Press Release, 11.12.2020

Lev Shlosberg and Artur Gaiduk, deputies of the Pskov Regional Assembly from Yabloko, submitted to the Pskov Regional Assembly 18 amendments and 25 proposals to the draft budget of the Pskov region for 2021. All the amendments are targeted at the increase of funding for health care. Artur Gaiduk and Lev Shlosberg proposed to redistribute 780 million roubles in the budget of the Pskov region.

On December 11 they will be considered by a conciliatory commission.

All the Yabloko amendments can be divided into four blocks: increase in the salary fund for employees of medical institutions of the Pskov region who work with coronavirus patients, preservation of regional additional payments to medical workers interacting with coronavirus infection for the whole of 2021, preservation of preferential drug provision at the level of 2020 and provision of a fire department security in the Pskov Perinatal Centre.

15 out of 18 amendments are aimed at increasing the payroll of all medical organisations in the region working with coronavirus patients. According to the initiative of the deputies of the Pskov branch of Yabloko, the wage fund should be increased by 7%, and not by 3%, as is currently planned. Funds in the amount of 78,541,000 roubles, according to politicians, should be spent on increasing the wages of healthcare workers.

It should be noted that the draft regional budget for 2021 was adopted in the first reading at the November session of the regional parliament. A conciliatory commission of five deputies of the regional parliament and five representatives of the executive branch has been working on the draft budget before the second reading on a daily basis since December 8. The conciliatory commission included representatives of all parliamentary factions (Lev Shlosberg from Yabloko) and all deputy governors of the Pskov region.

The amendments and proposals of the Pskov branch of Yabloko will be examined at the meeting of the commission on December 11.