All news
The State Duma has proposed allowing maternity capital to be spent on parents’ education
The State Duma has proposed allowing the Ministry of Labor to spend maternity capital funds on parents' education. The bill provides for the possibility of using the support in full or in part.
The author of the bill is Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Construction and Housing and Utilities Sergei Kolunov. According to Izvestia, he prefers to spend maternity capital funds on all levels of education and professional spheres.
"Now everything depends on the position of the Ministry of Labor. For example, today banks have significantly increased the initial payment on mortgages. In these conditions, it makes sense to expand the areas where maternity capital can be used. Parental education is one of them," says Kolunov.
Lawmakers say the plan is especially urgent given Russia's labor shortage.
Kolunov was supported by Elena Fominykh, a member of the Presidential Council for Children's Rights. She considers the agent's plan "brilliant, creative and relevant." Fominykh emphasized that the use of such measures will increase the income of Russian families and improve their quality of life.
State Duma deputy Oksana Dmitrieva emphasized that currently more than 90% of Russian families spend maternity capital on improving their housing conditions.
"I think this is the most efficient and sensible way to spend money," Dmitrieva said. "There are different ways to cash out the so-called funds," he said.
She stressed that the issue of paying parents for training is not so important, since companies are ready to train people in in-demand specialties for free.