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Measures to improve social security benefits for law enforcement officers' were also reviewed.

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President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev: Good afternoon, colleagues,

I have specially invited the top leadership of the Interior Ministry, which I have only recently appointed. Present here is the Minister and all of his deputies who oversee the various activities of the Interior Ministry and who have recently passed the performance assessment.

I would like to talk to you about the Ministry’s top priorities and about the unscheduled performance assessment currently underway. I want to discuss these issues with all of you because the Ministry is not just the Minister, the Minister is a political figure, he has a lot of duties and to perform them he travels around the country and attends meetings with the President, whereas it is you who is in charge of the Ministry’s daily work. That is why we need to identify your priorities.

I would like to stress a point that I am sure all of you understand perfectly well already: the reform currently being implemented at the Ministry is unique in its scale in our country, at least if we talk about the modern Russian state.

At this stage, one of the key tasks is the unscheduled performance assessment, which is being conducted on the basis of my executive order of March 1, 2011. Its goal is clear: the selection and placement of qualified professionals who have the right professional qualities and skills to address very complex challenges facing the Interior Ministry and the police today.

A significant renewal of the entire Ministry leadership has been conducted already, which is not a simple procedure. To begin with, that we are talking about people, our comrades, who have worked side by side with us and who will no longer stay in their posts or those who have been appointment to new positions.

In order to perform this job more effectively and in view of certain difficulties, which, naturally, the Ministry is experiencing in this situation, I made the decision to extend the deadline for the unscheduled performance assessment until August 1, 2011. I hope that by then the process will be completed. I would like to stress: what is important for us is not the deadlines but the people, who must be well trained and who will ultimately receive the right appointments. In other words, quality is more important than deadlines.

Special attention should be given to performance assessment on the ground. There can be no formal approach here. Naturally, the most deserving officers must remain in the Ministry’s ranks, especially considering the fact that personnel cuts had been approved earlier by an executive order. So if we don’t invite some people to join the new Ministry, this means that the road should be open for real professionals only. I would like you to report to me today about how this work is proceeding.

The newly appointed deputy ministers must ensure consistently efficient performance of the Ministry’s functions identified in its statute, as well as on the basis of general considerations regarding the service.

There is an issue of employment for those who have not passed the performance assessment. We are not talking about those guilty of professional misconduct, who will bear responsibility for that. I am referring to ordinary officers who did not pass the assessment for various reasons. They need help, and in this sense, it is the Ministry’s task to find employment for them.

In addition, let me remind you that the work on creating a modern environment for the Interior Ministry and the police is currently in progress.

I have submitted to the State Duma draft law On Social Benefits for the Employees of the Interior Ministry and Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts. This draft law builds on the law On the Police Force and aims to regulate all the relations connected with the service, with salaries and pensions of Interior Ministry employees, the provision of housing and healthcare. That is, the law stipulates that every Interior Ministry employee should have the whole social package, including those who currently serve at the Ministry, those who have been dismissed from the service and their family members. This is the set of social security benefits we must guarantee for police officers and all employees of the Interior Ministry.

Another draft law prepared especially is the law On Service in Interior Ministry Bodies. It defines legal relations associated with entering into service and serving in the Interior Ministry. Other legal acts will be adopted on the basis of this law, including presidential executive orders. Each of you present here has a different set of duties within the Ministry, your own set of the Ministry’s divisions you supervise. I would like you to perform this work with utmost responsibility.

Most of those present either came to work in Moscow from the regions where they served previously or were recently transferred to the Interior Ministry from other agencies and organisations. I believe this kind of renewal is essential for the Interior Ministry because, as with any staff, the Ministry also has its own issues to address, and to take the necessary measures on some of them.