The government has still not replied to the Labour Party’s criticism about the drastic cut in children’s allowances over the last years, the Labour Party’s social protection spokesman, Karl Chircop, said yesterday.

The government has to date not justified why this important benefit had been drastically cut in the 90s decade so that today, on the eve of a general election, it proved the MLP right by again raising the allowance.

Dr Chircop said the children’s allowance had been introduced by the Labour government of the 70s and the highest amount paid out was in 1997, under Alfred Sant, when benefits paid out totalled Lm20.5 million. But over a stretch of 10 years, the Nationalist Party, by reducing the amounts paid out, had saved Lm49.2 million.

The increase now given, amounting only to 10 per cent of what had been denied to families, was obviously politically opportunistic, coming on the eve of a general election, he said.