The Cost-of-Living Adjustment for 2014 will be €3.49 a week, and minimum-wage earners and pensioners who do not presently pay any tax will be exempt from paying any taxes on the increase.

The tax credit limit for parents who send their children to private childcare centres will be extended from €1,300 to €2,000, to help make the centres more affordable.

The tax allowance for parents with children in tertiary education will be extended to those whose children are up to 23 years old, increasing the present age limit by two years.

In a bid to encourage more widows to remain active in the labour market, capping on children’s age and on wages will be removed, allowing those who earn more than the national minimum wage and whose children are 21 or older to continue receiving a full pension.

A single-means testing mechanism for persons or households eligible for social benefits from various government entities will be introduced next year.

An out-of-hour service to provide crisis intervention and other support to persons and families in need is to be launched, in a bid to prevent domestic situations from escalating. It will likely be linked to Supportline 179.

The maintenance separated persons give to their estranged spouses will now be taken into consideration when they claim for a non-contributory medical assistance. The maintenance is already considered when recipients apply for such assistance.

Existing measures at Agenzija Appogg will be consolidated in a bid to address its waiting list and reduce the caseloads of social workers, and prevent critical situations involving child abuse, children in care and domestic violence from escalating. The agency’s community-based services will also be further developed, with the aim of addressing social problems at an earlier stage.

A pilot project would see the creation of a residential, community-based facility to keep siblings in care together and offering them a family-like environment: presently, services and facilities tend to be structured by age and gender.

Justice

First-time offenders facing simple drug possession charges will be given the option to enter an arrest referral scheme instead of a court arraignment, although this necessitates an admission of the charge. Their case will be tackled by an extra-judicial body which will ascertain that they follow any instructions and interventions that they deem fit.

The measure aims to address such cases more effectively, and reduce the burden on the police and on the law courts.

Elderly/disabled persons   ·          €16.31 weekly allowance rate for a disabled child will be increased to €20 ·          ‘Home Help Service Scheme’ to be extended ·         Elderly/disabled persons employing live-in carers to be exempted from NI ·         Guardianship Board to be set up for persons with a disability Tax on transfer causa mortis for every property inherited by disabled persons to be abolished  

The government is committed to encourage senior citizens to continue residing in the community, leading to a win-win situation as senior citizens are able to spend time within their own familiar community, while relieving the demand on long-term care beds.

In addition, the government is committed to continue giving a full pension to pensioners who choose to carry on working after their retirement age.

In addition, it is studying ways for women without sufficient pension contributions to be able to buy-back years and therefore be able to retire on a minimum pension.

Due to the fact that in many cases elderly people have started to employ live-in carers (mostly foreign) to help them continue to reside at home, a scenario which is also emerging in the case of disabled persons, the government is exempting the elderly and disabled persons from social security contributions.

Meanwhile, a €300 grant will be extended to those persons over 75 years.

The government will also be extending the ‘Home Help Service Scheme’ where assistance is provided to over 3,700 bene?ciaries with 209 pending applications for the service.

Two new day centres, one in Vittoriosa and the other in Balzan, will be opening.

Since it is the government’s wish for the elderly to keep on living within the community, existing services will be strengthened, including the Telecare service.

Regarding persons with special needs, the government is committed to improving their rights while also increasing day centre placements from the present 400 to more than 600.

For many years it has been impossible for a person with disability with a chronological age of 18-24 to ‘graduate’ into a day centre. Currently, the State only provides 400 places for a cohort of over 2,000 (merely mentioning the intellectually-challenged) who ought to be bene?ting from such continuing education and training. Therefore, renovation works will be conducted at Sapport residences.

Sapport will strive to continue expanding its residential services through semi-independent living for persons suffering from mild to moderate disabilities, however the target is to set up semi-independent houses in the community which can adequately cater for individuals.

Residential Service for Minors at Risk Experience is showing that a considerable number of disabled minors have ended up or are at risk of ending up in institutions. This is due to parental breakdown, family burnout or an abusive family environment. Therefore, a residential unit to accommodate their needs will be set up.

The €16.31 weekly allowance rate for a disabled child will be increased to €20 per eligible child.

A Guardianship Board will be set up for persons with a disability while the government aims to increase respite services so as to support the parents and families of disabled persons, in particular those with challenging behaviour.

A programme will be created for youths exhibiting challenging behaviour, the programme of which aims to offer intensive and structured interventions to address their behaviour while also striving to direct such youths into joining the labour force.

The government will be abolishing completely the tax on transfer causa mortis for every property inherited by disabled persons.

Elderly

The introduction of the so-called third pillar pension (an additional voluntary pension) has been confirmed, although the actual measure will only be introduced following a consultation process.

The government also pledges to address anomalous pension situations, including through an evaluation to address those who were performing duties with government departments before 1979 but who were employed directly with the government afterwards.

The amount of service pension which is not taken into consideration for social security pension assessment purposes will be increased by €200 to €1,466 next year. 

This story was sponsored by HSBC Bank Malta p.l.c