This figure shows an increase of around 4,000, compared to the same period last year.
According to the Citizens´ Claims Division of The Verkhovna Rada Office, around 60,000 issues have been raised in the suggestions, applications and appeals forwarded by the public. Almost every third comment made on the activities of Parliament, Government and the Authorities concerned the cessation of the business of the 5th Convocation Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, and the early election.
Same as before, a large part of these claims concern law and order provision issues (around 30% of the total number), social protection and retirement benefits (23.3%), sum up the activities of Ukraine´s Verkhovna Rada, President and Government, Ukrainian people´s deputies and authorities (8.6%), deal with housing, communal and road services and facilities (6.9%), economic reforms, market relations, business activities, privatization, and pricing and tax policy (5.4%).
Seeking help from The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine were mostly the socially vulnerable segments of the population. For example, in the period January to September of the current year, Parliament has received more than 10,000 applications and complaints from retired and elderly people; more than 8,000 from the disabled and other veterans of The Great Patriotic War as well as those who were involved in military operations, and almost the same number again from the disabled suffering from systematic diseases, labour veterans, families with a large number of children, and victims of the Chornobyl Nuclear plant accident.
From January to September 2007, the Committees of The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine received more than 12,000 suggestions, claims and complaints from the public. This figure has increased by almost 4,600 compared to the same period last year. The largest number of applications has been dealt with by the Committees of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine for Pensioners', Veterans' and Disabled People's Issues (3092), Organised Criminality and Corruption Combating (1765), Justice Issues (1562), Law-Enforcement Legislative Support (954), and for Economic Policy (904).
Throughout this period, the Deputies' factions of The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine have processed over 6,000 suggestions, applications and complaints. More than 2,500 citizens have appealed to the Management of Parliament, among them 1,675 to O.O .Moroz, Chairman of The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.
The current year has seen a growth in the number of visitors addressing Heads of Committees, Deputies' factions and the People's Deputies of Ukraine at individual meetings. From January to September 2007, 8,907 visitors passed through such meetings, this figure having increased by 1,059 compared to the same period last year.
According to the Secretariats of the Deputies' factions, during the period of January to September 2007, almost 350,000 voters appealed to the People's Deputies of Ukraine, and their consulting assistants in the Electoral Districts.
Structural divisions of The Verkhovna Rada machinery have processed over 35,000 suggestions, claims and complaints, this figure having increased by 1,565, compared to the same period last year. They have been mainly administered (nearly 30,000) by the Division for Citizens' Applications. 4,036 visitors had individual meetings, 544 more than during the same period last year.
Suggestions, claims and complaints received by The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine from the public were administered in accordance with current legislation, and forwarded to the corresponding State Authorities, Local Governments, Public Prosecutors´ Offices, and Court Offices to consider and take action with the issues thus raised, and periodically were examined. Those applications, including suggestions on improvements to legislations, were studied by the Committees of The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.