Any child that is suffering from physical or mental disability will see an increase of €5 per week in their allowance, Finance Minister Clyde Caruana announced on Monday in his Budget 2022 speech.
The allowance is over and above the children’s allowance and Caruana said around 1,700 families will benefit from it.
The total expenditure of the allowance is €0.5 million and will increase the allowance to €1,560 per year.
Caruana said the new rate is nearly double the amount paid in 2013, and in the last eight years, including next years' increase, he said the government will increase the allowance by more than €13 a week or €676 a year.
Budget 2022 also includes an increase in the €300 grant for parents who quit work to take care of a disabled child over the age of 16.
The grant, first introduced in last year’s budget, will see the government add another €200, seeing a total increase of €500.
Caruana said around 450 parents will benefit from this increase.
'Carer at Home' benefit to increase by €1,000
Carer at Home benefit is also to increase, from €6,000 to €7,000. Caurana said the measure will continue to help the elderly stay in the community, whilst providing the support they need.
750 people are to benefit from the scheme, an additional cost approaching €1 million.
The government will also increase the subsidy rate of the ‘Home Helper of Your Choice’ scheme, from a subsidy of €5.50 per hour to €7 per hour.
Government to give full compensation for the cost of living for people on Social Assistance
The government will also provide more aid for people on social assistance.
Caruana said that the government will be giving full compensation for the cost of living for people on social assistance.
This means around 7,000 beneficiaries receiving Social Assistance will be given full compensation for the cost of living and not the two-thirds compensation they are currently taking.
Caruana said the government will also introduce a new procedure where people who homeless and are being provided with professional services from the Foundation for Social Welfare Services, will be granted Social Aid under continuous scrutiny in order to help them until they eventually find work and a place to live.
€11 million allocated to address the past injustices
The government will be allocating around €11 million next year to continue to compensate those who have suffered injustices in the past.
The fund grants will be awarded to ex-dock workers, students, ex-workers of the Gas Board who joined the government after 1979.
Caruana said the heirs of persons eligible under the schemes will also benefit from the grants.
He said the measures means an increase of almost €70 million.
‘Drive from wheelchair’
A ‘Drive from wheelchair’ vehicle will be introduced so that people with disablities can learn how to drive.
Specialised training will be provided to a number of driving instructors so that they can provide this training to people with disabilities.
A Community Hub service for the disabled will also be introduced in the northern part of Malta where people with disabilities can receive specialised training on various aspects they have relating to independent living.
The government also announced investments in more schools to invest in Braille machines to enhance learning multisensory.
There will also be an investment in autism units.
Caruana said families which children undergoing occupational therapy will receive vouchers so that their children can have private therapy service. He said over 1,300 children will benefit from this scheme.