Sant wants to strengthen protection of children

Labour will transform the role of the Children's Commissioner into that of an ombudsman, bestowing this office with greater powers than the existent set-up, party leader Alfred Sant said yesterday.

"The experience of the past few years has shown that the role of the Children's Commissioner is not strong enough. As an ombudsman, the person will be able to pursue certain cases, make judgments and expect its recommendations to be implemented by a Labour government," he said.

Speaking against the backdrop of a new billboard, portraying a young mother and child, with the slogan We Care, Dr Sant announced a series of measures geared to provide an adequate foundation - be it spiritual, educational or cultural - for families and their children.

With regard to the purchase of medicines, the party wanted to alleviate the burden on families and it planned to review the state's Schedule V, a list of conditions that entitles patients to free medicines, to include those related to certain mental illnesses and eczema, among others.

Asked if he planned to retain the recent introduction of the pharmacy of your choice, Dr Sant said this was a measure his government had attempted to introduce between 1996 and 1998 and it was cut short.

"In principle we agree with this. Once elected, we'll look into how it's operating and if it's working we'll keep the present system," he said.

His party also planned to strengthen the legal and administrative structures that protected families and children, and one of the most crucial points was the launch of the Children's Act.

"We're still behind on having a Children's Act, which we can be proud of, that's effective and which will ensure a greater focus of resources," he stressed.

He also spoke about strengthening the present structures of fostering and adoption, to create a fairer and more transparent system.

He recounted a touching experience when he visited a couple during his house visits. Walking through the hall he passed locked rooms, which were cold and bare, until he reached the sitting room.

"This couple opened their heart to share the problem of having spent years trying to adopt a child. The chill of their home seemed to symbolise the problem they were facing," he said.

The Criminal Code provisions on the "hideous and disgusting" crime of paedophilia would also be strengthened, because he felt this was more prevalent than anybody suspected.

On the subject of the National Children's Council, Dr Sant said this should not serve as a mouthpiece of the government but ensure more active participation by civil society.

A Labour government was also committed to create a centre for research on family affairs within the University of Malta.

With regard to children with disabilities, Dr Sant said he was often faced with parents' concerns about the fate of their children after the parents died.

With this in mind his government planned to refurbish a section of St Luke's Hospital into a residential home for children with severe disabilities, who lose their parents, so that they can live comfortably and be provided with the appropriate care.

On the subject of the elderly, Labour was proposing to gradually reduce the contribution of those living in the state's old people's homes by 15 per cent. This meant that they will have 65 per cent deducted from their pension instead of the present 80 per cent.

In a bid to improve their quality of life, Labour was also proposing to introduce the concept where families could "adopt" an elderly person from their community giving them a new lease of life and eliminating the sense of loneliness.

During question time, the subject diverted from social policy, but Dr Sant took each query in his stride.

The issue of overtime was raised again and Dr Sant was informed that the editor of The Economic Update had sent the text of the interview to Charles Mangion, Labour spokesman on finance, before the article was printed in December's issue, but no changes had been made.

"Sometimes we're so inundated with work that we wouldn't have read the script of the interview. This is the case with Charles Mangion. There was a problem in this case where the text had to be changed and in fact we later issued a correction," he admitted.

"I repeat that we are against any policy where overtime is paid at a normal rate," he stressed.

Dr Sant was also asked to reply to the concerns of those who planned to vote Labour but feared the fact that the party was planning to reopen negotiations with the EU on the shipyards, because they felt too many millions of liri had already been pumped into it to try and save it.

"If this is the people's concern, then it's best not to vote Labour, because we are against closing down the shipyards. However, people can put their mind at rest that we are not planning to open a battle with the EU, we just want to safeguard Malta's interests," he said.