Agenda: Provision of free medicines to children under six from large families; progress in implementing the integrated territorial development mechanism.

Mikhail Mishustin's opening remarks

Marat Khusnullin's report on the progress in implementing the integrated territorial development mechanism

Excerpts from the transcript:

Mikhail Mishustin: Good morning, colleagues,

Today we will begin with an important issue concerning support for large families. The President has repeatedly stressed the need to give special attention to families with three or more children and to create all the necessary conditions for them.

A comprehensive system of social protection has been established for this purpose, covering a range of areas. It includes payments to parents, utility subsidies and additional pension benefits.

One of the most in-demand measures is assistance with children's treatment in large families. Medicines are provided free of charge to children under six. Parents can obtain prescribed medicines for their children by prescription from designated pharmacies. This decision has been approved on instructions from our President. It is essential to ensure that children receive what they need for recovery, growth and development.

As funding for this support measure was financed from regional budgets, prescriptions had to be issued by regional medical organisations. In practice, this meant that parents had to apply there even when a child was receiving treatment under the compulsory health insurance system at a federal clinic, spending time on an additional visit to obtain subsidised medicines instead of caring for a sick child.

To eliminate such situations, the Government is revising the current procedure. Free prescriptions for children under six will now also be issued at the medical institution where the child is registered, including federal healthcare facilities.

We expect that this simplified mechanism will be more convenient for large families. Parents will be able to obtain the necessary documents for their children's treatment more quickly.

Moving on to another topic.

The President has consistently emphasised the importance of creating a comfortable and safe living environment for citizens across Russia's regions. This is also one of the national development goals.

A broad set of instruments is being used to improve living standards, renovate housing, modernise public spaces, and develop and upgrade infrastructure. Among them is the integrated territorial development mechanism, which covers virtually all of these areas.

The Strategy for the Development of the Construction Sector and Housing and Utilities sets the target of adopting at least one thousand decisions on the use of this mechanism in the regions by 2030.

Last year, the President, for the first time, instructed us to provide for the necessary financing in the federal budget to support a number of constituent entities in implementing integrated territorial development projects.

This mechanism became fully operational five years ago, when the necessary regulatory framework was put in place. Mr Khusnullin, please outline the results achieved over this period and the plans going forward.

: Mr Mishustin, colleagues,

Last year we launched a new national project, Infrastructure for Life. Its main objective is the comprehensive renovation of towns and cities to create comfortable living conditions. One of the most effective instruments for delivering high-quality transformation of urban areas and rural communities is the integrated territorial development mechanism.

Experience has shown that this is one of the most successful, necessary and in-demand legislative initiatives of the Government. Considerable work has been carried out in this area jointly with the regions.

As you have noted, we had set the task of adopting no fewer than one thousand integrated territorial development decisions by 2030. This target has been met ahead of schedule. As of 1 April, 1,101 decisions have been adopted. They cover areas with an urban development potential exceeding 153 million square metres of real estate, of which 108 million square metres is housing.

Over the past five years, 4.4 million square metres of real estate, including 3.6 million square metres of housing, have been built in the regions in accordance with comprehensive territorial development projects.

This work is gaining momentum each year, with regions expanding their efforts and federal land plots being brought into use. At present, we are working with the regions on a total of around 2,000 sites with a combined area of 43,500 hectares and a development potential of 300 million square metres.

Given the substantial volumes of housing construction in recent years, available land plots have largely been exhausted, and further development of settlements is now only possible through integrated territorial development. In other words, this is the principal tool for addressing the task.

Integrated territorial development is a mechanism that directly improves the quality of the living environment. It makes it possible to develop residential areas together with all the necessary social, engineering, and transport infrastructure from the outset. It has effectively become a driver bringing together a number of comprehensive programmes. For example, over the past two to three years, around 500,000 square metres of dilapidated and unsafe housing have been demolished with minimal budgetary involvement, and 23,000 people in 35 regions have moved to new flats.

Overall, more than one million people have been resettled from unsafe housing since 2019 as part of national projects.

The newly incorporated regions have joined this programme for the first time, and comprehensive territorial development programmes are also implemented there.

The Infrastructure for Life national project prioritises comprehensive territorial development. I would remind you that all targets set for 2025 have been met. We have also completed a record level of real estate, at 150 million square metres.

Work has continued into the first quarter, with 23 million square metres completed. Mortgages continue to be issued, and the urban improvement programme is being actively implemented. Around 80,000 public and courtyard spaces have been upgraded. It is important that residents themselves are involved in shaping a comfortable urban environment, as they best understand how their communities should develop.

The construction sector remains one of the drivers of economic growth and of improving living conditions. Thanks to your support and the Government's coordinated work with the regions, we have been able to maintain this momentum despite challenging conditions. We will continue this work for the benefit of the country's citizens.

Mikhail Mishustin: Thank you, Mr Khusnullin. The integrated territorial development mechanism is indeed being used very actively. It is important to continue expanding its capacity in order to ensure the sustainable development of Russian cities and territories for years to come.