British expert leading spending review

Public and Social Policy expert, Maurice Mullard has been engaged by the government to carry out a spending review.  

Finance minister Edward Scicluna explained that Mullard has been given a brief to establish the relevance of the government's financial allocations in its annual budget.

He added that Mullard's terms of reference include relocating existing expenditures to address priorities and other needs by using current financial resources.

"The spending review is expected to be completed by October 2013," Scicluna said.

Answering a Parliamentary question by Opposition MP Claudette Buttigieg, the finance minister noted that Mullard was engaged for his experience and academic qualifications.

Moreover, the minister added, Mullard had already served as a consultant to the Maltese government between 1998 and 2002. The London School of Economics and University of Southampton graduate had also studied at the Lyceum Grammar School in Malta in the 1960s.   

The British expert is being paid €23,000 gross and the government is also covering accommodation and travelling expenses.  

Shortly after taking office in March, Scicluna had announced that the Labnour government would be establishing a Spending Review Unit within the Finance Ministry, to assist each ministry to identify cost savings through the elimination of waste and other inefficiencies, as well as facilitating the exchange of good practices and incentives to ensure that the country's finances are improved.