Marie Louise Coleiro Preca, the Labour Party’s spokesperson for social solidarity, said the government was again playing games with elderly people regarding vouchers for water and electricity bills.

There were some, she said, who had been fully exempted from the electricity surcharge before the vouchers were introduced, but who now would be paying a substantial part of it.

Some elderly people were being asked to pay a surcharge of Lm11.33 for a Water Services Corporation bill for two months, and the government was refunding them only Lm2.09 in exemption. This meant that whereas these elderly people were fully exempted from the surcharge, they were now being made to pay Lm9.

Party spokesman for the elderly Silvio Parnis said that Labour in government would give the elderly priority. St Vincent de Paul residence for the elderly would be one of the best available.

Another release on the surcharge was issued by the Family and Social Solidarity Ministry, in reply to a statement by former MLP education secretary Alfred Grixti.

The ministry said Mr Grixti had not even bothered to look at the vouchers being sent to beneficiaries of the energy benefit.

Had he done so, it added, he would have realised that, contrary to what he was saying, those eligible for the new energy benefit were also receiving a full refund on the water service charge and the electricity rent, termed on the voucher as kera ta’ l-arlogg (dawl u ilma), amounting to Lm24 (EUR55.90) per year. Apart from this, beneficiaries were also receiving a refund on surcharge and this was all clearly indicated on the explanatory breakdown printed on the voucher.

The ministry said correct information was available in leaflets on the energy benefit available at area offices of the Social Security Department, local council offices and Maltapost branches. People could also call the Social Policy Information Centre, open from Monday to Saturday from 8am to 8pm, on telephone number 159.