The heads of government departments
concerned with social services and the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation
have made an agreement on joint working

A
meeting between Olga Golodets, deputy premier for social issues, and Elena
Topoleva, chair of the public chamber’s committee for social policy, industrial
relations and quality of life issues, took place on 20 June in government
offices. The following issues were on the agenda: formulation of a nationwide
social policy; increasing joint working with socially oriented NGOs;
development of corporate social responsibility; and involvement of specialists
and representatives of civil society in the work of those parts of the
government that were concerned with social matters. The meeting concluded with
agreements being made for joint working.

In
the opinion of the participants it is time for social services to be
modernised, remodelled and then replaced by a system of social support. In
essence this would entail a broad preventative approach to social problems and
a transition to comprehensive support for those in serious difficulties. The
social support model would allow for bringing all interested parties into the
work and not only state and municipal institutions. The respective functions of
commissioning  and supplying social
services would need to be separated and helpful conditions created for
competition and the work of socially oriented NGOs and for benefactors. All in
all this would help many people to overcome a difficult life situation and make
it possible for those with disabilities to lead a worthwhile life outside the
hospital. This would be impossible without revising the thrust of the Basis of
Social Services Provision to the Population of the Russian Federation Law and
making amendments to the Civil Code of the Russian Federation as well as to
other pieces of legislation.

Ms
Golodets and Ms Topoleva had separate discussions about the issue of allowing
benefactors and socially oriented NGOs to join in financing treatment or
participating in other activities carried out by the state for the purpose of
providing medical, social and other support to the population. All levels of
government will have to pay regard to the outcome of their discussions. It was
not possible to get to this stage in previous years. But  some positive developments in regard to
social partnership and inter-sectoral co-operation have occurred thanks to the
support programme for socially oriented NGOs co-ordinated by the federal
ministry of economic development. The approaches to working with these NGOs
contained in the programme should be disseminated to other ministries and departments
and also relayed to regions and municipalities; for instance concerning the
need to anticipate the amount of financial provision to be made in budgets for
the purpose of subsidising regional programmes for the support of socially
oriented NGOs.

Ms
Golodets undertook to assist in the process of improving the non-commercial
legislation involving the introduction of amendments into the new version of
the civil code that had had its first reading (supported by the federal public
chamber, the ministry of economic development, and federation council
senators). Also in view are amendments to the legislation dealing with payment
agents so as to legalise the receipt of donations via terminals that accept
cash. A number of consultative bodies are to be set up, in particular a council
of trustees and benefactors, for the purpose of discussing and resolving these
and other questions under the auspices of Ms Golodets’ office.

http://www.asi.org.ru/ASI3/rws_asi.nsf/va_WebPages/426B120A073A319C44257A2400421776Rus