83 people engaged on ‘trust basis’ at Office of the Prime Minister

The Office of the Prime Minister employs 83 people on a trust basis, information tabled in Parliament has revealed.

These include 23 people in “positions of trust” who have fixed employment in government, as well as 60 “persons of trust” who have been given indefinite contracts.

“This figure also includes people who were engaged as a result of Malta’s presidency of the EU Council,” Muscat said. “Under the previous administration, the Office of the Prime Minister employed 62 people on a trust basis, and this despite the fact that Malta didn’t have the extra commitments it does now thanks to the EU Presidency.”

Elsewhere, finance minister Edward Scicluna revealed that his ministry employs 20 people on a trust basis – two people in positions of trust and 18 persons of trust.

The information was revealed through parliamentary questions raised by shadow justice minister Jason Azzopardi – who has tabled the question to every minister.

It means that the Office of the Prime Minister – which also includes staff who work for parliamentary secretary for planning Deborah Schembri and de facto energy minister Konrad Mizzi – employs more people on a trust basis than any other ministry.

It is followed by Owen Bonnici’s justice and culture ministry, which employs 66 people on a trust basis, and by Jose Herrera’s environment ministry, which employs 65 such people.