Since its very inception, there is no denying Labour in power has always, rightly and zealously, been associated with social achievement. Throughout modern Maltese history, all that other political powers wanted to deny, postpone or inhibit to keep the old Establishment happy was brought to fruition by intervening Labour administrations over the decades. From a national insurance policy and free education to children's welfare, jobs, minority rights and liberties, housing and State support to the vulnerable and persons with a disability, it has been an ongoing story of attainment.
Not only was last Monday's Budget for 2022 Malta's most social budget ever, but it is also by far the strongest one for persons with a disability. With a budget of €50m it is sending a powerful message in favour of inclusion and quality of life for all. What makes it all the more unique, however, is the fact that the whole Budget package is bursting with other initiatives that target the environment and climate change as well as paving the way for sustained economic growth and a reduced deficit that has resulted from the massive and timely injections given to both the economy and the nation during a pandemic that has not yet given up its ghost.
A quick look at Budget 2022's social aspects should suffice in confirming government's determined approach to a flourishing legacy. This Budget is not merely a hindsight view of past achievements as one would normally ascribe to the term legacy, but the actual honing of a legacy that has the future in focus based on the success of the past. No idle exercise at sentimentality or nostalgia, but a stream of resolute objectives and serious ambitions backed by solid funds, facts and fortitude.
The disability sector is a major beneficiary and certainly not by coincidence. A €5 increase in the allowance to children with a disability amounts to a half-a-million output annually, doubling the income they used to receive in 2013, and a €300 increase in the grant to carers of persons with a disability are two focal adjustments in the process of ensuring quality of life for all citizens.
The Budget also provides for the payment of medical expenses due to invalidity in the case of infirm persons living with their parents, abetted by the removal of what used to be a mandatory means test with regard to assistance for severe disability and an enhanced scheme for exemptions and reductions in the acquisition of vehicles for persons with a disability.
Children with a disability in the birth-to-five-years age bracket will benefit from a scheme providing Occupational Therapy for those who need it, thus better and effectively consolidating the process of Early Intervention. There is also the investment in more schools setting up their own autism units and purchasing more braille machines.
Further support to children with a disability is an investment in their post-secondary education through an extension of all services provided to them while they still attend compulsory education.
Budget 2022's social impetus is also reflected in the investment in a Community Hub for persons with a disability in the north of the country, where specialised training will be provided in connection with independent living. Also on track are extensions of the services of psychologists to persons with a disability and their families, the purchase of drive-from-wheelchair vehicles and focussed training for driving tutors and the continuation of the INK project which caters for training and the provision of paid work experiences to persons with a disability.
The Budget fiscally confirms the "New Hope" guarantee scheme recently announced by the Housing Authority in ascertaining an alternative life insurance policy to persons who, because of their disability or medical condition, were hitherto denied one and so could not become home owners.
There is a wholesome sense of well-being in the 2022 Budget, beckoning the future as it turns a creditable legacy into a flourishing one.
Julia Farrugia Portelli is Minister for Inclusion and Social Wellbeing