Meeting with the leaders of the State Duma factions, President Vladimir Putin noted that the State Duma has accomplished considerable legislative work since it began its sessions following the last parliamentary elections. It has passed the Urban Planning and Housing Codes and has made amendments to tax legislation. Laws of crucial importance for the country’s social and economic development have also been passed.
Regarding the social sphere, Mr Putin focused particularly on implementation of the law replacing benefits with cash payments, saying that the State Duma deputies followed a clear and justified logic in making these decisions but that it is evident, nonetheless, that this law could have been implemented without the problems that people have encountered.