local representatives, namely directors of children’s summer camps, who will speak on both positive aspects and the problems they encounter. I will not call on anyone – those who wish to speak are welcome to.

Matvey Shparo (director, Travel Laboratory state educational centre): Mr Medvedev, ladies and gentlemen, children’s tourism and organising tent-based summer camps are an important part of children’s recreation in Russia. You have mentioned the importance of active travels within Russia and how it helps shape the character and has a huge influence on children’s development. Every year, some 600,000 children spend their time at such camps. For instance, our summer camp, Great Adventure, which was opened in Karelia 12 years ago, is visited by 3,000 adolescents annually. We have good contacts with all social departments of the Moscow Government, and we welcome at our camp children with disabilities, as well as those from orphanages and children in challenging life circumstances. We have learnt to work with them. We focus a great deal on involving them in active tourism. Kids, teachers and parents are all happy. I think that this experience should be used throughout the country. 

I will mention one general problem in children’s tourism. In 2010, the Federal Service for Supervision of Consumer Protection and Welfare (Rospotrebnadzor) adopted sanitary regulations and standards for tent-based summer camps, which actually put an end to these camps, as certain requirements are just absurd, to put it mildly.

Dmitry Medvedev: Name them.

Matvey Shparo: For instance, if the temperature in a camp is lower than 15°C for three consecutive nights, the camp is to be closed. But we are not in Africa, we are in Russia with its vast northern territories. Also, the sanitary regulations and standards state that children with disabilities are not allowed at such camps. This means if there is a camp where an archaeological dig is being held, kids with impairments are not allowed there. I believe this is not right.

Currently, the Public Chamber is making every effort to have these standards reconsidered and has developed corresponding amendments – however, I believe that this issue will not be solved without your involvement.

As for our camp, I would like to receive some support. I have outlined the problem in a letter. May I give it to you?

Dmitry Medvedev: Pass it on, of course. All right. Thank you, Mr Shparo. Just to comment on sanitary and epidemiological rules and standards and requirements – some of them are redundant, and some may not be redundant. But if this issue arises, then, of course, following today's meeting, I want this item to be included in the protocol decision to reinstate the sanitary-epidemiological standard and decide what's right and what is excessive. In my opinion, of course, some things are unreal, because when children's recreation is planned, it will hardly be possible to measure the perceived temperature to a fraction of a degree, and so on. But let's look at how to get out of this situation. I will issue a directive. All right, colleagues, if you please.

Alexander Dzheus (Director of the Orlyonok Russian Children's Centre): Mr Medvedev, let me thank you for focusing on this issue in a systematic way every year. And this, of course, has a significant effect on the organisation of children’s recreation and health promotion programmes.

We are, of course, a year-round centre for those who, as a litmus test, determine the state of the whole sphere of recreational camps for children in our country, as we take in children all year round. There are a number of regulatory documents, over 17 of them, and they regulate our activities very tightly, which is as it should be. They apply primarily to the sanitary-epidemiological and fire safety conditions for the camp’s activities. But in our opinion, there is one weak spot that you should focus on – support for working with the children in the children's camp itself. There are no rigid guidelines, and, as a rule, it is left to the prerogative of the camp administration and/or owners.

It seems to me that the camp's activities should be considered effective in the modern context if it implements the the social functions that society, the state, children, family, staff and children's camps expect. The question is: who will regulate and control these things? Perhaps there is good international experience in this field and these functions could be entrusted to an association of organisers of children's recreational activities.

Dmitry Medvedev: But is there such an association in this country?

Alexander Dzheus: Yes, of course. We have three such associations, the founders of which include the Ministry of Education and Science. This is a community of organisers of children's recreation, which includes almost all the camps in Russia and the CIS and Kids+. And these children's associations combine the best practices of organised recreation. We regularly get together, discuss the problems that we face and, of course, if a public-private partnership were to control these processes, the benefits would be undeniable.

I would like to raise another problematic issue, which I also raised last year – the purchase of food products in accordance with Federal Law FZ-94 (Federal Law No. 94-FZ, dated 21 July, 2005, “On placing orders for goods, work and services for state and municipal needs”). Today the same problem still exists – namely that the only factor is the price of the product. Let me cite a strange case. For example, we buy lots of bread for the entire year. For one lot, which is worth three million roubles, the participants eventually agreed on a price of 250,000 roubles. The auction, of course, was cancelled and when we convened all the participants and said, “Well, what’s the net result? Who’s going to provide supplies for this money?” They threw up their hands and we had to enact emergency measures.

Dmitry Medvedev: So if I understand correctly, we’re talking about several participants price dumping, slashing prices, in fact, and because of this competition you are left without food?

Alexander Dzheus: Exactly.

Dmitry Medvedev: Because fulfilling orders for this kind of money is impossible?

Alexander Dzheus: Yes.

Alexander Tkachyov: Excuse me, may I add something here? Our camp… It's just that there are instances, when the ones who win…

Dmitry Medvedev: Not ours, but in general.

Alexander Tkachyov: Yes. He did not introduce himself. He's from Orlyonok, he's the director of Orlyonok.

Dmitry Medvedev: Yes, we understand that this is Orlyonok.

Alexander Tkachyov: It happens, and they win the auction at a low price, the lowest, and then they take whatever they can find on the market, and deliver – except that it is not even from Kuban, not from the surrounding area... And this can only be stopped through the courts, which takes six months.

Dmitry Medvedev: But Mr Dzheus seems to have some proposals.

Alexander Dzheus: Perhaps, Mr Medvedev, we need to make changes to the law. We need to take into account qualitative and quantitative factors in purchasing food. In that way we can strictly regulate what the participants in the auction are delivering and in what quantities. If milk costs around 20 roubles a litre then it can’t be supplied for one or two roubles – that could only be Chinese powdered milk... This is a problem which, of course, needs to be addressed. This year, or more precisely last year and this year we have built...

Dmitry Medvedev: It is a matter, if I understand it correctly, of changing the law on public procurement? Is that what you have in mind?

Alexander Dzheus: That's absolutely right, Law No. FZ-94.

Dmitry Medvedev: But it won’t be around for much longer. There will be a new law, new legislation on public procurement.

Alexander Dzheus: Thank you. Last year and this year we have been working very actively with our corporations. This is where the question about holidays abroad came up. We are working with major corporations such as Norilsk Nickel, Russian Railways, Gazprom and Rostelecom. I can say that we have had some success – this year we will welcome about 1,000 Norilsk Nickel children in the new housing that the Office of the President built for us. Rostelecom has installed a fibre-optic network for us at a cost of about 20 million, and for this reason they are our regular partners in leisure activities and health promotion for children. Therefore, if the government had some friendly advice for these types of corporations…

Dmitry Medvedev: …friendly recommendations meaning offers they can't refuse…

Alexander Dzheus: ...for recreation in Russia, then perhaps it would be nice, in my opinion, because we have been offering, I would say probably much better holidays for children than  holidays abroad. The fact is that foreign holidays, as a rule, except for Camp Kamchia [in Bulgaria], which Mr Sobyanin mentioned, are purely entertainment holidays. Children who have been abroad come to us and say, “Come on, entertain us. Where are your amusement organisers?” And we tell them, “We have a completely different system here; what we offer you are programmes in which you yourselves get involved.” And, of course, the children are interested.

Mr Medvedev, last year and this year, we have been making big efforts to promote international cooperation, and this year we will be holding the eighth international session in our camp, where your wife is the patron. We would like to invite you if you have the opportunity to visit us during this session, because it is very interesting and every year it attracts an increasing number of countries – and not only CIS countries – to take part in it.

Dmitry Medvedev: Thank you.

Alexander Dzheus: On the whole we have fulfilled all of the instructions that were given us last year. And I would like to thank you for the prompt resolution of the issue of the inclusion of the Orlyonok, Okean and Smena children's centres in the list of facilities subject to state protection. The documents have been drafted and coordinated among the departments and are awaiting your signature.

Dmitry Medvedev: In the government?

Alexander Dzheus: In the government, yes.

Dmitry Medvedev: All right, I'll check and find out where these documents are.

Alexander Dzheus: Thank you. That’s the end of my report.

Dmitry Medvedev: I have just one question, Mr Dzheus – what Mr Tkachyov said, and you, are the children insured? You are a state organisation.

Alexander Dzheus: Of course, our children are insured, we have agreed this with our founder and we will make up the remaining amount which has not been allocated from the federal budget using extra-budgetary sources, which has also been agreed with our founder, so we have no problems in this regard. We will definitely insure all the children.

Dmitry Medvedev: You know, we're doing a lot of work in the area of insurance, and not only for children and children's recreation. Unfortunately, many of the rules for insurance are imperfect, whether it’s life insurance, health or property insurance. But I think we need to actively promote it all. What am I driving at? Maybe it's time to discuss the option, to think about how to make holiday insurance mandatory so that without it the holiday can’t go ahead? It's not so much about the money at the end of the day, the organisers of children's activities can bear these costs, and partially the people who are sending their children on holiday. Actually, this is the civilised way; otherwise, if something happens, the issue of the source of liability arises.

We are accustomed to doing everything we can to make a breakthrough. If something happens, the government is convened and we throw money to solve the problem, whatever it is – some unfortunate event, a famine or drought – everything comes out of the state's pocket. That is wrong. We have to get the insurance system working, otherwise we will stagnate just like in Soviet times. Mr Shoigu, did you want to say something?

Sergei Shoigu: I just wanted to say one thing. Why should a director of a small camp deal with the procurement of bread, meat and potatoes? Outsource all of it, as well as many other services. It's a huge construction, if instead of dealing with education and children's recreation, you have to hold tenders, no management team will ever be big enough. A huge number of tenders is involved here. I calculated that they would have to hold about 1,500 tenders, and that would take a large administration just to do that. It involves the upkeep of the premises, providing other utilities and so on. Such huge camps! There should be a company in the Krasnodar Territory – there is probably a large number of them – companies that deal with food. Especially on the sea coast, there are a lot of sanatoriums there. Any company can take over this service. I agree that Law No. 94 should be revised, because it causes a lot of headaches for everyone, but in this case, in my opinion, this is the only correct solution. In any case – hearkening back to my previous job – three years ago, we transferred all of our institutions of higher learning to this system, and thank God we no longer have headaches over potatoes and things like that.

Dmitry Medvedev: We are also making the transition for the army as a whole, although there are a lot of military personnel. I'm just wondering how many of these contracts are you signing a year? Of course, Orlyonok, Okean and Smena are very large camps, but nevertheless?

Alexander Dzheus: We sign about 2,500 contracts a year.

Dmitry Medvedev: Then Mr Shoigu is right.

Alexander Dzheus: We are a major enterprise, therefore, maybe we will switch to outsourcing for things like cleaning. But there are things that need to be very strictly controlled, things on which the life and health of our children depend.

Dmitry Medvedev: In any case, some kind of optimisation here is clearly possible. Did you want to add something, Mr Tkachyov?

Alexander Tkachyov: It's very important that the regional camps rely on locally produced products.

Dmitry Medvedev: Everyone is agreed on this point. There should be some sort of recommendations, including for holding tenders, shouldn’t there? There is definitely a problem here, many products are very expensive to get hold of. Well, we all know, as a rule, this is about theft; in other words, it is understandable why the contract is signed, for example with a supplier located 5,000 kilometres away, it’s to do with money laundering of course.

Alexander Tkachyov: And the electronic form itself is absurd. Potatoes, for example...

Dmitry Medvedev: So you’re in favour of paper forms, are you? You know, electronic forms are still more convenient. It shouldn’t be allowed to get out of hand, of course. If you want to buy 20 kg of potatoes there’s probably no need to conduct such tenders.

Alexander Tkachyov: Mr Medvedev, actually Law No. 94 is holding back many of these processes.

Dmitry Medvedev: Actually, a new law on a state contract system will go into effect later this year. We should pay attention to it. All right.

Well, colleagues, would anyone else like to speak?

Filipp Bakhtin (Head, Land of Children Company): Good afternoon! I would like to steal a bit of your time. My name is Filipp Bakhtin, and I represent the Land of Children company. It has already been mentioned here today that children’s summer vacations are being defiled – that is, the proportion of children in out-of-town camps relative to in-city camps. I have statistics concerning this, which show that 8 million children stayed in out-of-town camps and 1 million attended camps in the cities in 1973, while now the situation is the reverse. There are 8 million in city camps…

Dmitry Medvedev: When did you say that was?

Filipp Bakhtin: In 1973. And now, it is the other way round – 8 million children spend their vacations in the city camps and 1 million  in the country. We are all aware that the number of those camps is decreasing and generally there is no clear economic model for bringing back the number of country camps. I have participated in a working group on summer holidays with Mr Pechatnikov, who is also here. He said that – and it has also been briefly mentioned by Mr Sobyanin today – that the solution to the problem lies in attracting private businesses and investments. Only private companies can build that number of camps. The big issue here is how to turn this “story” into a commercial one. It is not commercial enough, and this is why it raises little interest. This is why those camps are not built in the quantity required by the nation.

I will spend about 10 seconds to report that there is a company called Land of Children that is designing a construction project for a huge camp for 17,640 children. It will be private and it will not use state funds, and at the same time it must be affordable. We want to build the structure in the Yaroslavl Region. Yesterday, the Yaroslavl Region governor visited us and we had a very interesting meeting.

We also have a project for a network of more discreet camps. We say “discreet” when we refer to camps accommodating 1,260 children. We have design, engineering and architectural solutions at hand, we have a counselling programme, and we have a large group of experts. About 200 people are currently working in different areas at the company. There is an idea for in-city camps and city clubs that would use the pedagogical technology that we have designed. I am primarily addressing the esteemed heads of the regions. Mr Medvedev, if there is some interest in this company, we are all going to meet to discuss and explain what we are doing. We are not only interested in working in Yaroslavl. We are interested in cooperating with everyone.

Dmitry Medvedev: Thank you very much.  This is true. The number of out-of-town camps is indeed decreasing, and there are objective reasons for this about which we have all spoken. These include the degradation of the camps and the lack of their owners' interest in developing them. In fact, there are also subjective reasons because in the 1970s there was no alternative to summer camps. Now, people are taking their children to different places themselves, which means they have more opportunities. However, this proportion should change somehow, since most schoolchildren go to so-called school camps. That is why when we say “big numbers”, it is, in fact, let me reiterate, just a way to stick a child somewhere lest he should do something bad.

Let's go on. Who else would like to speak?

Yelena Sokolova (Director, Children’s Health Camp State Autonomous Establishment – Orlyonok Centre for Young Driver Training, the Saratov Region): My name is Yelena Sokolova. I am from the town of Marx in the Saratov Region.  Orlyonok is a state autonomous establishment, too. Everything seems very nice and great for us. We have a wonderful camp with a large territory. We now accommodate twice as many children as in 2010. Seventy-three percent of the children are from difficult situations. This is our social specialisation. They are children from low-income families, Chernobyl zone children, D-category children in the medical register... A lot has been invested in the camp. We do not have specialised shifts. We are more of a specialised camp. We have imitation city streets on the camp territory. We promote road safety. We have an amazing computer class and first-class software. We have a library and classrooms where children play. We have scooters and quadrocycles. It’s great!  We receive more and more children every year. We have made repairs and changed the boilers. Everything is all right.

However, the district centre is growing. It is expanding towards us, and the issue of land arises. There was talk about changing our specialisation. We would like to have a document that clearly specifies who can take the land, how they can take it and to whom they can transfer it because the municipal authorities are asking for some of our territory. We don’t feel like giving it away because we have such a wonderful, wonderful camp….

Dmitry Medvedev: Why do they ask you to give away your land? Are they building something there or what?

Yelena Sokolova: No, they are not building anything there yet, but they want to use part of our land.

Dmitry Medvedev: What for? What are they up to?

Yelena Sokolova: Social facilities like a ski base. And they will also…

Dmitry Medvedev: How large is the camp’s plot?

Yelena Sokolova: A total of 8.8 hectares. A pine forest.

Dmitry Medvedev: To be honest, this is not a large piece of land for a camp. I would understand it if you had 800 hectares.

Yelena Sokolova: I agree.

Dmitry Medvedev: However, 8.8 hectares! Mr Radayev (addressing Valery Radayev), this territory is under your jurisdiction. Please find out what the municipal authorities want there. Do they want to destroy the camp and what do they want to do there? Please, find out. The governor is here. The question has been raised. This is the person who raised the issue, and here is the man who will solve it. Is that it? 

Yelena Sokolova: Thank you.

Dmitry Medvedev: Yes, please.

Aleksandr Tsiglov (Director, Solnechny Children’s Summer Camp, Degtyaryov Plant): Good afternoon, Mr Medvedev! Good afternoon, esteemed participants! My name is Alekxander Tsiglov. I represent the Degtyaryov Plant’s Solnechny Children’s Camp in the town of Kovrov in the Vladimir Region. We took second place in a nationwide contest among children’s camps. What I would like to say is that our camp has been operating for over 75 years. Over the years, the plant's administration has paid tremendous attention to it. It is an inalienable part of its infrastructure. We occupy a territory of 30 hectares. At any given moment, we have 600 children in the camp, but we are now also considering expansion and construction. The plant's director is giving us all of the support that he can. He attended the camp himself as a child and understands that this is necessary...

Dmitry Medvedev: They have been lingering ever since – those unforgettable sensations…

Alexander Tsiglov: All right. Just look at our situation. As far as regulations are concerned, we are trying to follow them. On the other hand, we are grateful for receiving instructions from all of the agencies in charge, such as the fire and the consumer rights watchdog… The camp was inspected and commissioned for operation on May 21. According to an executive presidential order, we held regional competitions from May 23 to May 29. A total of 456 children participated from the region. Thus, we are also open for any possible cooperation. We have the following situation. It emerges first of all… My staff consists of 164 employees. According to Order 302, the tests...

Dmitry Medvedev: You are showering us with professional terms. Not everyone here is aware of Order 302. Whose order is it?

Alexander Tsiglov: The Ministry of Health's.

Dmitry Medvedev: The Ministry of Health's. We just happen to have three ministers here.

Alexander Tsiglov: The Ministry of Health and Social Development. We used to undergo a medical check-up based on the requirements of the sanitary regulations and standards. Now, the number of doctors we have to see has increased manyfold. I am all for such check-ups, but as a result…Of course, we reimburse our employees for this, and the amount is 1,600 roubles. I hire leaders and counsellors for a certain session, and correspondingly, the number of staff increases and occasionally exceeds 200. We only work one three-month season. We have four complete sessions. This is our first problem. It's not really a problem. The plant can pay for this, but still it has hit our finances hard compared to previous years. Second, the personnel, medical personnel. As for children’s doctors... In the past, they were sent on an assignment, and each camp was assigned its own children’s doctor. Now, we only invite them during the holidays. What if I make an arrangement with a doctor that he/she is to work during the first or the second session, but he is on holiday? I do not know if this problem can be solved, but when doctors are assigned, they are better motivated. Furthermore, the doctors have been working for the entire year and instead of getting a month’s holiday I am doing my best to persuade them to come…That is, these are the staff who I need the most.

As for instructors and counsellors, we sign contracts with universities. This work continues. Basically, our plant is self-sufficient. We can hire personnel from among the plant’s employees – cooks, office workers and other staff. However, as far as employees in the medical profession are concerned... We cannot influence the situation. This is why we have to resort to persuasion. That’s it. Thank you for you time. 

Dmitry Medvedev: Thank you. Now, to wrap up our work... I will let our colleagues comment on these issues, including Order 302 and other matters. Well, I can also let a couple of colleagues speak. Then, I would like to ask the ministers to comment on the speeches. Afterwards, I will sum up the results. Yes, please.

Valery Dolgikh (Director, Kid’s Camp New Generation Children’s Countryside Health Camp): The New Generation children’s camp in the Perm Territory... My name is Valery Dolgikh. I represent the non-governmental children’s health and leisure sector, which is pretty well developed in our territory. Seventy-eight percent out of the 52 children’s camps in the Perm Territory are non-governmental. It is a regional peculiarity.

We have two main problems with camps themselves, that is, with businesses supporting camps for children’s recreation and healthcare. Problems arise with supporting businesses which deal with children’s recreation and healthcare in the region. There are three major issues at play. One is the material base. Of course, businesses cannot build new camps so far.  They can only lease them for a long term or get a license to operate or buy out inoperative camps. However, some problems emerge here with the bases of former federal enterprises and out-of-town health camps that once belonged to former federal enterprises. Unfortunately, we see various examples of how this process has dragged on. The number of companies that had the desire to restore these camps and put them back into operation without the help of budget funds is falling. Businesses are losing interest in restoring these bases.

Second. The fuzzy character of regulatory and legislative notions, such the types of camps… There are different kinds of camps, i.e. countryside camps, specialised camps, and others. Unfortunately, we only have two kinds of sanitary regulations and standards for outdoor camps, which cannot be used to regulate all the types of vacations. The number of services available for children’s leisure and health-building holidays keep growing, and the legislation is no longer sufficient. Actually, it is hindering the development of private companies in this area.

Second, the organising of children’s leisure and health-building holidays stipulates the issuance of vouchers and compensation to parents, which created problems. Parents are issued vouchers which they take to the camp authorities. Unfortunately, an income tax is levied on these vouchers, which the parents must pay, although initially taxation was not stipulated. In other words, parents have to pay taxes on compensation and social assistance. The Federal Tax Service claims that they are liable for the tax. Can we do something to help these parents?

As for Law No. 94, we have discussed this. As a non-state sector, we are ready to take part in tenders, but we have encountered a problem over the past two years. We know about the price, which should be knocked down, but the new problem concerns other companies participating in e-trading, which later operate through the Federal Antimonopoly Service to hinder the signing of contracts. No one needs the vouchers when the summer is over, but litigation drags on and tenders are put off again and again. There is also the issue of housing and utility fees, which influence pricing. Here is our opinion and proposals: as a private business, we need clear legislation that stipulates possible privileges for those who operate in the sphere of children’s leisure and health-building holidays. The same concerns the protection of property and land, housing and utility fees, as well as requirements for different categories of leisure and health-building holidays. This is all I wanted to say.

Dmitry Medvedev: Thank you. Next, please.

Nikolai Ivanyushkin (Director General of the Smena federal children’s centre, Krasnodar Territory): This is what I want to say. Allocations are made from the federal budget. You sign executive orders on sport competitions and games. The regions hold them – everything is fine. The final rounds are held at the Orlyonok, Smena and Okean camps. But it is a shame that some regions prevent their children from attending the competition finals. I would like you to address this issue.

Dmitry Medvedev: What does “prevent from attending” mean? What is it?

Nikolai Ivanyushkin: It means that not all regions send their teams.

Dmitry Medvedev: Oh, the teams.

Nikolai Ivanyushkin: The management of the Okean camp shares this view. This is my first question.

My second question: I am a deputy of the city council in Anapa, which you visited last year. The city’s residents would never forgive me if I didn’t ask you the following: Anapa is a wonderful city with 46 km of sandy beaches. But they are at risk now because of the advocated project to produce 20 million tonnes of sand near Anapa. Our sandy beaches are threatened. We are asking you to instruct the Natural Resources Ministry or anyone else to seriously consider this issue.

And lastly, we would like to thank you for your assistance last year to the Orlyonok, Smena and Okean camps. We now have new computer classes, other equipment and printing shops, which helped us diversify our programmes for children. Thank you.

Dmitry Medvedev: You’re welcome. Colleagues, I would like to listen to the ministers who are present here. Of course, they don’t have to deliver entire reports, but can simply comment on what’s been said here or possibly draw the attention of the regional and children’s camp authorities to current issue. Please.

Maxim Topilin (Minister of Labour and Social Security): Mr Medvedev, colleagues. A few words abut the problems raised here, starting with insurance.

I would like to remind you that when we joined the efforts to organise the summer health-building programmes, we coordinated them at the federal level. The issue of insurance was only raised in one region, the Tyumen Region. No other region considered the insurance issue. In the past three years, the number of regions requiring insurance has increased to 70, which is a no-nonsense situation. There are 47 federal camps, mostly part of the Defence Ministry. We simply need to analyse the situation to see why they don’t have an insurance option.

Regarding your instructions on mandatory insurance, if that provision is sealed in a protocol, we’ll see what we can do using the law on the basic guarantees of children’s rights, because this is the competence of the constituent entities. Or we could propose a framework regulation. In short, we will analyse the possibilities for a federal solution and report our findings.

The issue of sanitary regulations and standards indeed features prominently. I’d like to report on it. On May 3 last year in Sochi, you instructed us to draft a law stipulating harsher responsibility for violating sanitary regulations and standards. The Federation Council approved the bill the day before yesterday. Penalties for violating sanitary regulations and standards for health-building camps, which did not exist before – we only had water and foodstuff requirements - have been raised almost tenfold, to 150,000 roubles for repeat violations. We should analyse the expediency of the current sanitary regulations and standards. This issue was raised at a conference on social establishments in Tambov, which you chaired. We will join forces with the Healthcare Ministry to analyse this issue, which is very important.

As for using the camps’ facilities for other purposes, you also gave instructions on this issue. The regions have compiled a register this year. Only one camp was converted this year, but in fact a preschool was established on its premises, which cannot be regarded as a conversion at all. We will carry on the coordinating efforts. This year we have collected data from the regions for the first time ever – also acting in accordance with your instructions – which show that all regions now have development programmes for children’s camps. They didn’t have them before, but now all regions have them. For the first time ever, we can see how much has been invested in reconstruction, repairs, etc. – 10 billion roubles. Of course, all regions have asked us for assistance with this or that, and so we suggest – although we are aware of the complexity of this issue – that subsidies be stipulated for regional programmes that qualify and that are based on reliable figures. We could scrutinise this issue jointly with the Finance Ministry during the drafting of the budget and report to you on the possibilities based on the general situation.

Dmitry Medvedev: Good, thank you. Next, please.

Dmitry Livanov: Mr Medvedev, colleagues,

I’d like to speak about several projects. Firstly, as a ministry, we provide organisational and methodology assistance to the regions. This year, we developed and distributed teaching aids to train counselors for summer camps. It is important to set high standards for their training. Counselors working with children need to know what they can do and what they can’t do, and what is good for children. We encourage and promote student teaching crews during the summer. I am referring to students in teacher training colleges and universities. They need to work with kids over the summer; they need at least to spend time with kids. It would do them good I think. In 2011, we involved 15,000 students, but this number can still be increased considerably. I think this is important for both the students and the children. We are working on project concepts for 11 interregional camps. If your regions require any help with this, or, if you feel there are other issues you need support on, we will provide it – expert or methodological support.

Secondly, we have three national children’s camps which operate all year – Orlyonok, Smena and Okean. These camps should certainly set a very high standard. These are camps where children from around Russia as well as from other countries go for recreation and rest. This year, 40,000 children will be sent there free of charge. Their parents only pay a fee of 100 roubles. I don’t know why they should collect any fee at all, but there must be a reason for that. The parents pay this small fee while vouchers at one of those camps are much more expensive. There are development plans for each of these three camps – investment programmes supported by available resources. These camps’ capacity will at least double to 80,000 over the next three or four years.

Another important issue is additional education during summer holidays. I know from personal experience that all parents want their children not only to relax and spend time with friends during the summer, but also to learn something. We have some experience in this, and are summarising the best approaches. But we also need to expand them. We know that tens of million of school age children travel around the world annually, mainly to study foreign languages, primarily English. So we tried to find out how many Russian children go to foreign language schools in the summer. Although there are no official statistics, expert estimates suggest tens of thousands, which says there is a high demand for these programmes among families. Not all of them can pay for an expensive foreign summer school of course. We could meet them halfway here. We believe it would be a good idea to organise summer foreign-language schools at Russia’s best universities, when student dormitories are empty for the summer. This could be one of those projects that can be organised without major investment.

Summer schools at universities could also emphasise science and new technology, which is another important area. This could produce a positive byproduct, to provide secondary school students with career counseling. 

What are our plans for the next few years? The government education development programme includes support of all these projects. We will award grants each year and support competitive initiatives, both public and private, that are aimed at summer foreign language, science and new technology programmes for schoolchildren. We will continue developing a network of interregional summer camps. We will summarise the best teaching practices available, awarding grants and providing other kinds of support. So colleagues, we are at your service. All the initiatives will be examined and supported as much as possible. Thank you.

Dmitry Medvedev: Thank you Mr Livanov. Ms Skvortsova, go ahead please (addressing Veronika Skvortsova).

Veronika Skvortsova: Thank you Mr Medvedev. Esteemed colleagues, sanitary-epidemic safety as well as provision of healthcare are most important conditions for children’s recreation in summer. Another important practice is organising routine health-improvement events. Therefore, I would like to make a few points relating to the issues raised here.

Firstly, the Healthcare Ministry, the Federal Service for the Oversight in Healthcare, and the Consumer Rights Protection Service have conducted a comprehensive assessment of summer camps to see if they are ready to receive children. Interdepartmental commissions were set up last summer in each of Russia’s 83 regions. The standards for summer recreation camps were revised in November 2011. At the same time, as Mr Topilin (Maxim Topilin) already said, the content of the existing sanitary regulations needs to be reviewed. At this point, there are clear rules for four types of recreation camps: full-board, day centres, tourist and work camps. Other speakers have mentioned that there are other types of recreation camps. We will soon revise the existing sanitary rules, removing excessive restrictions, if any, and make specific lists for each type of camp.

Secondly, this spring, we saw an onslaught of mites in a number of Russian regions. The incidence of mite encephalitis has grown too, although not as sharply. The hardest hit is the Volga Federal District, mostly three regions -- Bashkortostan, Udmurtia and the Perm Territory, where cases of mite bites jumped 30%-80%. Fortunately, only 51 cases of mite encephalitis have been recorded so far, but the number of bites is far greater of course.

We examined 83,000 mites removed from patients. Out of that number, 6% were potential carriers of encephalitis. In Siberia, the incidence of mite infection fell 60% this spring due to comprehensive insecticide treatment. This year we treated 20% more land – 41,439 hectares. However, some regions neglected this problem. We will analyse the results and report back.

My next point is the quality of healthcare services at summer camps. Regulations were approved for the first time on May 24 for the provision of medical services to children during organised rehabilitation and rest, including the requirements for the necessary medical post equipment, personnel, pharmaceuticals and other medical products. The executive order discussed today, No 302, adopted in January, has been revised.

Dmitry Medvedev: Is this a law or an order?

Veronica Skvortsova: This federal law lays out a set of qualifications and requirements for those who work at various hazardous production facilities or at responsible production facilities, including work with children. Previously, such qualifications and requirements were based on sanitary regulations and standards. The need for medical checkups was noted. Applicants were supposed to visit therapists, dermatologists, venereal disease experts, to be tested for gastro-intestinal infections, for tuberculosis, etc. The revised list of medical specialists now includes psychiatrists and narcologists. This is very important today. In addition, applicants must have a chest X-ray to see whether their lungs have any latent forms of tuberculosis, and whether they contain any bacilli. We are ready to revise this list still further and, maybe, even simplify it in some respects, but, of course, these key positions must remain.

And now I would like to say a few words about allowing doctors to work at summer camps. There are two camp categories. The first category includes 32 major camps, which have independent medical licenses. This includes camps on the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus. The remaining 80% of all camps hire medical personnel from nearby medical institutions on contract. We believe that these issues have been settled.

And now the last thing. Over the past year, the Ministry of Healthcare and Social Development implemented a comprehensive programme to draft special health-improvement procedures for children. These procedures include the most advanced experience. Consequently, various programmes to promote these procedures were compiled. I would like to note just a few, including a responsible attitude towards one’s health and future career. This is quite important for young people. Moreover, I would like to note the importance of health and an attractive appearance; personal hygiene; the basic principles of a healthy diet; injury prevention; smoking prevention; alcohol and drug abuse prevention and other programmes. Right now, we continue to cooperate with the regions to choose the most promising and interesting healthcare projects. Overall, we are prepared to provide medical assistance for children, and we hope that this season will pass without incidents, and that the younger generation will benefit from their camp days. Thank you.

Dmitry Medvedev: Thank you very much, Ms Skvortsova. Colleagues, I would like to say a few more words to sum up our discussion.

First, I would like to note the priorities of these various documents. Of course, agencies overseeing healthcare, labour and standardisation issues will always promote stronger demands. Those involved in the day to day work will say that such demands are excessive. Nevertheless, I would like us to assess the relevance of sanitary regulations and standards and other methods being applied in this area in continuation of what has just been noted by the Minister of Healthcare. You see, such standards and methods are sometimes correct but absolutely impracticable and even excessive. In some cases, the required provisions are lacking. Overall, we need to monitor the situation. Please consider the situation in the context of what has been noted by today’s speakers.

And now let’s discuss purchases and how it should be organised. Generally, I agree that this should be more rational. A number of invalid regulations or other regulations that promote the manipulation with state purchases must be revised, including during the finalisation of the law on the state contracts system. It appears that we must also take advantage of the opportunities arising from the conclusion of a contract with an outside organisation, which tackles this issue, and the transfer of the right to fulfill some services to outside organisations, as mentioned by Mr Shoigu. I don’t know how this can be accomplished in general, but it’s necessary to introduce some elements of outsourcing at major educational and healthcare institutions for children. The idea of public-private partnership, which was mentioned in some speeches, should, of course, be supported as much as possible. But it is obvious that such partnerships will always be based on mutual sympathy. Moreover, it’s impossible to impose anything on anyone.

As for insurance, I would like to note once again that I consider this issue to be extremely important. At the same time, we need to remember the practical experience of concluding such contracts. One can hardly discuss mandatory insurance in the context of insurance legislation here. Of course, this does not amount to mandatory insurance. Anyway, this will be voluntary insurance, but it is in our power to facilitate the conclusion of the relevant contract. This amounts to a voluntary insurance contract. But it can de facto become part of a package required to send a child to a summer camp.

As for current regulations regarding medical personnel, Ms Skvortsova has noted that some of the requirements might have to be modified. On the one hand, we must, of course, monitor the health of the children. Overall, I believe that an in depth analysis of this is a positive thing.

Quite possibly, we must think about the pace of leisure camp organisational regulatory documents for private companies. Notably, this implies the definition of summer camps and their types. If current regulations hinder, rather than facilitate, this process, then I don’t object to introducing more detailed and more concise legislation.

Voucher taxation issues are something more complicated. In reality, we can address these issues the way our colleagues do, but, frankly speaking, we can also address them the way they are being addressed by the Tax Service and the Ministry of Finance. Let’s look at all the factors. I’m issuing a directive to merely review the scale of this problem. What consequences will in fact result from repealing this tax?

The camps and holiday hotels, which were owned and are owned by existing and non-existent state agencies are a real problem. No matter where I go, the governors always tell me that some private company owns a summer camp and that the owner wants to sell the camp, just get rid of it and save the money. Last year or the year before, I threatened them with consequences, and everyone stopped pushing for this. I recently visited the Tambov Region, and I was shown precisely such a facility. They’re not selling it because they are afraid. At the same time, they aren’t doing anything because they don’t want to bother. I believe that we need to search for individual troubleshooting options tailored to specific regions. Some camps can be purchased, and an agreement on other camps can be reached in line with the public-private partnership concept. There is not really any one solution, but we need to do something about this situation.

And now I would like to say a few words about children’s competitions, including the competitions you are organising. I fully support this idea, but we need to send out a message to the regions because this must be their decision. I believe that this is a good issue, and we must find some small allocation to accomplish this objective.

I’ll discuss some particular issues with my colleagues.

Dear friends, managers of children’s institutions, please consider these things because the summer season lasts three months. This season is even longer in some regions.

You will still have to do a lot. I wish you every success. Goodbye.

Адрес страницы в сети интернет: http://archive.government.ru/eng/docs/19115/