Three government agencies involved in the social sector will suffer a drop in their funding as part of government cutbacks.

Justice and Family Affairs Minister Chris Said, replying to a parliamentary question, said his ministry would see its budget fall by €1.7m.

Within it, the Sapport agency will see a cutback of €407,000 to €7.7m. The budget of Appogg will drop by €178,000 to €3.4m, while the budget of Sedqa will be reduced by €130,000 to €2.5m.

The minister said spending will also be reduced in the budget for the law. There will be a small cut in spending in support of NGOs.

The government has said it will reduce its total spending by €40m to give it elbow room to intervene in particular sectors to safeguard jobs, should that be necessary in the current international economic climate. The cuts had also been sought by the EU to ensure that Malta achieved its deficit reduction targets.