Social benefits on the rise despite COVID pandemic setbacks, ministry says

In 2022, post-pandemic, financial allocation towards various social benefits rose by approximately €90 million when social measures during the COVID pandemic are accounted for, the Ministry for Social Policy said. It said that, in fact, througho

By: independent.com.mt

Jun 29 2024
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Social benefits on the rise de

It said that, in fact, throughout 2022, the recurrent financial allocation increased by around €90 million when compared to the previous year with the majority of these increases going towards pensions, sickness and unemployment benefits, amongst others.

The Ministry said that statistics issued by the NSO (National Statistics Office), focused on the country’s social protection, confirm this. It said that this increase in social protection is aside from the investment made on supplements and benefits linked to COVID, in fact, in 2020 and 2021, apart from the introduction or improvement of dozens of social benefits and measures, the government had stongly invested to safeguard the interests and employment of thousands of people during the COVID pandemic.

The Ministry said that during 2022, this expenditure considerably decreased by €246 million on benefits in connection to COVID, so, without counting the help that was given during the pandemic, it would result that in 2022 the government increased recurrent investment in social protection by €90 million.

It said that the positive effect of this government help during the pandemic is still felt even though it has started to decrease or be removed, indeed, benefits tied to unemployment reach 21,764 per month with the 79.6% majority of them having received the COVID Wage Supplement. Furthermore, it said that around 47,408 people received at least one payment from this scheme during 2022.