The role of local councils in their capacity as the tier of governance closest to the people is crucial if we want to succeed in our mission of providing a better quality of life, particularly to the most vulnerable.

It was with this context in mind that my parliamentary secretariat initiated internal talks to draft particular schemes enabling local councils to participate in initiatives intended to improve accessibility.

We are working closely with the parliamentary secretariat responsible for the rights of persons with disabilities and active ageing to raise awareness among local councils on the difficulties faced by residents with special needs.

We want to introduce a culture among local councils whereby it comes natural to take into account the needs of persons with different abilities when drafting proposals for future projects.

Last February, we launched a scheme on accessibility and shortlisted 14 local councils. The various local councils proposed initiatives that could be less visible to those who do not make use of them but life changing to those persons with special needs who would wish to live an independent life.

We incentivised accessibility initiatives by contributing €25,000 to the Qormi council, whose project placed first, €15,000 to the second-placed Xagħra council and €8,000 to the Sliema council in third place.

We need to act holistically in our future initiatives and address current shortcomings, which the Department for Local Government is focusing on to provide the necessary guidance to the various local councils on how to solve them on a permanent basis.

It is through a common commitment based on the principle of being closest to the people that we can guarantee more effective local governance.