The following issues are scheduled for discussion at the Government meeting on November 29, 2012:
Social Support for Citizens draft state programme
The state programme aims to improve social security for certain population groups, to support families, and to develop an effective social services system.
The programme consists of four sub-programmes: Social Support Development for Certain Population Groups; Modernisation and Development of Social Services for the Population; Social Support Improvement for Families and Children; and Enhancing the Effectiveness of State Support for Socially Oriented Non-Profit Organisations.
2. Culture and Tourism Development draft state programme
The state programme outlines the development of culture and tourism in Russia through 2020, and includes a system of public policy measures and mechanisms to accomplish state policy priorities and objectives in culture and tourism in the course of implementing major government functions.
The state programme includes the following sub-programmes: Heritage; Art; and, Tourism. Integrated into this state programme are such federal targeted programmes as the Culture of Russia (2012-2018) and the Domestic and Incoming Tourism Development in the Russian Federation (2011-2018).
3. Draft federal law On the Business Ombudsmen in the Russian Federation and On Introducing Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation Due to the Adoption of the Federal Law On Business Ombudsmen in the Russian Federation
The Constitution ensures the right of all citizens to freely use their abilities and their property for entrepreneurial and for other legal economic activities.
The establishment of the Business Ombudsman institution will create additional safeguards for the protection and the free exercise of this right.
The need to create this institution is explained by the fact that entrepreneurs are frequently unable to independently resolve issues related to the violation of their rights and their legitimate interests, especially when they experience regulatory barriers, bureaucratic pressure, and corruption on the part of government officials.
The draft federal laws define the legal status and the primary tasks and responsibilities of the Presidential Business Ombudsman and the regional business ombudsmen.
Particularly, the Presidential Business Ombudsman will have the following major responsibilities:
To implement these tasks, the Presidential Business Ombudsman will:
· visit detention facilities without obtaining a special permission in cases stipulated by federal law;
4. Distributing subsidies from the federal budget to the regions in 2012 to co-finance regional spending commitments within the activities of the state programme for Agricultural Development and Regulation of Agricultural Products, Commodities and Food, 2008-2012
The draft government directive approves the redistribution of subsidies in 2012 to co-finance regional spending commitments for the following activities under the state programme:
As part of partially reimbursing the costs of agricultural producers and firms – as well as farmers and agricultural consumer cooperatives – for interest payments on investment loans from banks and loans provided by agricultural credit unions in 2004-2012 for two to ten years regardless of their legal form, about 1.689 billion roubles in subsidies will be redistributed due to the failure of 15 regions to use these subsidies and because the remaining budget funds for these purposes have not been distributed.
These funds will be provided to 50 regions based on their actual additional demand.
As part of partially reimbursing the costs of agricultural producers – apart from household plot owners and agricultural consumer cooperatives – and agricultural companies, regardless of their legal form, as well as farmers and consumer cooperative organisations for interest payments on investment loans from Russian banks and loans provided by agricultural credit unions in 2009-2012 for up to one year, about 3.030 billion roubles in subsidies will be redistributed due to the failure of 16 regions to use these subsidies and budget savings in other areas of the state programme.
These funds will be provided to 48 regions based on their actual additional demand. As part of partially reimbursing the costs of household plot owners, agricultural consumer cooperatives, and farm owners for interest payments on investment loans from Russian banks and loans provided by agricultural credit unions in 2005-2012 for up to eight years, about 1.134 billion roubles in subsidies will be redistributed due to the failure of 55 regions to use these subsidies.
Of these funds, 590 million roubles will be provided to 10 regions that have an additional need for these subsidies, and 543.7 million roubles will be provided to increase the limit of the budget funds allocated for subsidising the interest rate on short-term loans extended for up to one year.
As part of the activities to support the delivery of seeds for fodder crop production to the Far North and similar areas, including crop production on low-yielding lands, about 478.1 million roubles in subsidies will be redistributed due to the failure to use these subsidies in seven regions. Of this amount, 39.4 million roubles will be provided to two regions, which will require additional subsidies for these purposes, and 438.7 million roubles will be provided to increase the limit of the budget allocations to subsidise the interest rate on short-term loans taken for up to one year.
As part of the activities aimed at supporting flax and hemp production, 61.5 million roubles in subsidies will be redistributed due to the failure to use them in three regions as a result of reduced flax fibre production in 2012. Of this amount, 46.6 million roubles will be allocated to 11 regions requiring additional subsidies for these purposes, and 14.9 million roubles will be used to increase the limit of budget allocations to subsidise the interest rate on short-term loans taken for up to one year.
As part of the activities to partially reimburse the cost of purchasing crop protection chemicals, 39.2 million roubles in subsidies will be redistributed due to the failure to use these subsidies in eight subjects. Subsidies will be provided to 26 regions that need additional funding for these purposes.
As part of the activities to partially reimburse agricultural producers’ insurance costs for agricultural crops, perennial plantation yields, and perennial crop planting, about 1.612 billion roubles in subsidies will be redistributed due to the failure to use them in 40 regions as a result of the decrease in the cultivation area that was planned for insuring. Of this amount, 153.1 million roubles will be allocated to 11 regions that need additional subsidies for these purposes, and about 1.459 billion roubles will be used to increase the limit of budget allocations to subsidise the interest rate on short-term loans taken for up to one year.
As part of the activities to support elite seed farming, 203.4 million roubles in subsidies will be redistributed due to the failure to use them in 15 regions. These funds will be allocated to 35 regions that need additional subsidies for these purposes.
As part of the activities to partially reimburse agricultural producers’ costs for purchasing chemicals under the Preservation and Restoration of the Soil Fertility of Agricultural Land and the Agricultural Landscape as Russia’s National Heritage in 2006-2010 and up until 2013 federal targeted programme, about 179.3 million roubles in subsidies will be redistributed due to the failure to use them in 15 regions. These funds will be allocated to 53 regions that need additional subsidies for these purposes.
5. Allocating other transfers from the federal budget to the regional budgets in 2012 for paying Presidential and Government scholarships to students and graduate students enrolled in programmes corresponding with the priority modernisation and technological development areas of the national economy
The Ministry of Education and Science has submitted the following draft Government directives:
- On the distribution of other transfers from the federal budget to the regional budgets in 2012 for paying the Presidential scholarship to full-time undergraduate and graduate students of regional and municipal higher educational and post-graduate professional training institutions, as well as research institutions, who are enrolled in state-accredited programmes corresponding with the national economy’s priority modernisation and technological development areas. The transfers are offered for eight calendar months from January 1 of the current fiscal year, between the budgets of the regions;
- On the distribution of other transfers in 2012 from the federal budget to the regional budgets for paying the Government scholarship to full-time undergraduate and graduate students of higher educational, post-graduate professional training institutions, and research institutions, who are enrolled in state-accredited higher educational and post-graduate professional training programmes corresponding with the national economy’s priority modernisation and technological development areas, as well as vocational training and research institutions under the jurisdiction of regional executive bodies, and municipal vocational training and research institutions. The transfers are offered for eight calendar months from January 1 of the current fiscal year between the budgets of the regions;
- On the distribution of other transfers from the federal budget to the regional budgets in 2012 for paying the Government scholarship to full-time students enrolled in primary vocational training programmes at state-accredited primary and secondary vocational training institutions corresponding with the national economy’s priority modernisation and technological development areas, as well as regional and municipal vocational training institutions. The transfers are provided for four calendar months from September 1 of the current fiscal year.
6. Introducing changes in the membership of the Government Presidium
Under the draft directive, Minister of Regional Development Igor Slyunyayev and Minister of Defence Sergei Shoigu are included in the Government Presidium, and former ministers Oleg Govorun and Anatoly Serdyukov are removed from the Government Presidium.
Moscow,
November 28, 2012
* Press releases by the Department of Press Service and Information are based on the materials submitted by the federal executive bodies for discussion by the Government meeting.
