{"id":54344,"date":"2026-01-15T07:42:42","date_gmt":"2026-01-15T06:42:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/?p=54344"},"modified":"2026-01-15T07:42:42","modified_gmt":"2026-01-15T06:42:42","slug":"new-benefit-for-people-with-disabilities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/2026\/01\/15\/new-benefit-for-people-with-disabilities\/","title":{"rendered":"New benefit for people with disabilities"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>More than 300 new beneficiaries will be receiving some form of disability assistance, following the launch of the fourth level of assistance for persons with disabilities. This benefit was announced in the 2026 Budget, in order to support those persons whose degree of non-functionality is not low but slightly below average, and who are still not covered to date.<\/p>\n<p>This benefit is recognizing more people with physical or other hidden disabilities, who have already appeared before an Inter-Professional Board, which decided on the eligibility of the cases.<\/p>\n<p>These details were announced during a press conference by the Minister for Social Policy and Children&#8217;s Rights, Michael Falzon, together with the Minister for Inclusion and Volunteering, Julia Farrugia.<\/p>\n<p>Minister Michael Falzon said that these beneficiaries now join others who received disability-related payments and who over the past few weeks have received increases in their entitlement as announced in Budget 2026.<\/p>\n<p>So far, more than 300 beneficiaries will be benefiting from this new benefit, with a total investment of approximately \u20ac1.3 million for this year.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_54346\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-54346\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/PR260040b.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-54346\" src=\"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/PR260040b-300x200.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/PR260040b-300x200.jpeg 300w, http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/PR260040b-150x100.jpeg 150w, http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/PR260040b.jpeg 450w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-54346\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Minister for Inclusion and Volunteering, Julia Farrugia<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Minister Julia Farrugia explained how &#8220;Budget 2026 clearly shows the way our country, and this Government, views disability. We are not just talking about increases or technical measures, but about a serious investment in people with disability and their families, built on empathy, on the understanding of everyday realities and on the will to leave no one behind. Budget 2026 is the largest investment ever made in the field of disability, and shows in a concrete way that for this Government, inclusion, dignity and social justice are not simply slogans, but a priority that is reflected in our policies and daily actions.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Minister Farrugia concluded by saying that these increases mean more peace of mind, more stability and more dignity in the daily lives of persons with disability and their families.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, this benefit is targeted at those people who had a score between 30% and 44.99% and were not receiving any assistance. Now, these people have already appeared before the Inter-Professional board and those people who were given a score between 30% and 44.99% have been identified and notified through a personalized letter that they will start receiving the new benefit.<\/p>\n<p>The payment will be deposited into their bank account by Saturday 24th January 2026 and will include arrears from 3rd January 2026 onwards.<\/p>\n<p><em>Photos (DOI\/MSPC-MIV)<\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"pvc_clear\"><\/div>\n<p id=\"pvc_stats_54344\" class=\"pvc_stats all  \" data-element-id=\"54344\" style=\"\"><i class=\"pvc-stats-icon medium\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" version=\"1.0\" viewBox=\"0 0 502 315\" preserveAspectRatio=\"xMidYMid meet\"><g transform=\"translate(0,332) scale(0.1,-0.1)\" fill=\"\" stroke=\"none\"><path d=\"M2394 3279 l-29 -30 -3 -207 c-2 -182 0 -211 15 -242 39 -76 157 -76 196 0 15 31 17 60 15 243 l-3 209 -33 29 c-26 23 -41 29 -80 29 -41 0 -53 -5 -78 -31z\"\/><path d=\"M3085 3251 c-45 -19 -58 -50 -96 -229 -47 -217 -49 -260 -13 -295 52 -53 146 -42 177 20 16 31 87 366 87 410 0 70 -86 122 -155 94z\"\/><path d=\"M1751 3234 c-13 -9 -29 -31 -37 -50 -12 -29 -10 -49 21 -204 19 -94 39 -189 45 -210 14 -50 54 -80 110 -80 34 0 48 6 76 34 21 21 34 44 34 59 0 14 -18 113 -40 219 -37 178 -43 195 -70 221 -36 32 -101 37 -139 11z\"\/><path d=\"M1163 3073 c-36 -7 -73 -59 -73 -102 0 -56 133 -378 171 -413 34 -32 83 -37 129 -13 70 36 67 87 -16 290 -86 209 -89 214 -129 231 -35 14 -42 15 -82 7z\"\/><path d=\"M3689 3066 c-15 -9 -33 -30 -42 -48 -48 -103 -147 -355 -147 -375 0 -98 131 -148 192 -74 13 15 57 108 97 206 80 196 84 226 37 273 -30 30 -99 39 -137 18z\"\/><path d=\"M583 2784 c-38 -19 -67 -74 -58 -113 9 -42 211 -354 242 -373 16 -10 45 -18 66 -18 51 0 107 52 107 100 0 39 -1 41 -124 234 -80 126 -108 162 -133 173 -41 17 -61 16 -100 -3z\"\/><path d=\"M4250 2784 c-14 -9 -74 -91 -133 -183 -95 -150 -107 -173 -107 -213 0 -55 33 -94 87 -104 67 -13 90 8 211 198 130 202 137 225 78 284 -27 27 -42 34 -72 34 -22 0 -50 -8 -64 -16z\"\/><path d=\"M2275 2693 c-553 -48 -1095 -270 -1585 -649 -135 -104 -459 -423 -483 -476 -23 -49 -22 -139 2 -186 73 -142 361 -457 571 -626 285 -228 642 -407 990 -497 242 -63 336 -73 660 -74 310 0 370 5 595 52 535 111 1045 392 1455 803 122 121 250 273 275 326 19 41 19 137 0 174 -41 79 -309 363 -465 492 -447 370 -946 591 -1479 653 -113 14 -422 18 -536 8z m395 -428 c171 -34 330 -124 456 -258 112 -119 167 -219 211 -378 27 -96 24 -300 -5 -401 -72 -255 -236 -447 -474 -557 -132 -62 -201 -76 -368 -76 -167 0 -236 14 -368 76 -213 98 -373 271 -451 485 -162 444 86 934 547 1084 153 49 292 57 452 25z m909 -232 c222 -123 408 -262 593 -441 76 -74 138 -139 138 -144 0 -16 -233 -242 -330 -319 -155 -123 -309 -223 -461 -299 l-81 -41 32 46 c18 26 49 83 70 128 143 306 141 649 -6 957 -25 52 -61 116 -79 142 l-34 47 45 -20 c26 -10 76 -36 113 -56z m-2057 25 c-40 -58 -105 -190 -130 -263 -110 -324 -59 -707 132 -981 25 -35 42 -64 37 -64 -19 0 -241 119 -326 174 -188 122 -406 314 -532 468 l-58 71 108 103 c185 178 428 349 672 473 66 33 121 60 123 61 2 0 -10 -19 -26 -42z\"\/><path d=\"M2375 1950 c-198 -44 -350 -190 -395 -379 -18 -76 -8 -221 19 -290 114 -284 457 -406 731 -260 98 52 188 154 231 260 27 69 37 214 19 290 -38 163 -166 304 -326 360 -67 23 -215 33 -279 19z\"\/><\/g><\/svg><\/i> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"16\" height=\"16\" alt=\"Loading\" src=\"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/page-views-count\/ajax-loader-2x.gif\" border=0 \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"pvc_clear\"><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>More than 300 new beneficiaries will be receiving some form of disability assistance, following the launch of the fourth level of assistance for persons with disabilities. This benefit was announced in the 2026 Budget, in order to support those persons whose degree of non-functionality is not low but slightly below average, and who are still [&hellip;]<\/p>\n<div class=\"pvc_clear\"><\/div>\n<p id=\"pvc_stats_54344\" class=\"pvc_stats all  \" data-element-id=\"54344\" style=\"\"><i class=\"pvc-stats-icon medium\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" version=\"1.0\" viewBox=\"0 0 502 315\" preserveAspectRatio=\"xMidYMid meet\"><g transform=\"translate(0,332) scale(0.1,-0.1)\" fill=\"\" stroke=\"none\"><path d=\"M2394 3279 l-29 -30 -3 -207 c-2 -182 0 -211 15 -242 39 -76 157 -76 196 0 15 31 17 60 15 243 l-3 209 -33 29 c-26 23 -41 29 -80 29 -41 0 -53 -5 -78 -31z\"\/><path d=\"M3085 3251 c-45 -19 -58 -50 -96 -229 -47 -217 -49 -260 -13 -295 52 -53 146 -42 177 20 16 31 87 366 87 410 0 70 -86 122 -155 94z\"\/><path d=\"M1751 3234 c-13 -9 -29 -31 -37 -50 -12 -29 -10 -49 21 -204 19 -94 39 -189 45 -210 14 -50 54 -80 110 -80 34 0 48 6 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class=\"pvc_clear\"><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":54345,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-54344","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-local-news"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/PR260040a.jpeg",432,300,false],"thumbnail":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/PR260040a-150x104.jpeg",150,104,true],"medium":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/PR260040a-300x208.jpeg",300,208,true],"medium_large":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/PR260040a.jpeg",432,300,false],"large":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/PR260040a.jpeg",432,300,false],"1536x1536":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/PR260040a.jpeg",432,300,false],"2048x2048":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/PR260040a.jpeg",432,300,false],"td_0x420":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/PR260040a.jpeg",432,300,false],"td_80x60":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/PR260040a-80x60.jpeg",80,60,true],"td_218x150":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/PR260040a-218x150.jpeg",218,150,true],"td_324x400":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/PR260040a-324x300.jpeg",324,300,true],"td_696x0":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/PR260040a.jpeg",432,300,false],"td_1068x0":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/PR260040a.jpeg",432,300,false],"td_100x70":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/PR260040a-100x70.jpeg",100,70,true],"td_265x198":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/PR260040a-265x198.jpeg",265,198,true],"td_324x160":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/PR260040a-324x160.jpeg",324,160,true],"td_324x235":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/PR260040a-324x235.jpeg",324,235,true],"td_356x220":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/PR260040a-356x220.jpeg",356,220,true],"td_356x364":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/PR260040a-356x300.jpeg",356,300,true],"td_533x261":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/PR260040a-432x261.jpeg",432,261,true],"td_534x462":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/PR260040a.jpeg",432,300,false],"td_696x385":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/PR260040a.jpeg",432,300,false],"td_741x486":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/PR260040a.jpeg",432,300,false],"td_1068x580":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/PR260040a.jpeg",432,300,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Bernard Lynch","author_link":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/author\/bernardlynch\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"More than 300 new beneficiaries will be receiving some form of disability assistance, following the launch of the fourth level of assistance for persons with disabilities. This benefit was announced in the 2026 Budget, in order to support those persons whose degree of non-functionality is not low but slightly below average, and who are still&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54344","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54344"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54344\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":54347,"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54344\/revisions\/54347"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/54345"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54344"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54344"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54344"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}