COLA at €4.66, increase in children’s allowance to €350 a year for each child

Expenditure in the social sector out of national funds this year went up to €989.2 million. In this budget expenditure will increase by €37.9 million to €1.02 billon.

Government will grant a COLA increase of €4.66 a week.

Increase in the minimum rate for children's allowance

Increase of Children's Allowance minimum rate by €100 to €350 a year for each child. This represents an investment of €2.8 million.

Removal of television licences

As from next year television licences will be removed. Those with an outstanding unpaid licence will still be asked to regularise their position, and a scheme will be implemented for them to be able to do this and thus avoid paying additional fines. Total savings for consumers will be €4 million.

Social benefits

Widowers or widows who remained entitled to a fixed rate of the widow's or widower's pension after remarrying will not lose this pension after having been remarried for more than five years.

Disabled Persons

As from next year, disabled persons who receive a severe disability pension will be able to work and earn up to the minimum wage without losing any of their pension.

For the past five years, when a person who received a severe disability pension got married, they did not lose the pension because of their spouse's income for the first five years of marriage. That limit is now removed so that a severely disabled person who gets married never loses their pension because of their spouse's income.

Increase in allocation to the agency SAPPORT for it to open a new branch in Pembroke, where disabled persons will be given more training and work experiences.

At present, the National Commission for Disabled Persons is finalising a report about the development which is needed in our country for severely disabled persons to have the required support not to become institutionalised. For this sector to carry out the necessary developments, the Government is allocating the sum of two million euro over a five-year period, with this year's sum being 400,000 euro.