Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said on Tuesday that the government wanted to shift people away from the mentality that social housing was inherited by successive generations.

Speaking during a Cabinet meeting, the first part of which was open to the press, Dr Muscat made it clear that this was not aimed at changing the rules for those already in social housing.

Dr Muscat said the idea was to track a person’s means throughout his or her lifetime, and cater for their housing requirements accordingly.

The Prime Minister has hinted at a shift in social housing policy in previous years, having said that the culture of entitlement that went with such benefits needed to be done away with.

Ministers during Tuesday's cabinet meeting. Photo: Chris Sant Fournier

On Tuesday, the Prime Minister said one in every three euros of public funds was spent on the social sector. 

At the same time, the government had managed to decrease the amount of people who were dependent on social benefits, Dr Muscat said.

Dr Muscat said the main aim remained the eradication of poverty. He said those classified as living in property had decreased from 43,000 people in 2013 to 14,000.

Turning to the rental market, Dr Muscat said the government would help those in need in a manner that did not disrupt the market.