Throughout the consultation process that led to the renewal of local councils one of the themes discussed at length with various stakeholders was that of human resources. Lack of human resources was a recurrent theme raised by local councils but, in finding a solution, we did not want to simply increase human resources and, as a consequence, increase the financial burden on local councils themselves and the government.

What we were looking for was to assist local councils and at the same time help improve the community. Local councils are there to represent the community and the community is made up of individuals. Some of those making up the community have problems related to lack of employment. Since there is the drive to motivate local councils to start working and exerting influence in the social and educational sectors, we wanted to amalgamate the two concepts and, while addressing the human resources problem, solve some of the social difficulties.

A number of proposals were put forward and, after being thoroughly analysed and thanks to the Ministry for Social Policy and ETC, government embarked on a Community Works Scheme that was launched by Minister for Social Policy John Dalli last week.

Through this scheme persons who have been registering for work for five years are being reintegrated into the working force by being given the opportunity to work in the community. This will not just strengthen local councils human resources but also alleviate social problems and give back a sense of dignity to people who for the past five years have felt inadequate and useless.

Persons who have reached a certain age and who have been out of work for a number of years sometimes find it almost impossible to find a job and this project will re-open the door to a number of them who may use the scheme as a step towards a better job that will really make a change in their quality of life. Through the Community Works scheme participants will have the opportunity to improve their skills or even learn new ones.

Government and local councils both want the system to work efficiently but we also understand that local councils cannot afford to spend a considerable number of man hours to monitor the system. In this regard it was agreed that the system will be monitored by a private entity. This will not just ensure the smooth running of the system and an efficient return to local councils, but also remove the burden of monitoring from local councils who will be able to direct their energies towards other areas.

Hundred registering persons will participate in a pilot project that will allow stakeholders to assess the scheme and decide where changes for improvement may be applied. The pilot project will also serve as testing ground for future schemes that will also assist those with social problems in a way that gives a tangible return to the community.

We do not aim to stop here. During consultation meetings with local councils and other entities a number of other ideas were conceived. Two ideas which were put forward and which we intend to explore are to give more opportunities to university students to start fulfilling their potential in their area of study to and employ persons who are serving a prison sentence.

Through these schemes students will have the opportunity to experience the working environment while helping their community during their holidays. The scheme would also go a long way towards instilling a sense of loyalty and commitment towards localities.

On the other hand, as we all know, people who have served prison sentences find it very difficult to re-integrate into society, let alone getting a job. A community scheme which would allow them some working hours in the community while serving their sentence would definitely smoothen their eventual transition from life in the correctional facilities to life in society. It would also mean that, apart from serving their sentence, they would be giving something back to society.

But maybe these two concepts are not round the corner yet. They are certainly workable concepts from which society at large can benefit but, in the meantime, lets ensure that the scheme launched last week is a success. I have no doubt it will be so and it will lead to similar schemes that will continue to turn social problems into opportunities for those with employment problems and for society in general.

Dr Chris Said is parliamentary secretary for public dialogue and information