The number of people in poverty or at risk of poverty in Malta has risen, according to EU statistics, and the government needs to do something about it, the PN spokesman on social welfare, Clyde Puli, said today.

In a year, since the last survey, those in poverty or at risk of falling below the poverty line had increased by 6,000, he said.

This figure, he said, needed to be seen in the context of slower wage rises and a drop in retail trade. 

According to the EU yardstick, he said, 99,000 people in Malta were in poverty or at risk of poverty or social exclusion. Furthermore, while up to a year ago, salaries rose by an average of €500 annually, over the past year they rose by an average of just €100.  

The PN, he said, was ready to work with the government to pull people out of poverty.

GOVERNMENT, OPPOSITION ARGUE OVER THE FIGURES

In a reaction, the government said the figures Mr Puli had quoted actually applied to 2012.

The report he had quoted stated that: "The income reference year of the SILC survey is one calendar year prior to the survey year. Consequently, the income collected in SILC 2013 refers to the calendar year 2012."

Therefore, through his criticism, Mr Puli had actually been attacking the performance of the Nationalist government.  

It said the government was committed to bring about change and was already taking measures to improve the people's purchasing power, such as by reducing utility tariffs. More measures would be introduced in the coming months.

In reply, the PN stood its ground, saying the figures quoted were for 2013 except for one table which referred to 2012. It was the explanation for this table that the government had quoted.

The PN said the government should not blame others for problems of its own doing.