Recipients of social benefits will be able to travel abroad without losing their benefits, Social Solidarity Minister Michael Farrugia said.

Addressing a press conference to launch a national policy on poverty reduction, Dr Farrugia said he was shocked to find that benefit recipients were banned from travelling abroad.

"By what right can we stop someone from leaving the country," he asked.

Dr Farrugia said the situation was brought to his attention by a recipient who was told she would be cut off from receiving state aid if she went to visit her sister in Germany, even though her sister had paid for her flights.

He said he had already issued a directive to stop this from happening.

The minister also said that mature students on unemployment benefits would now also start getting a stipend.

The government, he said, was committed to developing a payments in arrears scheme for people who did not have enough social security payments to get a pension.

Dr Farrugia said the government would be offering stipends to mature students currently on benefits. He was also looking into ways to do the same for students younger than 25.

On pensions, the document suggests that people who have not amassed enough social security payments to be given a pension, should be given the opportunity to make payments towards this in arrears.

Other proposals include the setting up of an acute centre for the provision of psychiatric care, a whistle blower system for abuse in schools, and a crisis centre for impoverished and abused children.