Falzon calls for ‘holistic’ approach to social housing

Former parliamentary secretary for planning Michael Falzon called on government to adopt a “holistic” approach to social housing.

“Rather than simply focusing on building more social housing blocks, government must take a holistic approach by facilitating planning and development processes and by streamlining policies,” he said during a parliamentary debate on the Housing Authority’s budget.

He was giving one of his first parliamentary speeches since he was fired from Cabinet in January, following a damning NAO report into the expropriation of half a house from Mark Gaffarena.

He didn’t go into detail as to what legislative changes he wanted to see implemented, but noted that they must take into account Malta’s changing demographics, such as an increasing number of single parents.

“It is useless stating that 19% of properties on the island are vacant. First of all, a lot of them are summer residences, and second of all, homeless people don’t care about these figures but about having a roof over their heads.”