Benefits Compliance
The Benefits Compliance Unit within the Income Support and Compliance Division is entrusted to ensure that social benefits and services reach the intended beneficiaries. To achieve this, the unit investigates all the reports that it receives where it is alleged that social benefits and/or services, granted or received, are not in compliance with the provisions of the applicable legislation. The unit also takes the initiative to investigate beneficiaries or groups of beneficiaries where non-compliance is suspected. The unit follows closely changes in beneficiaries’ financial means and other circumstances that may impact their entitlement to benefits/services.
The Social Security Act (Cap. 318.) was amended through Act VI of 2006 to provide for the operations of the Benefits Compliance Unit. Through these amendments the Director responsible from this unit has been vested with the power to carry out the functions of the various Article within the Social Security Act (Cap. 318.), including the power to appoint public officers as inspectors and to request the production of documentation and information to assist him/her to carry out these duties.
The overall objectives of the unit are to:
- Identify specific cases or trends in social benefit and/or services that could be non-compliant with the applicable legislation
- Investigate reported or suspected cases of alleged non-compliance with the applicable legislation
- Conclude all investigations within a reasonable time
- Encourage compliance with the applicable legislation
- Act fairly respecting the social aspect
- Prepare policy changes to empower analysis of emerging areas of non-compliance
The Benefit Compliance Unit within the Income Support and Compliance Division investigates all Benefit Compliance Investigation Requests, although information about the outcome of the particular investigation cannot be provided. A person can fill in and submit the request online, call Freephone 80072345 or write to the Benefits Compliance Unit, 38 Ordnance Street, Valletta VLT 1021. Read more.
Purpose for Collecting Data
The Benefits Compliance Unit collects and processes information to carry out its obligations in accordance with present legislation. All data is collected and processed in accordance with the Data Protection Legislation (Cap. 586.). Read more.
Retention, Maintenance and Disposal of Documentation
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) puts forward the principle that personal data and sensitive personal data should not be retained for periods that are longer than necessary. In this context, the Benefits Compliance Unit retention policy for all data and documentation that it collects and processes, is aimed at ensuring compliance to the Regulation and to ensure that no resources are utilised in the processing and archiving of data which is no longer of relevance. Read more.