The Ministry for the Family and Social Solidarity shall embark on the following objectives:

• the continued development of personalised social services and the further enhancement of a generous safety net for all sectors of Maltese society, with particular emphasis on children, families and those deemed to be most vulnerable to ensure a basic standard of living for all Maltese citizens;

• fighting against poverty and social exclusion and promoting social inclusion and equal opportunities;

• promoting a policy of home ownership through the provision of affordable housing, while at the same time ensuring that the most vulnerable sectors of Maltese society benefit from an active programme of social housing including through partnerships with the private and/or voluntary sector.

Implementation of Objectives:

Various initiatives shall be undertaken by the Ministry for the Family and Social Solidarity to achieve the abovementioned objectives, including the following:

• the ongoing implementation of the EU Social Acquis to ensure that Maltese citizens benefit from all the benefits and rights enjoyed by European citizens;

• the continued implementation of an ambitious IT programme to enhance customer care, efficiency and effectiveness of all the Ministry’s services;

• the continuation and commissioning of further research to provide necessary information as a basis for grounded policy decisions;

• the restructuring of the regulatory and delivery functions of personalised social services to better address emerging trends and social problems;

• the consolidation of the personalised service delivery agencies, namely Appogg, Sedqa and Sapport under the Foundation for Social Welfare Sevices;

• the enhancement of the current structure supporting equal opportunities legislation;

• the further implementation of family-responsive policies to support men and women in balancing their family and work responsibilities;

• the adjustment of social protection systems to parallel active labour market policies, as well as vigorously acting against the abuse of welfare benefits;

• the amalgamation of the entities responsible for the housing sector and the implementation of measures to further channel such programmes to those most in need;

• the recognition of the right of victims of domestic violence for safety and enjoyment of the assets of the family, the enactment of the Domestic Violence Act and support to shelters accommodating domestic violence victims;

• the recognition at law of the rights of the child and the State’s commitment to provide quality services to children necessary to ensure total inclusion and a healthy development, the enactment of new specific legislation related to fostering, adoption and childcare;

• the ratification of the Revised European Social Charter;

• the recognition of voluntary organisations which are complaint with the established standards and their right to support from the State, the enactment of the Voluntary Organisations Act and the continued provision of financial support following the restructuring of the funding system to voluntary organisations to include more accountability in terms of quality assurance and cost effectiveness;

• the establishment of standards and coordination between entities involved in services with particular reference to the drugs and alcohol sector including the publication of specific policies for these sectors;

• the continued upgrading of social legislation, including an act to establish the Department for Social Welfare Standards as a regulator of personalised social welfare services, the revision of the Social Security Act including amendments in line with government’s decisions on the future of the new pension regime and the reform to the invalidity pension, and the revision of the rent laws.