NA Vice Chairwoman Nguyễn Thị Thanh addresses the meeting on Tuesday. —VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — The 16th National Assembly (NA) Standing Committee has urged the Government, the Prime Minister and ministries and agencies to improve the quality of responses to voters’ concerns, with some topics placed under special supervision.

The committee held its first working session (second phase) of the 16th tenure on Tuesday, discussing a report on the supervision of the handling and response to voter petitions submitted to the 10th session of the 15th NA.

They also considered a draft report by the Presidium of the Việt Nam Fatherland Front Central Committee summarising opinions and recommendations of voters and citizens submitted to the first session of the 16th NA.

NA Vice Chairman Nguyễn Doãn Anh highly appreciated the proactive and comprehensive efforts of the Presidium of the Việt Nam Fatherland Front Central Committee in compiling opinions and recommendations. The report closely reflects voters’ views, providing an important basis for supervising implementation by relevant agencies.

The NA Standing Committee requested the Việt Nam Fatherland Front Central Committee continue reviewing and refining the draft report based on feedback from the committee before submitting it to the NA.

Anh also pointed out several shortcomings. For example, the quality of responses remains uneven, with some replies being explanatory rather than providing definitive and effective solutions. Some petitions are handled slowly and are prolonged, especially those repeatedly raised by voters and the NA Standing Committee across multiple oversight rounds but not yet fully resolved.

NA Vice Chairwoman Nguyễn Thị Thanh called on local authorities at all levels, as well as ministries and relevant sectors, to adopt effective solutions to improve the environment, particularly air quality indicators in Hà Nội.

She also urged stronger and more decisive measures to ensure food safety and hygiene.

“Resolution 72 of the Politburo on public health care sets out the policy of shifting the focus from treatment to prevention. Therefore, we must place greater emphasis on and achieve clearer improvements in environmental issues, air pollution and food safety,” she said.

NA Standing Vice Chairman Đỗ Văn Chiến proposed that the Presidium of the Central Committee of the Việt Nam Fatherland Front further study, supplement and deepen recommendations related to environmental pollution and food safety.

He called for more decisive action so that “relevant authorities and responsible individuals devote adequate attention to resolving, preventing and stopping acts that harm the environment, violate food safety regulations and pose risks to public health”.

Chairwoman of the NA Committee for Petitions and Supervision Lê Thị Nga emphasised the need to add solutions to ensure traffic order and safety.

She noted that in just one year, around 10,000 people lost their lives in traffic accidents, with many others suffering lifelong injuries.

“I propose that the Government, in this term, must treat traffic safety as a key task to address,” she said. — VNS