Budget likely in second week of October

The budget is likely to be presented in Parliament as early as October 8 or 9, Parliamentary Secretary Tonio Fenech said yesterday.

Speaking to The Times, Mr Fenech said the government was aiming to present the budget as early as possible.

"If possible, we would like to present the budget in the first week of October, but as statistics needed for certain workings and projections may not be available immediately, the ambitious target of the first week of October is unlikely to be reached," he said.

The idea of presenting the budget as early as possible in October was to have the debate about it over before the Christmas period.

In launching the pre-budget document themed Familji fis-Sod (Families on a Sound Footing) on July 21, the Prime Minister had said the budget would focus on families, as the name clearly implies.

A change in children's allowance is being considered in order to give an extra helping hand to families with children, particularly those with more than one child.

The document also proposes incentive schemes for women and single parents to join the work force, specialised training for early school leavers and the introduction of a mandatory work scheme for the long-term unemployed.

Several organisations have hailed the ideas contained in the pre-budget document and others have called for revisions of the income tax bands.