The Standards Commissioner’s office said on Friday that the funds it had been allocated in Monday’s budget were the total budgetary allocation it had requested as it planned to use unutilised funds from the past years.

In a statement, the Office of the Commissioner for Standards in Public Life said its budget for next year had not been reduced but it was the amount it had asked for.

The statement was issued following criticism about the apparent reduction in the funds allocated to the office in the national budget for 2023 compared to the current year. It was allocated a budget of €759,000 for this year, but will only get €450,000 next year.

The budgetary cuts were criticised by the Church's Justice and Peace Commission and rule of law NGO Repubblika.

The Office of the Commissioner for Standards in Public Life clarified that the amount “is the total amount requested by the Commissioner for Standards in Public Life”.

“The Office of the Commissioner for Standards is not envisaging a reduction in its activities and it anticipates that it will spend more than this amount in 2023.

"The additional funds will come from unutilised funds from previous years.

"Over the years this office has accumulated a balance of unspent funds. This is partly due to fiscal prudence, and partly because in 2022 this office was actually allocated more money in the national budget than it had requested,” it said.

The post of the Standards Commissioner is still vacant after incumbent George Hyzler was appointed Malta's representative on the European Court of Auditors.