World Children's Day and welfare reform

Welfare reform has been a common feature of political debate within Western democracies for decades. In Malta the sustainability of our welfare system in its present form is being seriously questioned and has led to a self-reflective exercise that is far-reaching and intimately connected with economic restructuring.

This was clearly brought out earlier this month by Central Bank Governor Michael C. Bonello in his address to the annual dinner of the Institute of Financial Services - Malta. He stated: "The time has clearly come for a radical welfare reform, which reconciles the objectives of social cohesion and intergenerational equity with financial sustainability."

In fact, the major economic challenges of reducing the high government deficit and guaranteeing the sustainability of public finances have formed the backdrop of various significant recent studies on the current situation regarding social protection and social inclusion in Malta vis-à-vis EU expectations. (1)

A better understanding of the responsibilities of the State and the individual is a central feature of this crisis. I would like to contribute to this debate on the occasion of World Children's Day by highlighting some of the difficulties that the protection of children's social rights carry and how this is susceptible to an insidious form of abuse of the welfare system by some individuals.

The social rights of children are hardly disputable. Unlike their participatory rights, they have never been fundamentally contested. It is only certain participatory rights that have been viewed suspiciously for a variety of reasons that range from being considered as a form of threat that can drive a wedge between children and those who have legitimate authority over them to being an instrument of potential self-harm. These social rights are extensive and are legally protected within most jurisdictions.

To the child's right to life is added the right to development. This right includes the conditions necessary for development, such as care, adequate living conditions, health and education.

The United Nations Convention on Children's rights is the key international legal document in this field. It clearly states that the family is the best environment for the child to thrive in and that state parties should provide the necessary support to the best of their abilities for families to fulfil their responsibilities.

It also specifies that in the absence of such a suitable family the state should shoulder the responsibility. The European Social Charter sets similar priorities and both instruments have procedures to monitor the member states in their implementation of these rights.

Furthermore, the idea that the lives and normal development of children should have first claim on society's resources in good times and in bad has been widely endorsed and is also firmly embedded within our value system. Therefore, a call for a curbing of public expenditure should not necessitate either a reduction of public expenditure related to children's welfare or to reluctance in providing new services to better meet present needs or to pre-empt future ones.

In his address to the Institute of Financial Services, Mr Bonello pointed out that "Malta has a welfare system which is certainly generous but which is not socially just in the sense that it does not allocate the relatively larger share of resources to those who are most in need". He adds: "The system for granting certain benefits should be reviewed to prevent abuse." (2)

These two points taken together can be interpreted as having a particular relevance to children. Children are often not the direct recipients of welfare that is primarily aimed at meeting their essential needs. It is the family of the child or the parent responsible for the care and custody of the child that receives the benefits or the preferential treatment in the allocation of essential needs, such as housing.

While these welfare allocations can and do make a substantial difference to the life chances of many children, they are also open to the particular type of abuse that I have referred to. Some parents exploit care and custody of children to maximise the total amount of social benefits they can claim and victimise children in the process.

This abuse, like any other abuse, weakens societal consensus in favour of an extensive welfare system and strengthens the demand for a more minimalist approach to welfare provision. But it has the added danger of leaving the child doubly exposed to neglect from both the adults in whose care they are supposed to be and unintentionally from the state, which believes that it is fulfilling its obligations towards the children who are being abused.

Solutions are not easy to find. What is definitely called for is a more careful monitoring of the situation. This may require an increase in human resources and an extension of carefully targeted services. It is difficult to justify further demands on scarce financial resources but as a nation we are generally keen to fulfil our obligations towards sustainable human development.

References

1. For example, 'Social Protection in Malta', January, 2003, A country report of the social protection system carried out in acceding countries to the EU. Also, 'Joint Memorandum On Social Inclusion', December, 2003, prepared by the Government of Malta and the European Commission, Directorate General for Employment and Social Affairs.

2. Mr Bonello makes particular reference to invalidity pensions - http://www.centralbankmalta.com/site/pr1main.asp?ItemID=353.

Mrs Muscat Azzopardi is a member of the Council for Children. She holds an M.Phil. in Children's Rights.