On 30 January 2025, the Commissioner for Standards in Public Life wrote to the Prime Minister to present his views on the system of asset declarations that applies to ministers and members of Parliament.
The Commissioner’s letter followed correspondence that began after ministers’ declarations of assets for the year 2023 were not tabled in Parliament, thus breaking with long-established practice. The Commissioner wrote to the Prime Minister for the first time on 2 January 2025 to express his concern about this.
The Prime Minister replied proposing that all members of Parliament should make a single declaration of assets each year, even if they are ministers. This declaration would be tabled in Parliament. Ministers would no longer be required to make a separate declaration of assets. The Prime Minister asked for the Commissioner’s views on this proposal.
In his letter of 30 January the Commissioner stated that there should be no reduction in the information that ministers are obliged to declare. He noted that ministers are currently obliged to declare their income, although ordinary MPs are not. He said that the introduction of a common declaration form should not result in this requirement being dropped.
The Commissioner referred to an OECD report which recommended that asset declarations should include more information. Among other things, the OECD report proposed that MPs should declare their income, and ministers and MPs alike should declare gifts received by them (including paid travel abroad). The Commissioner stated that this report should be the point of departure for the reform of the asset declaration system.
The Commissioner also stated that the reform should involve consultation with the public and civil society, and it should not be rushed. He said that in the meantime he saw no reason why ministers’ declarations for 2023 should not be tabled in Parliament, and this should be done as soon as possible.
The Commissioner’s letter is available from this website in Maltese and English.