Translated material
The young family has grown older
And the ambulance is faster
First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev spoke yesterday at a plenary meeting of the State Duma with a report on the responsible area of work entrusted to him by the head of state - the implementation of national projects. This is not the first time that one of the main candidates for successor to the president comes to the lower house of parliament to report on national projects. And deputies usually take these meetings more than seriously. Especially against the backdrop of the rapidly growing rating of the First Deputy Prime Minister.Mr. Medvedev began his report with health care, noting that thanks to the national project, an influx of personnel began into the primary level of medical care - local services, which were characterized by chronic understaffing and low quality of treatment. “It is important that today the work of local therapists, pediatricians, and general practitioners has again become prestigious,” rejoiced the first vice. He also recalled that, in addition to the original plans, the wages of 160 thousand workers in paramedic stations and emergency medical services were increased. In total, salaries and other payments were increased for 680 thousand health workers. Thousands of doctors have improved their skills, and the situation with medical equipment has improved. As a result, as Dmitry Medvedev noted, the ambulance arrival time was reduced to 25 minutes on average, which is 10 minutes faster than a year ago.
Speaking about the national project in the field of education, the First Deputy Prime Minister also readily cited figures: over the year, more than 12 thousand school classrooms of chemistry, physics and biology were equipped with educational and visual aids, about 4 thousand school buses were purchased, more than 11 billion rubles. aimed at additional payments to teachers for classroom management (almost 900 thousand teachers received them). More than 20 thousand schools, including rural ones, are provided with Internet access.
The national project in agriculture, according to Mr. Medvedev, “gave a serious impetus to the development of small forms of farming in rural areas.” At the end of 2006, the total volume of loans issued amounted to 40 billion rubles, which is almost 15 times more than in 2005.
As for the most complex and, perhaps, the most important project for Russians, “Affordable and Comfortable Housing,” the First Deputy Prime Minister was inspired by the increase in the volume of mortgage loans issued. According to the Bank of Russia, as of October last year, loans worth 160 billion rubles were issued. “This exceeds the specified parameters by 40%,” noted Mr. Medvedev. True, it is still very difficult to call housing “affordable”.
The First Deputy Prime Minister noted that the day before, at a meeting of the Presidium of the Council on Priority National Projects, the issue of supporting young families purchasing housing was considered. “In 2006, 33 thousand young families received such support, 12 thousand of them in rural areas,” the speaker said. Mr Medvedev said a decision had been made to “soften some of the rigidities” that were introduced last year in the provision of housing to young people. In particular, it is proposed to raise the age threshold for those who can be considered a young family to 30 years.
Separately, Dmitry Medvedev focused on issues of demography, “to which the president has attracted special public attention.” He noted that the demographic situation remains very serious. The problem, he said, needs to be solved holistically: by reducing mortality and regulating migration issues. Mr. Medvedev, of course, told the deputies that on January 1, 2007, a maternity capital program was launched, which is provided to women who have given birth to their second and subsequent children. “ The first certificates for maternity capital have already been received,” the First Deputy Prime Minister shared his joy. - The goal was not to give a woman money, but to have this money work to strengthen the family, the woman’s decision to have children. In our country, a woman can still be motivated to have a child with money. This cannot be done in the countries of old Europe. Therefore, all decisions on maternity capital are relevant and will begin to work very soon.”
Benefits for child care up to one and a half years were also increased. For the first child, 1,500 rubles will be paid, for the second and subsequent children - 3,000 rubles.
After Mr. Medvedev's speech, deputies asked him questions, and then representatives of all Duma factions spoke. Member of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation faction Ivan Melnikov expressed the opinion that “the benign picture that has now been painted for us has no relation to the real situation with national projects.” He cited the national education project as an example, noting that it “has no general idea, which makes it resemble a patchwork quilt.” The deputy is convinced: 1000 rubles. as an additional payment to teachers for class management - a meager amount. At the same time, in order to receive additional payment, teachers must provide a report on 17 positions. “Many teachers are already ready to give up this thousand,” said Comrade Melnikov.
LDPR leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky, as always, showed originality. He said that it is not worth spending money on subsidized medications, since not a single chronic disease is curable anyway. “And we are throwing away a huge amount of money - here you go, grandparents, medicine,” complained Mr. Zhirinovsky. Instead, in his opinion, the emphasis should be on agriculture, because proper nutrition is the key to health.
First Deputy Speaker of the State Duma from the United Russia faction Oleg Morozov told his colleagues that United Russia members share responsibility for national projects with the Russian President. “He (the president - Ed. ) has repeatedly discussed this topic with the parliamentary majority,” Mr. Morozov boasted. In his opinion, the correct holistic approach was chosen when developing national projects. He also considered the fact that performers report on the work done and “the degree of publicity in the implementation of national projects has noticeably increased” to be positive.