Civil Society Committee publishes main points on the topics discussed to date

Discussion on Poverty

Report presented by Caritas
The European Pillar of Social Rights. Principle 14: Everyone lacking sufficient resources has the right to adequate minimum income benefits ensuring a life in dignity at all stages of life Helping to reduce the number of people at risk of poverty or suffering poverty Promoting human development and social justice. A Minimum Essential Budget for a Decent Living
TWO MAIN OBJECTIVES

To revise the minimum essential components of a basket of basic goods and services to achieve a decent standard of living in Malta.

To calculate the minimum essential budget for three low-income household categories in Malta based on this basket Food as % of cost of total basket Food has the highest share of the cost of the total basket at 41% to 51%.

Personal Assistance for Persons with Disability

Personal assistant is the key to ‘living independently and being included in the community’ for persons with disability as otherwise there would be no future to look forward to.
Personal assistant is directed at the whole person. It supports living and inclusion in the community.
Personal assistance is a social model recommended by the United Nation Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability (UNCRPD).

Pensions

The proportion of pensioners at risk of living in poverty in Malta is increasing year on year. According to the report, 20.9% of pensioners were at risk of poverty in 2013, rising 29.1% last year
The meaning of equivalised income and the difference between the median and the average needed to be understood
It is to be pointed out that the law already provides that as from the year 2027, the yearly increase in the cost of living will be calculated at 70% and 30% respectively for persons who were born from the year 1962

Gender pay gap

The Gender pay gap currently stands at 11 per cent
Main issues that are leading to the gap are various, however culture and traditional roles attributed to women persist, such as the role of main carer for family and family members in older age and disability.
Women tend to accept part time work so that the work hours coincide with school hours
Women’s presence is lacking in jobs related to Science, technology, engineering and mathematics. These are the jobs with higher remuneration.

Vision revolves around residents’ – Local Council Association

What the vision entails, emphasising that residents are at the centre of this vision.
The vision revolves around four main themes
The motto behind this vision is ‘Residents First’

Covid 19 impact

The impact of the pandemic on the Economy
The EU resilience and recovery facility fund
Challenges identified.

Agriculture Proposals

Resolve issue on agriculture land leased to farmers and stop farming land being given permit for other uses.
Resolve the Pitkali issue
Aging farming population
Improve agricultural products in order to present them to the public better

New Work Practices

Flexibility is key and communication between the employer and employee is crucial to reach the best solution for all interested parties.
Occupational health and safety, especially mental health, should be seen too irrespective of the workplace.
Cost agreements (for any extra costs the employee may incur and savings the employer may benefit from) should be made in advance.
Legal, ethical and privacy implications should be taken into consideration, and any training the employee may require should be provided to ensure the smooth continuation of work.

See more detailed reports below:

Pensions

The proportion of pensioners at risk of living in poverty in Malta is increasing year on year. According to the report, 20.9% of pensioners were at risk of poverty in 2013, rising 29.1% last year

The meaning of equivalised income and the difference between the median and the average needed to be understood

It is to be pointed out that the law already provides that as from the year 2027, the yearly increase in the cost of living will be calculated at 70% and 30% respectively for persons who were born from the year 1962.

‘Pensions and the way forward’ was one of the topics discussed whereby suggested pension measures by the Association of Pensioners were put forward.

The presentation on the above and highlighted that more needs to be done for the elderly when it comes to pensions. The speaker added that pensions are crucial as they can have an impact on the risk of poverty.

In fact, if one were to quote a report that appeared in The Times last month, whereby an evaluation of the government’s policy for poverty reduction and social exclusion since 2013 was published, the proportion of pensioners at risk of living in poverty in Malta is increasing year on year. According to the report, 20.9% of pensioners were at risk of poverty in 2013, rising 29.1% last year.

The committee member said that the meaning of equivalised income and the difference between the median and the average needed to be understood.

Progress, he said, was achieved in single person household regarding the elderly. On the other hand, the risk of poverty is increased in all other types of households involving the elderly.

He also spoke about the issue of the service pension that has been lodged in the Court of Justice as it is being maintained that it goes against the provision of the constitution. The government has been awarding an amount on a yearly basis plus a 75% deduction from the amount commuted.

For instance, a person who has been in the receipt of a pension for 20 years has not yet benefitted a cent from this measure. It is to be added that this will affect persons who have occupied a post from grade 1 to grade 5.

To date, the Government has not taken in consideration more than €2000 additionally when a person reaches 72 years, 75% of the commuted sum is disregarded. Moreover, if the spouse is then entitled to a pension on his or her own contributions, the pension is further reduced by €17 per week.

“We feel that no further deductions should take place and the two-thirds pension should be granted in proportion to the contributions paid,” he continued.

On the credits to mothers born from the year 1952, awarded in line with the number of children and higher number of credits granted to mothers having a child suffering from a disability, he suggested that credits are awarded to all mothers irrespective of their age.

As for the cost of living, he said it is to be pointed out that the law already provides that as from the year 2027, the yearly increase in the cost of living will be calculated at 70% and 30% respectively for persons who were born from the year 1962. Also, the Survivors pension has already been granted in the same ratios as from the year 2014. The increase in the cost of living should be given at least 50% on the increase of the average wage and 50% on the normal one indicated by the NSO, he explained.

He also said that the measure that the contributions from the age of 16 to 18 should be taken into consideration. This, he said, is a measure which has been suggested by our association (the Association of Pensioners) unfortunately it does not fully meet our expectations as it is going to be implemented in our opinion in a very discriminatory way.

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Gender Pay gap.

Overview

These observations are part of the MCESD , CSC Committee requirement in answer to the MCESD’s Core group Chairman request. Gender Pay Gap has since the last years been discussed across Europe. In several EU member states the Gender pay Gap is higher and in other lower than in Malta which presently stand at around 11%. No statistics shall be presented in this report, as there have been numerous webinars, conferences and EU statistics presented that one can easily access and that refer to the situation both in Malta and in the EU for the last years. These observations shall have more focus on the what can be done to minimize this phenomena, rather than a repeat of statistics, since these alone have not help to ameliorate the situation.

The Gender Pay gap may include the difference in wages paid to the different genders, for the same work at the same place of work. In Malta paying a lesser wage to female worker for same work and generally in the same place of work ,is illegal , since a law regulating Equal Pay for Equal Work has been in vigore for many years. The issue of Gender pay Gap goes further than this and has long lasting effects on the woman, especially in her older age. The Percentage of women in the labour market has grown in the last few years and this observers have said has increased the gender pay gap. Why would this happen if there are now more women working? The main reason is that still due traditional stereotyping of jobs, working shorter hours in order to cope with family responsibilities , are two of the main reasons.

Many say that work life is based on the concept of the man as the breadwinner and with the woman looking after the family. In recent years this has changed drastically as around 60% of women are now part of our country’s labour force, as well as in the same percentage as part of the University’s population. The increase of graduated women has not contributed to decrease this gap, mainly due to the fact that whilst still without a family or other family commitments the female would progress in her career and work full time, but decrease the working hours in order to be able to cope with traditional family commitments. In the recent years the government has recognized the career gap as a discrimination against the woman as she was being penalized for motherhood. Career breaks are generally damaging to a woman’s career and although the government contributes 2 years per child as NI contribution, generally the woman feels cut off from work and slips backwards in her career.

Issue

Gender Pay Gap refers to the comparison of what a female and a male earn as an income over a period of time. Equal Pay for Equal work may also contribute to this an anomaly. The methodology used to acquire these results, may not be acceptable to all as a true measure since comparing even the several EU Member states with one another may not give a true picture since the situation in one country may be very different from the other, these may include education , work availability, family friendly measures and other factors. All these circumstances may contribute in one way or other to the earnings taken home by both genders. The result of this total is generally due to the fact that during say a year the female worker would have worked considerably less hours than her male counterpart and thus earned less throughout a period of time.

Identified possible Gender Pay Gap Contributors

Short school hours; The school hours should be comparable to full time work, with shorter hours for younger children and gradually rising to full time work hours. Although the government has introduced the childcare centers and Club 3-16, these latter are not available in all schools and parents, generally the mother is required to leave work and collect her children. Result: Part time work option
Choice of Work that is below the level of the education of the female in order to cope with family commitments. Result: choice of work that pays less, but may have working hours that coincide with her commitments
Less females in Technology, Engineering, and other STEM subjects related jobs, which are the requirements for well paid jobs. Result: low earnings
Women that work with in the family business and their National Insurance is not paid. Result: basic pension
Lack of male participation in family commitments
Women who leave work at around 35 years of age to start a family and generally return to work as part time and a lesser paid job
Women who leave work at age 55 to care for elderly family members, losing out on pensions
Women who care for family members with limited ability

Recommended Solution

Longer school hours where the students learn extra curricular activities, this will create further employment , giving the possibility for women to work longer hours
Education regarding tax, national insurance and pension- financial literacy to start from an early age. Several females work In the caring, cleaning and in family business including farming, retail and cottage industries , without paying their National Insurance contributions.
Further information to be given to girls so they can choose the STEM subjects since these contribute to better paid jobs. Guidance Teachers to be informed about jobs that are available in connection with the STEM subjects.
Encouraging more males to participate in family needs
Removing the sterotyping that women are suitable only for certain jobs
Media coverage of female role models especially in STEM subjects
Government to introduce NI contributions to carers of family members
Upskilling – provision of courses online for continual upskilling and therefore career advancement possibilities

Conclusion

Education regarding various issues are key to obtaining results. This combined with commitment by different stakeholders, including schools, media, the government and sharing of family responsibilities.

It is a known fact that financial dependence is not acceptable. This has been identified in contributing to decision not to leave an unhealthy relationship.

Research is key to changing what requires change. Government should invest in more research in order to make the necessary changes , education, and dissemination of information.

The female worker’s spending power will increase if she earns more money. The country will benefit from more participation by females in the labour market and even more so from women in higher paid jobs

Vision revolves around residents’ – Local Council Association

What the vision entails, emphasising that residents are at the centre of this vision.

The vision revolves around four main themes

The motto behind this vision is ‘Residents First’

The Civil Society Committee focused on the LCA’s Vision 2024, launched earlier this year.

The speaker gave an in-depth presentation of what the vision entails, emphasising that residents are at the centre of this vision.

Explaining that the motto behind this vision is ‘Residents First’, he explained that the vision revolves around four main themes: transport and sustainable mobility in the localities; open spaces for social, recreational purposes; smart cities and last but not least protecting the environment.

“For the first time, local councils wanted a vision so that all councils can work in a holistic manner for the good of all residents,” he said.

The four themes include a list of subsections. For instance the Sustainable Mobility plans to include safe ways for residents to do their errands without having to use their private vehicles, which will have a positive impact on the environment, such as walking lanes.

A number of issues were brought up by members of the committee, including the need to supervise works done in localities by contractors such as street cleaning, lack of enforcement, the need for separation of waste by means of bins during feasts for the huge amount of empty bottles, the issue of pigeon droppings which is quite a problem in localities like Floriana and Sliema, a site for motor caravans in Mellieha, among other pertinent issues.

The speaker said that when it comes to parking-related problems, the LCA is working in conjunction with Government to emerge with PPP schemes to help solve this ongoing issue.

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Covid-19 repercussions on Business

Civil Society Committee (CSC) member gave a snapshot of the situation in terms of the impact of Covid on many sectors and areas. He was speaking during a virtual meeting organised by the Committee within MCESD.

He said that the outbreak of COVID-19 presents an alarming health crisis and apart from having a human impact it also has a significant impact on businesses and economies worldwide. The long term social, economic and health impacts of the COVID-19 virus are still unknown, creating more uncertainties on business, that could result in unemployment and a weaker economic and commercial climate.

He gave an overview on the impact of the pandemic on the economy, highlighting the adverse effects on the government finances, employment and various business sectors. The Government Recovery Measures have reduced the impact of the pandemic on the Businesses and saved jobs, however delays in economic recovery would increase the strain on both the Businesses and Government finances.

The member presented a snapshot from the Malta Competitiveness Report for 2020 launched during the high-profile National Productivity Board Business Breakfast held last month and put up by MCESD, which also saw the presence of the Prime Minister Robert Abela, Minister Carmelo Abela and Finance Minister Clyde Caruana. He said that the report gives an analysis on the short- and medium-term impact of COVID-19 on the Maltese economy and the impact on potential output. The analysis also considers different assumptions based on a mild, a medium and a severe impact scenario on the economy.

During his presentation, the member also discussed the importance of the Tourism Industry on the Maltese economy and how the pandemic effected this sector and other related business that depend on tourist coming to Malta. An overview of the Malta Tourism Strategy Report 2021-2030 was mentioned, highlighting Malta’s current situation mainly related to high bed-stock, declining visitor satisfaction due to weaknesses in the direct and indirect tourism product and the need to build a sustainable tourism industry with the focus on what is best for the country, the economy and the host population.

EU Resilience and Recovery Facility Fund

Also discussed was the EU Resilience and Recovery Facility Fund of 672 billion euros, which come in the form of grants and loans where Malta is expected to benefit from these funds as well. The aim of this fund is to mitigate the economic and social impact of the coronavirus pandemic and make European economies and societies more sustainable, resilient and better prepared for the challenges and opportunities of the green and digital transitions. Malta is expected to receive a cash injection of €316.5 million in grants and €835 million in loans payable by 2058.

Member States will prepare recovery and resilience plans that set out a coherent package of reforms and public investment projects. To benefit from the support of the Facility, these reforms and investments should be implemented by 2026. Each plan is expected to contribute to the four dimensions outlined in the 2021 Annual Sustainable Growth Strategy, which launched this year’s European Semester cycle, that are the Environment, Productivity, Fairness and Stability.

Challenges Ahead

The national plans are also expected to address challenges identified in country-specific recommendations. The recommendation Malta received states that the risks of money laundering remain prevalent and has negative consequences regarding public finances and financial stability posing particular risks. Another recommendation is regarding the Aggressive Tax Planning (ATP). Malta has been objecting to such harmonisation of taxes as it would make the country less attractive for foreign investment.

Another challenge mentioned was the EU Mobility Package. The possible introduction of Carbon Emission Tax and the banning of fossil fuel without efficient alternatives, could lead to higher freight costs impacting all sectors especially island bound countries that rely solely on sea and air connections.

The Construction Industry was also mentioned with calls for better construction planning and protection to environment, townscapes and ODZ areas, together with waste management issues, including circular economy requirements and adequate disposal sites. Also, the need for a sustainable construction industry, with a focus on improving safety compliance and enforcement.

Conclusion

In the concluding comments, he said that Malta will benefit greatly from the Resilience and Recovery Fund package that is critical to rescue our industries and save jobs whilst it’s the blueprint to have a post-COVID economy recovery that’s truly circular and sustainable.

The Business Sectors should re-evaluate their services and bring them in line with the changes in customer behaviour brought by the pandemic and the objectives of the EU National Recovery and Resilience Plans. It’s critical that they invest in innovation and digital technology, whist ensuring that their workforce is motivated and reskilled to work in this new digital environment.

In a Post-Covid scenario, the measures introduced to save jobs during the crisis should shift to new measures needed for a job-rich recovery aimed to be fair, inclusive and eliminate poverty. These measures need to promote job creation and job-to-job transitions from declining sectors towards expanding sectors, notably the digital and green ones.

The Civil Society Committee that brings together various NGOs representing a wide range of sectors need to participate, by consultation, together with other Social Partners, in the implementation of National Recovery and Resilience Plans in order to contribute to such an important project that will bring significant changes in the years to come.

Agriculture Proposals

Resolve issue on agriculture land leased to farmers and stop farming land being given permit for other uses.

Resolve the Pitkali issue

Aging farming population

Improve agricultural products in order to present them to the public better

It is a fact that we are heavily dependent on imports for our food consumption (70%). This is a dangerous situation, as in the case of a calamity in our importing countries, we will be unable to find enough food for the local consumer. Therefore ,means should be found to let the consumer be encouraged to buy local.
The ageing farming population, the reluctance of the young farmers to take up the trade, and the competition from importation is heavily impacting our food industry. It is very difficult for young farmers to set up an agro-business when the price of land is so expensive.
Another major problem is that the farmers are reluctant to merge their business to withstand the competition so we are suggestion that Government should provide an advisory service to help farmers submit their aid-applications to the Paying Agency. The European Union considers the farmer as the guardian of the national landscape, and funds should form part of the infrastructural funds
Accelerated climate change is hitting the sector badly. The availability of purified water (New Water) is limited only to a few farmers.
Visits abroad to foreign farms should be organised regularly and expert technical and marketing assistance from foreign institutes should be sought.
Whilst the much-needed revolution at the Pitkali is welcomed,
A rural insurance should be set up to help recovery of losses through bad weather or other market problems.
An effort should be made so that farmers are given a title on the land they tilled at a constant price.
A balance between natural spaces and tilled agricultural land should be reached to increase the availability of floral sources for pollinators.
Nonetheless, works should be carried out strictly under the supervision of competent workers in the arboriculture and horticulture.
Funds should be made available for beekeepers for the conservation of the Maltese honey bee Apis mellifera ruttneri. The funds should aim to replace their stock with m. ruttneri.Funds should be made available for beekeepers to stock on naturally resilient honey bees with traits associated with resistance for pests and diseases.
More investment in frequent cleansing of public spaces especially nearby waste recipients in the tourist frequented areas and the coast.

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New Work Practices

The fifth European Pillar of Social Right specifies that “in accordance with legislation and collective agreements, the necessary flexibility for employers to adapt swiftly to changes in the economic context shall be ensured. Innovative forms of work that ensure quality working conditions shall be fostered.”

Also, the ninth Pillar states that “Parents and people with caring responsibilities have the right to suitable leave, flexible working arrangements and access to care services. Women and men shall have equal access to special leaves of absence in order to fulfil their caring responsibilities and be encouraged to use them in a balanced way.”

Working time and work organisation

Relationship between employer and employee: there should be easily accessible communication between employee and direct superior. Ideally, a solution should be found at this level rather than an employer requiring to go to higher ranks for communication.
Communication of the employee with employers and colleagues: ways should be sought to encourage a social environment e.g. working a few hours a week on site, online team meetings, daily brief.
Logistics: few hours per day remotely / certain days remotely and others on site.
Determinants for work performance
Management of this form of work: home environment is crucial. For instance, if an individual has other persons to look after at home, this may create difficulty.
Participation of all involved in problem-solving when difficulties arise with these new work practices.
We have to aim for a win-win scenario. Discussion between employee and employer is strongly recommended to analyse what is the best working pattern for an individual. The arrangement should be monitored and reviewed on a regular basis to. Quality working conditions should be fostered.
This may lead to change in roles of employees depending on the requirements of the job. For instance if the nature of work requires that the employee is on site, then their role may change when they opt for off-site work.
Persons with disability should be taken into consideration when reshuffling roles. Some may require upskilling and some may not be able to work remotely. To avoid that they are not a burden to the employer, it must be ensured that there is indeed work for them in the company when drafting a solution for others. They should be part of the solution.
FLEXIBILITY is key. This will give both employer and employee to find a solution. This also relies on mutual trust. An impartial facilitator is also recommended.

Occupational safety and health

Should be the same as when working on site.
Physical and mental health should be cared for.
There are individuals who do not have the space and privacy to work at home. They often need to share the same space with other family members, therefore making it difficult for them to carry out their work. Communication between employer and employee is crucial to find the best solution for both.
Provide support for employees who are working a large percentage of hours remotely.
Mental health should be frequently, regularly and professionally monitored.
Buildings are not catered for open spaces. This could be an opportunity for relevant authorities, architects/constructors and those involved in building planning to review new ways of designing homes.
Heavy construction is giving rise to more mental health problems amongst those spending longer hours at home due to noise pollution, hours allowed for construction works to be carried out, multiple permits on the same road. (https://www.richmond.org.mt/research_covid19/) The Planning Authority should review its regulations to ensure they safeguard citizens who are constantly surrounded by construction works. The Authority should take into consideration the new norm we are living in and ensure that apartments are constructed in a way to promote holistic wellbeing, offering the necessary space to live and work in such circumstances.

Training

Employees need training not only on the use of technology but also on time management and how to manage life situations e.g. working in the presence of family members, adapting to new work environment, adapting to new roles and working responsibilities, upskilling, bereavement (individual potentially increased drastically the number of hours at home, making bereavement more difficult.
Taking into account that there are no boundaries between life at home and work.

Incurring costs by employee and savings by employer (cost agreements)

Equipment, software, connectivity: extra expenses
benefits that will be gained by workers and employers
Compensation for wear and tear of laptop and other equipment used. Employee should not carry the burden of additional costs.
Employer is saving on certain expenses (water & electricity bills, etc)

Legal, ethical and privacy implications

It should be clarified that the employee is still bound by the same legal, ethical and privacy obligations as determined by their role/profession.

Gender dimension

Banking of hours: employees who are caring for significant others could be allowed to bank working hours whenever this is possible so that for instance, they could have more available time with their family during holidays.
Malta has the lowest birth in the EU. Possibly better implementation of new work practices could lead to an increase in birth rate.
Flexibility will reduce work-family conflict and help encourage a greater participation of females in the labour increase force.

Working Group members:

Norma Camileri

Marthese Mugliette

Fr Ivan Attard

Acknowledgments

Marie Demicoli

Mary Gaerty

Discussion on Poverty

Report presented by Caritas

The European Pillar of Social Rights. Principle 14: Everyone lacking sufficient resources has the right to adequate minimum income benefits ensuring a life in dignity at all stages of life Helping to reduce the number of people at risk of poverty or suffering poverty Promoting human development and social justice. A Minimum Essential Budget for a Decent Living

TWO MAIN OBJECTIVES

To revise the minimum essential components of a basket of basic goods and services to achieve a decent standard of living in Malta.

Recommendations for policy

Discussion on Poverty

Mr Andre Bonello and Prof Suzanne Piscopo presented the Caritas report on MEBDL (Minimum Essential Budget for a Decent Living). The report considers three typical households: a) two adults and two dependent children; b) a lone parent with two dependent children and c) an elderly couple (65+). According to this research, the yearly MEBDL of two adults and two dependent children is €13,946.78; that of a lone parent with two dependent children is €11,038.12 and for an elderly couple (65+) is €8,156.57. This means that if the income of a household with two adults and two dependent children depends only on social assistance and benefits, its income will be €3,455.66 less than the MEBDL. On the other hand, for a lone parent with two children dependent on social assistance, their income will be €1,044.12 less than the MEBDL. Moreover, a household with two adults and two children, whose income is one national minimum wage including in-work benefit and other allowances, such income will be €601.92 less than the MEBDL.

Some policy recommendations:

Set up a task force to review the COLA mechanism so that it reflects the true cost of living in contemporary times and ensure that all citizens have a minimum income to live decently in Malta.
Start discussions at EU and national level to revise the 60% median NEI as the benchmark for defining at-risk-of-poverty by increasing it to at least 70% median NEI.
Implement a ‘digital cash’ for the essential needs of individuals and famlies receiving social assistance in a sustainable, efficient and dignified manner, whilst helping the recipients to budget their finances better.
Revise and extend Housing Authority Schemes to increase homeowners and lessen reliance on rented dwellings. Modification of ‘second time buyers’ criteria to assist those who are not buying the property as an investment but for their personal residence due to life circumstances.
Establish an official Identity Card for people who are homeless in order to be able to apply for and access social and health services and benefits.
Revise Scheme 9 of the National School Support Services so that eligible families with school-aged children could apply for all three provided items: daily school packed lunch, new uniform, one-time stationery grant.
Assist low-income earners with overdue water and electricity bills by eliminating the 6% interest charge or considering a one-time bailout on unpaid bills through an assessment.
Offer a free Telecare Plus service to all elderly people (60+) and a free landline service to all households where there is one or more elderly person (60+) living independently in their home.
Explore options for incentives so that healthy, fresh, local food is accessible and made more attractive for low income households.
Consolidate and expand the programme launched by the Alleanza Kontra l-Faqar to reduce food waste from supermarkets by donating food with a close expiry date to food banks or other NGOs who assist vulnerable low income individuals or households.
Offer a free faucet-mounted tap water filtering kit to low-income earners to avoid the purchase of bottled water and to have constant, tasty potable drinking and cooking water.
Offer commercial interest-free loans to families with a member with a disability or impairment who wish to buy special equipment to aid in the personal development, comfort, safety and inclusion of the person with disability, or to act as support to the household.
Establish financial assistance to support the setting up and running of social entrepreneurship initiatives engaging low-income and individuals and famlies.
Develop targeted social media campaigns, with a focus on young people, to highlight the short-term and long-term economic costs of substance abuse for the individual abusers and their families.
Strengthen the entitlement to education on responsible, sustainable management of personal and family resources, through making subjects like Home Economics compulsory up till Form 5.

Personal Assistance for Persons with Disability

This is a short note on the Personal Assistance for persons with disability discussed during a Civil Society Committee meeting with the contribution of Mr Oliver Scicluna (CRPD Commissioner). Prior to this meeting the committee has also reached out to Dr Alistair DeGaetano (Advisor to the Parliamentary Secretary) and Mr Joseph Cini (Chief Executive Officer of Agenzija Sapport). The scope of this note is to highlight the importance of this programme, the situation in Malta and the way forward. This paper was presented to Hon Prime Minister Joseph Muscat.

Definition and objective

Personal assistance is a social model, recommended by the UNCRPD, which recognises the personal characteristics and circumstances of individuals with different needs in order to help them interact with persons and the environment around them. Personal assistance users are aided in their everyday tasks in order to be able ‘to live with the same degree of self-determinations as others by mitigating disadvantages’ (Dr. Adolf Ratzka, 2018). The personal assistance programme aims to remove any barriers restricting persons with disability from having control over their lives, to the extent that users have the discretion to choose their personal assistant of their choice who can best support them in their needs and daily activities. Although personal assistance is not required by every disabled individual, all eligible individuals should have the right for their independence and to exercise choice and control. Under this type of model, assistance goes beyond the physical or mental impairment and the medical support required. Hence, the concept of personal assistance is not equivalent to thet of a carer.

Situation in Malta

Agenzija Sapport offers two schemes which fund a Personal Assistant, namely the SAC – Support Allocation Committee which pays for less than 12 hours per week and the PAF – Person Assistance Fund which pays for more than 30 hours per week. The latter scheme caters mainly for live in carers. Hence, this service does not meet the Personal Assistance criteria as the role of a Personal Assistant is different from that of a carer as mentioned above. Under such scheme, all individuals with disability under the age of 60 are eligible and is not restricted to any type of impairment. However, to serve the purpose of a PA, this scheme should be accessible by all individuals regardless of the cause or type of disability. The social worker carries out an assessment on how services are allocated in accordance with the request being made and the availability of resources. However, ideally allocation of hours should be based on self-assessment and the user should have the discretion to employ a person of his or her choice and design the programme of assistance. Moreover, these community services are currently subsidised by the Agency and if a person cannot afford the rest of the PA’s salary then he or she must remain without the service. Nonetheless a good social model would entail the funding of all the PA’s salary. A means test could also be applied where the user has to pay some of their own money towards the PA costs. Apart from the local provider which could be enhanced to ensure an adequate social model, a Personal Assistance Act has to be enacted. The lack of human resource is the biggest problem locally in this regard.

Recommendation and Way Forward

Separating the role of a Personal Assistant from that of a carer is important in taking on board the UNCRPD recommendations which are to:

Ensure that existing residential institutions that contribute to the seclusion of persons with disabilities are closed and strengthen appropriate community-based services;
Ensure that all projects supported by public funds are carried out in a community setting, do not contribute to seclusion of persons with disabilities, are monitored by organisations of persons with disabilities and are provided with sustainable continuous funding; and
Ensure that the financial and other measures are in place that allow persons with disability to be provided with personal assistance and that personnel supporting persons with disability in the community are appropriately trained, if necessary.

The Civil Society Committee supports the recommendations of the UNCRPD to enhance the Personal Assistance programme in line with the model as recommended by the UNCRPD. The adoption of the legal and other necessary measures, such as the planned Personal Autonomy Bill and the UN CRPD Bill, are paramount in making article 19 (Living Independently and being included in the community) of the Convention justifiable. This is possible by adopting and fully implement the Personal Assistance Model.