Instruments for managing budget expenditure for the provision of public services in the social sphere

The article discusses the tools currently used in the Russian Federation to manage budget expenditures for the provision of public services in the social sphere. These tools are considered in the context of the gradual development of the system of financial support for the provision of public services in the social sphere from the Soviet era to the present day. The paper analyzes such tools for managing budget expenditures as budgetary financing, government assignments, interbudgetary transfers to off-budget funds, public procurement and other financial management tools, through which non-governmental organizations of various organizational and legal forms are involved in the provision of public services in the social sphere. The main problems and advantages of the considered tools in comparison with each other are revealed. The main identified problems include: lack of motivation among institutions to improve the quality of services provided, incorrect approaches to calculating the volume of state financing of services, low level of competition in the markets, equalization coefficients, and others. The study showed the need for further transformation of budget expenditure management tools with a focus on stimulating the development of competition, linking costs with indicators of the results of the provision of services, and establishing objective standards for the costs of providing services.