Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said that he and his wife hosted some 15 activities at Villa Francia in 2015 at an average cost of €3,750 per occasion. This works out to a total of €56,250, although the total figure was not given in parliament.

Answering a parliamentary question by Opposition MP Toni Bezzina, Dr Muscat said: "Just as the previous legislature, from time to time, my wife and I receive people at Villa Francia."

Dr Muscat said that in 2015, there were 10 occasions where receptions, meetings and social gatherings were organised at the venue, with an average cost of €3,750 each,

He said that some of these events were also organised by the previous administration and also hosted at Villa Francia, such as the Malta International Fair reception and the Lija village feast. Another special occasion, he said, was after the appointment of Mgr Charles Scicluna as Archbishop of Malta. Other evefnts included receptions for foreign dignitaries, a reception for civil society organisations as well as a Christmas activity.

Dr Muscat referred Mr Bezzina to previous PQ replies for figures in 2013 and 2014.  He conluded: "I also wish to draw the attention of the honourable MP to the fact that during the last legislature, the opposition benches asked for similar information, but the Prime Minister of the time said that compiling the information would require a lot of work and no answer was ever given (PQ 26,428 - Seduta 373 - Leġiżlatura XI).