Slight reduction in poverty rates, but PN says not enough being done

Malta has seen slight reductions in poverty rates between 2019 and 2020, according to the annual Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) survey.

While the number of people who live in households with equivalised incomes below the at-risk-of-poverty (ARP) line of €9,744 increased slightly 85,369 persons, the ARP rate of 16.9% was 0.2 percentage points lower than in 2019.

The average gross household income for 2019 is estimated at €38,209, while average disposable income is estimated at €31,266. Disposable income is defined as the amount of money available to households for spending purposes, after deducting taxes, social contributions and alimonies.

National equivalised income (NEI) is defined as a household’s total disposable income, divided by the number of people in the household. Those at risk of poverty have incomes below 60% of NEI.  

The severe material and social deprivation rate (SMSD) among persons living in households was 5.1 per cent – a 0.1 point increase – with the two most influential variables being the ability of households to spend one week’s annual holiday away from home and the ability of households to replace worn-out furniture.

Another indicator, the at-risk-of-poverty or social exclusion rate (AROPE) provides the share of persons who are either at-riskof-poverty, severely materially and socially deprived, or residing in a household with low work intensity: this decreased by 0.9 percentage points, to 19.9%.

A person is considered to be AROPE if they live in a household that is either ARP, SMSD, or has low work intensity (LWI).

The ARP rate among those aged below 18 was 20.4%, decreasing by 0.2 points from the previous year. An increase of 0.3 points was observed for persons aged 18-64, where one finds the ARP rate was 13.5% in 2020. The rate for 65+ persons went down to 26.3%, a decrease of 1.4 points.

The mixed results were latched onto by the Nationalist Party, which pointed out the absolute increase in people at risk of poverty climbing from 83,000 to 85,000 in 2020, despite the decrease in the rate itself indicating a slowdown in the number of people who fall below the threshold.

“These numbers show the failure of Robert Abela’s policies,” PN deputy leader David Agius and MP Ivan Bartolo said. “The gap between the rich and poor keeps growing in Malta, leading to burdens on these people which only direct help can alleviate, and which takes time to reap benefits.”

“Although the data shows a small reduction in the rate of people under the ARP threshold, it is clear this reduction is not enough when seeing the substantial increase in poverty rates in 2018 and 2019. It shows that this government is not truly committed enough to turn this situation around.”

The MPs called for a holistic plan to address poverty, beyond annual budgetary measures. “Poverty must be addressed at its roots, with concrete measures aimed at people who are victims, among them pensioners, the sick and the unemployed.”

The MPs said poverty can be tackled with the investment in people, with work schemes aimed at those hailing from families where generations are stuck in poverty, to be assisted until they can fend for themselves.