Payments by September 1 for children: what happens to the bill

Getting children ready for school is becoming more and more of an unbearable burden for Russian families: incomes are falling, prices are rising. Many parents counted on state assistance, especially since a year ago, against the backdrop of a pandemic, families with children were paid a “school” allowance of 10 thousand. Alas, history did not repeat itself this year. Now there is only hope for a draft law submitted to the State Duma on annual payments to families with schoolchildren. But there is little chance of its adoption, since the authorship of the document does not belong to the party in power.

The bill was prepared by a group of deputies from A Just Russia, headed by the first deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on Education, Yana Lantratova. The authors propose to establish an annual payment of 21,850 rubles to families with children from 6 to 18 years old who are enrolled in programs of primary basic and secondary general education.

The explanatory note provides a detailed financial justification. Thus, last year, according to Rosstat, a school enrollment cost boys an average of 19,575 rubles, girls – 24,123 rubles. This set includes nine items of clothing – naturally great for boys and girls, as well as five ballpoint pens and pencils, four notebooks of 12 sheets, a set of felt-tip pens, an album, a backpack and textbooks.

For families recognized as poor, the bill plans to establish an increased payment of 34,679 rubles, including an additional 12,829 rubles in it – this is the average price of a tablet in the country. The tablet in the schoolchild’s basket did not appear by chance, but as a result of the previous pandemic experience of distance learning.

It is assumed that citizens will be able to apply for the appointment of an annual payment from January 1 to November 1 of the current year at the place of residence either to the social security authority or through the MFC. The annual payment, in turn, will have to be made in June-December of the corresponding calendar year in which the right to receive it arises.

Based on the current number of schoolchildren and students, the amount of financial costs will be at least 454 billion rubles a year. But it is important to emphasize here that if the law is adopted, the corresponding funds from the federal budget for its implementation will need to be allocated every year, starting from 2023. It is unlikely that the executive branch will agree to this, especially given the current economic difficulties.

This is clearly evidenced by the negative response to this bill, prepared by the government. In it, however, the emphasis is not on the lack of funds in the treasury, but on the fact that it is not necessary to help all families in a row, but targeted only to those in need. However, when last year, at the suggestion of President Putin, all families with schoolchildren were given a one-time payment of 10,000 rubles, the government did not mention the targeted nature of this step.

By the way, as Ivan Samoylenko, managing partner of the B&C Agency, recalled, then, in 2021, the head proposed making such payments annual, and the State Duma warmly supported this. But so far, this initiative has not been formalized in any way, although the issue is potentially relevant for 17 million citizens – so many school-age children in our families.

“Currently, given the high level of inflation in the country, any assistance from the state, of course, will help families in getting their child to school. After all, stationery, school uniforms, and much more have risen in price.

In turn, such payments received by citizens go to the consumer market, stimulate domestic production in the country, which has a positive effect on the economy as a whole. Supporting consumer demand through targeted assistance from the state to citizens is one of the tools for GDP growth,” the analyst says.

But economist Andrey Loboda, director of external relations and corporate social responsibility at BitRiver, is optimistic: he believes that information about lump-sum payments to school-age children may appear any day.

“It is likely that from the end of August to the beginning of November, as in the past year, subject to the correct submission of applications on the State Services portal, all citizens – parents of Russian schoolchildren – will be transferred the amount due,” the expert believes. In his opinion, against the background of the strengthening of the ruble and the long-awaited stop in the growth of retail prices, the amount of 10 thousand rubles looks quite solid. Even taking into account the fact that children’s school things by the beginning of the school year have risen in price by 15-20%. “This year, about 2.5 million first-graders are expected to go to school in Russia. For this category of schoolchildren, against the backdrop of a surplus budget, it will not be difficult for the state to allocate 25 billion rubles, ”the economist is sure.

Indeed, 25 billion in a one-time payment is not at all the same as almost half a trillion rubles, which may cost the implementation of the new law. So parents of schoolchildren can still dream of state payments: hope dies last!

Published in the newspaper “Moskovsky Komsomolets” No. 28849 dated August 18, 2022

Newspaper headline:
For little kids