Social services budget cuts to impact on new services

Updated at 4:12pm with minister's statement.

Labour MP Carmelo Abela said the €1.7 million budgetary cuts from the social services will be affecting all the new services that agencies such as Sedqa, Appogg, and Sapport, had been planning since the last Budget.

"The cuts will directly affect the most vulnerable individuals and families," Abela said.

Referring to the cuts in social services from the €40 million budgetary cuts announced in January, Abela said he was concerned at the new reductions and that they would be impacting upon the 1,030 people on the waiting lists of the three agencies, which fall under the umbrella of the Foundation for Social Welfare Services.

"Justice and family minister Chris Said has not even explained how this money is to be cut from the agencies' budgets, but it is the agencies who will be deciding how to make the cuts in budget," Abela said.

"These agencies already have serious problems to cope with their workload. I even know of one agency that does not have enough cash to fix their van," Abela said.

He added that the agencies employ a large number of social workers and specialists, however "the replacement process is taking longer than normal and for every three or four employees who go in retirement, only one or two new employees are being engaged."

Abela said government's actions contradict the Nationalist Party's local council elections campaign which revolves around the family. "The government is clearly not giving priority to families. The cuts convey a negative message in regards to social policy."  

Justice and Family Affairs Minister Chris Said, replying to a parliamentary question, said his ministry would see its budget fall by €1.7 million.

Sapport agency will see a cutback of €407,000 to €7.7 million, while Appogg's will drop by €178,000 to €3.4 million, and national drug agency Sedqa's budget will be reduced by €130,000 to €2.5 million.

In a reaction, family minister Chris Said said government spent €2.5 million every day on social services, and insisted that the budgets for the FSWS and its agencies had increased every year since 2010.

"The facts and figures speak for themselves. This government is increasing the expenditure on the social sector to help vulnerable people, families, children and the elderly," Said said.

The FSWS budget was increased by €1.6 million over 2011, with a total budget of €13.6 million.

According to the last Budget's estimates, its agencies' estimated budgets were €2.66 million for Sedqa, €8.12 million for Sapport, and €3.66 million for Appogg.

The government's other estimated expenditure includes €749 million in social benefits, of which retirement pensions amounted to €377 million.

In a slew of statistics from the ministry for the family, Said said the median pension in 2012 was €1,000 higher than that in 2008, when the Nationalist government was re-elected.

Since January 2012, children's allowance was increased by €100 to €350 a year for each child; while 55,000 working parents will benefit from income tax reductions of between €150 and €840 a year.