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6 Budget 2014 maltatoday, TUESDAY, 5 NOVEMBER 2013 BUDGET AT A GLANCE S aturd ay s and afte r 2 p m d uring th e w e e k . VEHICLE REGISTRATION TAX • €3.5 million allocated for the return of vehicle registration tax paidbetween2004and2008.Theprocessisexpectedtotake sevenyears. AVIATION • €150,000 allocated for the funding of a research centre for Aviation. GOZ O AIR STRIP • Governmenttodecideonanextensiontothecurrentairstripin Gozo, after an Environment Impact Assessment and a socioeconomicstudy. ECO-CONTRIBUTION • Government currently evaluating changes to eco-contribution taxinordernottoputindisadvantagecertainbusinesses. VEHICLE REGISTRATION TAX • egistrationtaxofsecond-handvehiclesimportedfromoutside theEUwillbereducedifthevehicles'emissionsdonotexceed 150g kmandhavenotbeeninuseformorethaneightyears. • egistrationtaxofmotorcycleswillbereducedby25% SCRAPPING SCHEME • €600,000allocatedontwoyearsforacarscrappingsystem. • Thebenefitsgivenwillrangefrom€500to€900,accordingto theemissionslevelofthenewpurchasedcar. COW TENTS • €2.6 million allocated over three years for the setting up of cow tents. This measure was promised under the previous administrationeventhoughnofundswereallotted. ANIMAL CIRCUSES • Animalcircuseswillbeprohibitedfrom2014onwards. HEALTH • Thegovernmentintendstospend€444milliononhealthcare,an increaseof€40millionwhencomparedtothepreviousbudget. • ThetopprioritiesinthissectorincludethemanagementofMater Dei,stockmanagementofmedicinesandthe Pharmacyof our Choice.' • aitinglistswillbeaddressedinthelongterm,aswellasthe problemofbedsincorridors. • Mater Dei to become more accessible and patient-friendly by simplification of procedures and speeding up of appointments process. • Twonewacutewardswillbeinauguratedby2015with70beds. • Dermathologydepartmentwithin offa ospitalwillberelocated toMaterDei. • A pay-per-use system is introduced for the use of medical e q uip m e nt. TREATMENT IN ANOTHER COUNTRY • The Government will start paying the flight for both parents when their child re uires further treatment in another country. Until now, the government was only paying for one parent to accompanythechild. MEDICINES • Storage of medicines to be more centralised and a modern systemoncontractsawardedandpurchasestobeintroduced. CHILDREN'S CONDITIONS • udgetallocatedfornewmedicinesforseveralconditionssuch asME,AD DandMultipleSclerosis. HOUSING • Siblingswhocannotremainwiththeirnaturalfamilywillnotbe separatedwhengivenshelterbytheinstitutions. • The ousingAuthoritywillenterintopublic-privatepartnerships tobuildnewaccomodationsforpersonswithlimitedincome. • ousing Authority to sell several shell or semi-finished apartmentsatasubsidisedprice. • €650,000allocatedformaintenanceandenhancementprojects inhousingestates,includingthoseinStPaul's ay,Paolaand Isla. ELDERLY CARE • €67millionallocatedforelderlyandcommunitycare. • Twodaycentrestoopenin irguand alzan. • €400,000allocatedforworksonseveralwardsinStVincentde Paule esidence. Free childcare centres will be provided through an investment of €3.8 million ment will introduce an online reporting system where such cases can be reported. According to Scicluna, the steps will be taken against "foreign individuals who come to Malta without respecting the rules" – he then said that bona fide businesses that pay their taxes on time cannot work in an environment where they are competing against businesses that don't do likewise. EU Presidency 2017 2014 marks the first year of the Multi Annual Financial Framework for 20142010 – the first year of the new EU budget. The government said it will be prioritising the strengthening of competitiveness, economic sustainability, and more investment in human resources. Priority will also go to health, education, R&D, innovation, energy, job creation and credit access to SMEs. "The EU presidency of the first six months of 2017 are a great national challenge, and we will be facing it in a bipartisan approach. Training funds have already been allocated." Decrease in energy and water bills As expected, the government has announced that it will reducing water and electricity bills – something that taxpayers have been expecting since the first day of the election campaign of 2013. In March 2014, the electricity and water bills will be reduced by an average of 25% and 5% respectively for families, leaving more cash in people's pockets as well as provide a multiplier effect for the rest of the economy. "Alice in Wonderland" – the gas plant plan as dubbed by former finance minister Tonio Fenech during the campaign – "will leave €25 million in families' pockets, without any negative impact on public finances". "As forecasted, after international consortia showed their confidence in the project, the plan to reduce energy bills is on track. Had it been for someone else, we would be paying higher energy and water bills. This government is an assurance that consumers will pay less. We will be shifting to gas, which is healthier environmentally, and a new study on the feasibility of a gas pipeline will be carried out. The second part of this plan will be the reduction of energy bills in 2015 for businesses." Enemalta Also featuring in the Budget speech were plans for the purchase of a stake in Enemalta, reportedly 35% but not mentioned in the Budget, by Chinese government-owned China Power Investments and Shanghai Electric, which Scicluna said will bolster an agreement with Libya for the sale of fuel products at advantageous prices. "This is the plan that will save Enemalta from the disaster that it was left to fester in, and that will save the jobs of so many employees and open up new markets." Price stability The price of petrol, diesel and gas will remain stable up until the end of the year, while a new price agreement will keep the price of diesel stable for another three months from January to March. Malta Oil and Gas Corporation The government will be setting up a new oil exploration corporation to give what is currently a one-person department, the necessary infrastructure for the development of this sector. The MOGC will be the government's agency responsible for oil exploration strategy. Renewable energy The government has committed itself to incentivise alternative sources of clean energy, with a 3% target for the generation of clean energy in 2014. A revision of the National Renewable Energy Action Plan will be undertaken so that the government identifies policies and measures that will allow the government to reach its targets. Intelligent lighting The government will be carrying out a pilot project for intelligent street lighting in Gozo and 12km in Malta, co-financed by the EU funds and tagged at €2.8 million. The project will see present street-lighting replaced by less energy-consuming lighting that can withstand 60,000 hours of performance and which will have a dimming effect. Eventually, the project will extend towards the entire country, at a price tag of some €5.4 million. A €6 million lighting project will also be carried out in the Ruzar Briffa unit at the St Vincent de Paule home for the PERSONS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS • The government will make good for a guardianship system to persons with intellectual disabilities in order to prevent exploitationonsuchpersons. • Theallowancetochildrenwithspecialneedswillincreasefrom €16.31to€20perweek. GOZ O • The allocated budget to efalo's Ministry of Gozo revolves around€37million,an8%increaseoverlastyear. • AnNSOofficewillbesetupinGozo. • €12millionareallocatedfortheconstructionofnewbuildingto beusedascourt. HONORARIA • As outlined in Labour's manifesto, the MPs honoraria will be paidpro-rataaccordingtotheirattendanceinparliament. elderly, again co-financed by the EU. Retro-fitting and energy audits Various energy audits have been carried out on public buildings. The government will be promoting retro fitting on various buildings so that they can be energy efficient, since buildings consume 40% of energy generated and that it will promote public buildings that will be energy self-sufficient. Families will also be granted free experts' advice for a voluntary energy audit so that they can know how much their homes are consuming energy. Water heaters subsidy A €500,000 global subsidy is being voted in this year's Budget so that families can claim a subsidy on solar water heaters as well as roof insulation. Siggiewi school pilot project The government will be voting €1 million for a pilot project in the Siggiewi primary school in a bid to make the school more energy-efficient. National Plan for Water Although there is no sign yet of actual billing on the metering of water consumption from groundwater sources, the government has announced it is creating a national action plan on water so that a proper infrastructure is created to harvest rainwater and to restore and effectively manage any existing facilities for water harvesting. A campaign for the conservation of water will also be launched. ETC budget The government will be allocating €8.3 million to the Employment and Training Corporation, while a new committee has been created to monitor the Jobs+ programme as agreed to between the social partners back in January 2013. Free childcare The introduction of free childcare centres was one of Labour's main points during its electoral campaign, in a bid to encourage more women and single parents to seek work. "We want to help families to be in a better position to exploit the potential of every family member to find a balance between family duties and work," Scicluna said. €3.8 million will be invested in the next year so that childcare will be offered for free to families where two parents are both working, or in the case of single-parent families where that parent is working. The investment is expected to grow in the coming years, Scicluna said. A new white paper will seek consultation on the functioning of the system. Breakfast club for kids The Budget formally resurrects the idea of an airstrip in Gozo, one of the projects discarded by the Alfred Sant government in 1996 In a bid to allow working parents to drop their kids off to school earlier, the government will be introducing a Breakfast Club that will give school children a healthy and nutritious breakfast ahead of school hours, and promote a healthy lifestyle amongst

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