Refugees and people granted subsidiary or temporary protection in Malta will continue to benefit from free childcare and public transport, despite the Budget 2027 measures withdrawing these services from third-country nationals, Minister Glenn Bedingfield has said.
Speaking during a seminar with workers at the Agency for the Welfare of Asylum Seekers (AWAS) seminar, a week after Finance Minister Clyde Caruana announced the measures in the Budget, Bedingfield clarified that people with subsidiary protection and temporary humanitarian protection (THP) would be exempt from the new measures.
"We received a lot of questions about whether asylum seekers, whether persons who have subsidiary protection and THPs will continue to enjoy the benefits that they have been enjoying," he said.
"I can say that persons who have subsidiary protection and THPs will be excluded from the Budget announcement that my colleague, the Finance Minister, made last Monday. Therefore, they can continue to benefit from free public transport and free childcare," Bedingfield added.
The clarification followed widespread discussion over the changes announced in Budget 2027, under which third-country nationals will no longer be entitled to free public transport and childcare.
The measures also introduce a €400 annual infrastructure contribution for non-EU nationals applying for or renewing work permits.
The government has defended the changes as targeting employers it believes are exploiting the system, while civil society organisations have warned that they could place additional financial pressure on foreign workers and contribute to discrimination.
Bedingfield defends police over questions on investigative errors
During the same exchange with journalists, Bedingfield was also asked about police investigations and a number of cases in which questions have been raised over investigative errors.
Earlier, Bedingfield was asked about the acquittal of Lorin Scicluna in connection with the murder of Lassana Cisse. While refraining from commenting directly on the case, he acknowledged that verdicts of this nature "leave a bad taste" but stressed that the police were only one part of a wider judicial system.
Asked about the Yorgen Fenech case, the minister said that, as far as he knew, there had been no mistakes by the police.
When journalists referred to the search at the home of former OPM chief of staff Keith Schembri, during which investigators were reportedly instructed to seize only items identified by Schembri, Bedingfield rejected the suggestion that this was a mistake.
"I suggest you check the facts. It wasn't a mistake. I don't think it was intentional. The time to speak about that case will come," he said, reiterating his confidence in the police force.
He acknowledged that mistakes could happen, but said that nobody was perfect and that errors should not be intentional.
Police Commissioner Angelo Gafà, who was also questioned by journalists, said every mistake needed to be examined carefully, noting that some cases involved differences in judicial interpretation.
He said the Professional Standards Office was asked to investigate whenever possible mistakes or wrongdoing where identified, and that disciplinary action would follow if wrongdoing was established.