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14.12.2022

The deputies considered law-in-draft proposing to replace the annual distribution of school supplies with a cash payment for children from large families whose average income is below the subsistence level at a plenary session of the Supreme Council. The annual amount under the current legislation is 24 minimum wages (232 rubles 80 kopecks). The state centrally purchases and issues school stationery by the beginning of the school year for this amount. About 6000 low-income large families receive such support.

The legislative initiative was developed on the basis of requests from parents who wish to buy their children the necessary stationery for the required amount. The deputies note that there is a category of asocial parents who can spend state money for other purposes. The Committee on Social Policy, which supported the idea of changes, proposed amendments to provide for a control mechanism for providing state assistance to families with many children. The law-in-draft did not find support among many deputies and raised questions.

It was supposed to prescribe a control mechanism at the sub-legislative level, providing, for example, for issuing certificates for the purchase of office suppliesо, according to First Deputy Minister for Social Protection and Labor Sergei Seleznev.

Chairman of the Supreme Council Alexander Korshunov noted that the relevant ministry is placing a wholesale order in order to implement measures to support low-income large families. The price of notebooks and pens is lower than retail in this case.

It has developed that by the time the state stationery is issued, many parents already have a set of notebooks, pens and pencils in practice. Therefore, according to the speaker, it is necessary to issue school stationery in advance in order not to repeat the set of stationery. But, it is difficult to consider this option in practice, since the list of schoolchildren is formed only by the end of August according to Deputy Prime Minister Stanislav Kasap. Chairman of the Supreme Council Alexander Korshunov proposed to maintain the current mechanism of state support in 2023 through the issuance of office supplies. The children will definitely be provided with the necessary supplies for the school in this case. The law-in-draft on cash payment in the amount of 24 minimum wages did not get the required number of votes of deputies and was rejected as a whole.