Solidarity Ministry set to close benefit fraud loopholes

The Solidarity Ministry intends to close all loopholes which may facilitate benefit fraud, Solidarity and Family Affairs Minister Dolores Cristina told parliament yesterday.

The problem was such, she said, that even an Australian delegation which visited Malta had observed that the number of Maltese who received invalidity pensions was twice that of other peoples. As announced in the budget, the ministry would set up a unit specifically to target this problem.

Speaking during the budget debate, Ms Cristina regretted that the opposition had not yet officially commented on the pensions white paper, although, she acknowledged, it might still be too early. The problem was that opposition speakers were receiving different messages, with the Opposition leader saying there was no need to change anything now while other Labour officials and former officials had stressed the need for reform.

Ms Cristina said the politicians of today had a responsibility for the generation of tomorrow, and every study since 1979 had shown that the next generation would face a major pensions problem unless action was taken now. The easiest thing for the current government to do was to put off the problem, but the government would face its challenges. The white paper made 32 recommendations. She was sure that come the new year, debate would intensify and her appeal was that speakers would take a broad view and consider the impact on society in general, rather than narrow sectoral interests.

Earlier in her speech, Ms Cristina referred to comments from the opposition on people at risk of poverty. Their situation, she said, was often the result of a range of social problems which had to be tackled. One could not simply throw money at this issue. The financial was just one aspect of poverty. Children without access to a computer were at an educational poverty risk, for example.

The harbour area, which had the highest rate of social problems, was given priority even in the area of social housing. The Ministry was setting up a unit to monitor the situation in Cottonera.

On claims that spending on housing would drop by Lm600,000, Ms Cristina said this was the result of shifts for logistic reasons. For example, when there was one rather than two issues of units for sale, subsidies on house loans went down. The authorities, she said, were increasingly focusing on urban regeneration since this improved the quality of life.

It was expected that proposals on amendments to the rent laws would be moved by mid-June.

Ms Cristina said that 1,023 large families were expected to benefit from the increase in children's allowance announced in the budget.

She said the Family Protection Department had been restructured and would become the regulator of family services.

A children and young persons advisory board had been formed as part of this department to advise the minister when there were children who needed a care order. It was worrying that there were currently 191 children under a care order, 60 of whom were unaccompanied minors of illegal immigrants.

These children needed specialised assistance. The care given per child could go up to between Lm12,000 to 15,000 a year.

The Adoption Unit also fell within the aegis of this department. In Malta there were practically no children up for adoption and couples went abroad to adopt. The department was working on measures to better protect such couples and the children being adopted.

She said the Family Commission had already done a lot, particularly in the area of research. The commission was being involved in the drawing up of a national family policy.

Turning to child care centres, Ms Cristina said modern regulations would be issued next year.

On the proposed Domestic Violence Act, Ms Cristina said that although a first reading was approved by parliament in the summer, she was not yet happy with the drafting and would only move the Bill for debate in the House once she was happy that no one would accuse her of half baked legislation. It was pertinent to note, however, that problems of domestic violence would not be solved just by legislation. Spain had had such legislation for years, yet domestic violence had peaked this year.

While the proposed law was being refined, facilities for victims of domestic violence had been greatly improved, to the extent that supply was bigger than demand.

Ms Cristina spoke on the work of Appogg, Sedqa and Sapport, all agencies falling under the Foundation for Social Services which recently also started to oversee the Refugee Service.

Touching on the drug problem, she said a focal point had been set up to give a clear picture of the drug problem in the country ahead of the drawing up of a national strategy.

Ms Cristina praised non-governmental organisations. She said funds would no longer be given as lump sums but would be addressed for specific projects.

Concluding, Ms Cristina said the ministry was working to improve conditions for illegal immigrants. This was not an easy sector and there were various problems including the worrying fact that she felt that racism among the Maltese was rising. She understood the people's concern when there was an influx of illegal migrants, but her appeal was for Maltese society to show solidarity.

Earlier in the sitting Nationalist MP Joe Cassar highlighted the work of the National Commission, Persons with Disability. The commission was doing a lot of useful work and the budget was rightly allocating Lm250,000 for the commission.

Last year the commission in association with the NSO launched a scientific study on what mostly affected the disabled and their families. The survey's emphasis was the social aspect of disability.

The majority of people with disability said they were pleased with the services they had been given by the departments of education, health and social security, the Employment and Training Corporation, the Housing Authority, the commission, the Support Agency and the language interpretation services.

Some 48 per cent said they had found it difficult to take out a life insurance policy and many said that the Equal Opportunities Act had been a necessary tool for them to acquire their rights.

Dr Cassar welcomed the fact that Sapport's budget had increased from Lm270,000 to Lm507,000.

The agency worked with the disabled and their families to ensure they had opportunities through which they could fully take part in community life. The agency also offered residential services. Patients who had been at Mount Carmel throughout their life were now living in the community as a result.

Dr Cassar said it was positive that parents paying for facilitators in private schools would get tax incentives.

Michael Gonzi (PN) said illegal immigrants, particularly those in open centres, should be issued with special ID Cards so that the authorities could keep better track of them. The medical records of illegal immigrants should also be kept at a central place.

Dr Gonzi spoke on initiatives being taken by the Solidarity Ministry for the welfare of illegal immigrants.

He noted that the Hal Far open centre had been taken over by Agenzija Appogg. Much had been done for the benefit of the illegal immigrants; however, some of them still had to learn certain basics of life, like basic hygiene.

Dr Gonzi suggested that a number of the soldiers and policemen be trained by Appogg on the handling of illegal immigrants.

Nationalist MP Clyde Puli observed that social spending in the budget was being raised by Lm10.2 million over last year.

For the government, social policy did not mean hand outs but assisting people to improve the quality of their life through personalised services. There were opportunities and assistance for those who fell behind. The budget also aimed for economic growth because that was how the social sector improved most. Similarly, the budget invested heavily in education.

Mr Puli welcomed the long term training to be provided by the ETC to the unemployed, saying this would help discourage benefit abuse, ensuring that assistance would go to those who really needed it.

Also worth highlighting were efforts to raise the female participation rate in the labour market and initiatives for the setting up of child care centres.

The opposition claimed that spending on children's allowance had been reduced. But there were now fewer children and there had been a clamp-down on fraud. Still, the government was raising its assistance to large families with an income which was lower than Lm10,000.

Nationalist MP David Agius welcomed measures to tackle benefit fraud. Once abuse was efficiently tackled, there would be more funds for more beneficial projects.

The government was rightly working on reforms of the pension system and the rent laws. Yet the opposition had said nothing about them.