Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/585015
12 Budget 2016 maltatoday, TUESDAY, 13 OCTOBER 2015 NEW MEASURES 500 traineeships, work exposure schemes per year THE Employment and Training Centre will battle unemployment by offering 500 traineeships and work exposure schemes every year for the next seven years, hence giving a leg up to people with little work experience. The ETC, which will be rebrand- ed into 'JobsPlus', will also launch a scheme that will grant employ- ment aid to businesses that they will use to promote the employ- ment of disadvantaged jobseekers. In an attempted clampdown on precarious employment, JobsPlus will also place downloadable em- ployment contract templates on their website. It will also distrib- ute a charter of basic workers' rights to every household on the island. Moreover, 400 workers are ex- pected to benefit next year from a scheme that obliges subcontracted workers to receive equal pay as workers employed directly by gov- ernment. Stipends for mature students and a university 'master plan' For the first time, mature stu- dents (23 or older) enrolled in full-time courses at university or MCAST will receive stipends. This scheme – which will kick in from January – will precede an ambitious 'masterplan' for the University of Malta that envis- ages the roping in of the private sector to help it develop into an 'academic city' that will literally be active 24/7. Next year, the UoM will establish two new entities – one to act as a quality assurance tester for its courses and services, and another to provide academics with administrative assistance for research. New facilities will be built to cater for post-doctorate courses, and the Mathematics and Physics building will be extended. Investment will also be poured into the small Gozo Campus, with the final goal of attracting doctor- ate students and post-doctoral re- searchers. MCAST regeneration MCAST will be split into three colleges – a Foundation College, a Technical College, and a Univer- sity College. New blocks will be built for the institute of engineer- ing and transport, the library, and the Learning Support Unit. It will also offer more appren- ticeship schemes and introduce new types of work-based learning. Four new schools in the pipeline A new post-secondary school in Gzira will cater specifically for 16- year-olds with only one O-level, so as to give them a leg up en route to further education, training, or work. Students attending this school will be granted stipends. New secondary schools will be built in Kirkop and Dingli, and the first phase of a new school in St Paul's Bay will commence. Moreover, the Wardija Education Resource Center will be extended, a football ground will be built at a Marsaskala school, a sports track will be built in Pembroke, and a former Treasury building will be converted into offices for the De- partment of Examinations. Funds will be allocated to con- struct a new storey at the Mariam Al Batool Islamic school. New childcare centres Following the government's much-praised introduction of free childcare, it will next year open three new child care centres in Haz-Zebbug, St Julian's and Flo- riana. The One Tablet Per Child project will start being rolled out, a new screening programme will aim to identif y children's special needs as early as possible, while primary schools that sign up to a literary scheme will be granted 100 books – 50 in Maltese and 50 in English – per classroom. Innovative 'hub' for disabled people A 'hub' will be set up specifically for people with a disability. The complex will include private resi- dences for disabled people, a hos- tel, a respite centre, shops, a pool, a day centre, and an underground parking space. As announced in the previous Budget speech, the fine for em- ployers who don't comply with legislation in connection with the employment of disabled people will double, reaching €1,600. The fines will be allocated to the Lino Spiteri Foundation that aims to integrate disabled people into the workplace. To further incentivise employ- ers to recruit disabled people, the government will once again offer them a tax deduction – capped at €4,500 - equivalent to the em- ployee's wage. Employers will also be eligible for a grant equivalent to 25% of the disabled employee's wage, along with a weekly €125 subsidy over three years. €13 million on roadworks, motorcycle license fee slashed TRANSPORT Malta will invest €13 million in roadworks in 2016, €3 mil- lion more than it would have invested this year. The works will include those on Vjal ix-Xarolla in Zurrieq and on Triq Patri Pelagju and Triq Anthony Aquilina in Haz-Zebbug. As announced by Prime Minister Joseph Muscat last week, an experi- mental tidal system pilot project will also be introduced in a number of four-lane roads, including Aldo Moro Road in Marsa. Amid daily gridlock traffic and plummeting ratings for transport minister Joe Mizzi, pressure is on the government to address the problem. In the Budget, it announced a series of public consultation sessions over potential solutions for this notorious problem, Notably, it will also encourage peo- ple to switch from the car to the less bulky motorcycle – by slashing license fees for small 125cc motorcycles to €10 per year. Registration tax will also be completely removed for electric motorcycles. It will reintroduce a scheme, where- by people who purchase bicycles or pedelecs will receive a grant of 15.25% on the purchase price of the bicycle. The maximum grant will be increased from €150 to €250. Two new funds will be set up - to en- courage businesses to invest in bicycle racks, and to encourage local councils to promote the use of bicycles. Moreover, two public-private part- nerships will also be set up to identify new underground parking zones in Mosta and Wied il-Ghajn. A mere four-line paragraph in the Budget speech was allocated for im- provements in public transport, stat- ing that the service has "undoubtedly" improved since the Arriva days, that the new bus network will soon be in- troduced, and that the government will insist with Malta Public Trans- port to improve bus frequency and punctuality. A car pooling policy is in the pipe- line, and Transport Malta will develop a mobile app designed for car poolers. Alternative transport announce- ments were limited to planned im- provement in the ferry service con- necting Valletta with Sliema and the Three Cities. Higher fines will be dished out to drink-drivers and people caught us- ing their mobile phones while driving, and new laws will clamp down on peo- ple with unregistered foreign cars. Schemes for low-emission vehicles In an attempt to reduce vehicle pol- lutant emissions, government will re- introduce a scheme to encourage peo- ple to replace vehicles over ten years old with newer low-emission cars People who scrap an old vehicle and purchase a new electric one will be eligible to a €7,000 grant, people who purchase an electric vehicle without scrapping an old one will be eligible to a €4,000 grant, and people who pur- chase an electric quadricycle will be eligible for a €2,000 grant. Owners of hybrid vehicles with car- bon dioxide emissions between 50 and 65g/km will be eligible for a €2,000 grant. Owners of plug-in hybrids with CO2 emissions between 1 and 50g/ km will be eligible for a €3,000 grant. Owners of vehicles with CO2 emis- sions lower than 100g/km will be en- titled to a €900 grant, while owners of vehicles with CO2 emissions between 101 and 130g/km will be eligible for a €700 grant. Cars that have clocked up over 160,000km will be obliged to undergo an annual Vehicle Roadworthiness Test, and businesses that purchase hy- brid or electric vehicles will be entitled to a one-off tax return of 50% of the purchase price of the vehicle. In an innovative scheme, hybrid and electric vehicles will be exempted from Valletta's Controlled Vehicular Access parking scheme. Health: IVF parents get special leave IN a move which could be met by resistance from employers, gov- ernment is proposing an introduc- tion of leave from work for couples undergoing IVF treatment. New paediatric emergency at Mater Dei A new block at Mater Dei will add 68 new beds to the national hospital. A public private partner- ship will be set up to reduce wait- ing lists for people who require hip and knee replacements. Karen Grech Hospital in Pieta will be re-developed into a hospital with 320 beds for elderly people, while St Luke's Hospital will be devel- oped into a hospital for medical tourists. This project will create 1,000 new jobs. A public private partnership for a health centre in Kirkop is also being proposed. Medicines at your doorstep In line with Labour's electoral pledge, a pilot project will be launched to deliver medicines di- rectly to people's homes. Noting that upon taking office in 2013, some 200 medicines were out of stock, the finance minister said the list has been reduced to five. Moreover, new medicines to treat diabetes will be added to the gov- ernment's formulary list.