Transcript of the beginning of the meeting:
Vladimir Putin: Let us discuss how effectively budget money is used, including the instrument of a long-term targeted programme. Go ahead.
Alexei Kudrin: In line with the new budget strategy in the post-crisis period, we are planning to cut the federal budget deficit while at the same time getting a much higher return on every rouble of budget money.
Our key strategy will be not to increase financing of individual sectors, but rather to increase the return on the already high level of expenditure which grew every year. Over the past several few years budget spending has increased 20% or even 30% a year. In 2009, for example, it increased 30%, almost by one-third, in spite of the crisis.
This approach will be impossible in the crisis and post-crisis periods. We believe that we have reached a sufficiently high level of government spending and the focus should shift to greater effectiveness. This is the opinion of both the experts and the consumers of our budget assets. Federal programmes should be more thoroughly planned and should be more efficient.
So the task force you have created, which is co-chaired by Sergei Sobyanin (Deputy Prime Minister and Chief of the Government Executive Office) and myself, has prepared the concept of a programme to ensure more efficient budget spending.
We expect the task force to discuss and approve the concept before February 5. And by April 1 we expect the programme to be approved. All the ministries and agencies will be involved in implementing this programme.
One of the keys of the programme is the use of result-oriented mechanisms. The long-term targeted programme will be one new mechanism.
At present about 15% of the budget is spent under targeted programmes. The rest of the budget is used to finance measures the ministries and agencies are planning. Only the so-called federal targeted programmes...
Vladimir Putin: Are tied to a result.
Alexei Kudrin: Yes, tied to a result. So our task is to have all the ministries and agencies convert all or most of their spending into federal targeted programmes over the next year or two. We need to substantially increase the proportion of targeted programmes in the budget within a year, and in two years the bulk of the budget should be spent under targeted programmes.
The long-term targeted programme will in fact replace the federal targeted programmes. It covers all the expenditures of the ministries and agencies and supplements budget financing methods with state regulation that is at the disposal of the ministries and agencies within their scopes of authority.
In other words, it is a comprehensive programme geared not only to the use of budget assets, but also to achieving an objective by all the means at the disposal of the state, both budgetary means and regulatory means. It starts with technical regulation and ends with licensing and supervision of various sectors.
Then we will have a better idea of the cost at which certain results are achieved. For example, we will count more carefully the tax benefits used to achieve this or that result. At present they are not counted at all.
I repeat, the whole range of tools will be used. Naturally, within two years we will be able to present the budget in a new format: not by functional or departmental items, but by long-term targeted programmes.
Budget item classification will change. It will be based on the codes of long-term targeted programmes and not simply on departmental programmes. Results in education, healthcare and security will be achieved through these instruments.
The ministries and agencies will of course continue to be the main programme managers, implementers and regulators. Responsibilities will be clearly assigned because people must be held accountable if a result is to be achieved.
These are some of the approaches that apply to relations between the budgets of different levels, the status of budget-financed institutions, and their authority under these programmes.
We are talking about a range of documents. For example, the programme and principles of state procurement will be revised and updated. As part of all this work, we propose to significantly increase the proportion of government spending on new technology and innovation. The state and state-owned companies are major consumers of all types of goods. If the state increases demand for innovative products, it will in effect stimulate our enterprises and the business sector overall to innovate.
So, that will be an important part of the programme. We hope to be able to make procurements seeking not only a low price, but also new categories of procurement, a new level of quality and thus stimulate demand for more efficient production.
We will also push businesses to work more effectively. Again, the programme is to be ready by about April 1. Thereafter, of course, every ministry and agency is expected to take the relevant measures under the programme guidelines, and that could take anywhere from two weeks to a year.
Vladimir Putin: I see. In proposing new solutions for more efficient spending, we should not forget about our day-to-day concerns.
We have passed the budget law on schedule, but for this process to start, some legislation must be passed.
Alexei Kudrin: Ninety-two out of the required ninety-four acts have already been passed.
Vladimir Putin: First, the remaining two acts must be passed and second, their implementation must be launched.
Alexei Kudrin: I can tell you that all your instructions and understanding with United Russia during the preparation of the budget to ensure full authority to conduct tenders by the start of the year, have been fulfilled.
Formerly, we never handed down all the budgetary commitments. The ministries and agencies got them by December 7, and starting December 7 they had the right to prepare tenders and announce auctions.
As of December 7, 450 billion roubles remained blocked because the 94 supporting acts had to be issued.
As of today, we have released 350 billion, with only 100 billion roubles remaining blocked mainly because of the lack of these two acts and some internal departmental acts inside ministries and agencies.
We will release the 100 billion roubles as the Finance Ministry's treasury receives these departmental acts. A hundred billion is a little over 1% of the federal budget. We have typically had between 17% and 18% blocked in the previous years. Today it is 1%.
So the directives you issued when the budget was pending before the Duma, among other things, have been fulfilled.
Vladimir Putin: Good.