AĠENZIJA SAPPORT (ESTABLISHMENT AS AN AGENCY) ORDER

SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION 595.18

AĠENZIJA SAPPORT (ESTABLISHMENT

AS AN AGENCY) ORDER

1st April, 2016

LEGAL NOTICE 104 of 2016, as amended by Legal Notice 87 of 2025.

The title of this Order is the Aġenzija SAPPORT

(Establishment as an Agency) Order.

In this Order, unless the context otherwise requires

"Act" means the Public Administration Act;

"Agency" means the Agency established by means of this Order;

"Agency Agreement" means the Agreement as provided for in

article 7;

"Minister" means the Minister responsible for matters relating to

persons with disability;

"Permanent Secretary" means the Permanent Secretary of the

Ministry responsible for matters relating to persons with disability;

"Regulation (EU) 2016/679" means Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of

the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the

protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal

data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive

95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation).

(1) There shall be an Agency, to be known as the Aġenzija

SAPPORT, which shall carry out functions related to disability

affairs. This Agency shall henceforth assume the responsibilities

vested in Aġenzija SAPPORT within the Foundation for Social

Welfare Services.

(2) All employees previously performing duties with, and any

other public officers currently deployed with, the Aġenzija

SAPPORT within the Foundation for Social Welfare Services shall

be regarded as employees of Aġenzija SAPPORT established by

virtue of this Order under the same terms and conditions prevailing

at the date of coming into force of this Order.

(3) The employment contracts entered into between, on the one

hand, the employees of Aġenzija SAPPORT within the Foundation

for Social Welfare Services, and, on the other hand, the Foundation

for Social Welfare Services, shall continue in force as if they were

entered into by the Aġenzija SAPPORT as established by this Order

and any collective agreement in force prior to the coming into force

of this Order which affects the rights and status of employees of

Aġenzija SUPPORT within the aforesaid Foundation shall remain

unprejudiced.

(4) Public officers deployed with the agency shall be deemed to

be detailed with the Agency in accordance with article 33 of the

Act.

AĠENZIJA SAPPORT (ESTABLISHMENT AS AN AGENCY)

(5) Aġenzija SAPPORT shall, as from the coming into force of

this Order, assume responsibility for all assets, liabilities and

obligations previously entered into by the Aġenzija SAPPORT

within the Foundation for Social Welfare Services or by other

bodies who act on its behalf. For all intents and purposes all

agreements entered into with regards to property leased, purchased,

used by and, or in possession of Aġenzija SAPPORT within the

Foundation for Social Welfare Services and all rights acquired and

obligations arising from such agreements shall devolve upon and be

assumed by Aġenzija SAPPORT as established by this Order.

The Agency shall have the following functions and duties

(a) to actively promote the needs of people with disability

through the principles of normalisation, social

integration, empowerment and social role valorisation;

(b) to actively support, through direct intervention

(accommodation, recreation, guidance and education),

people with disability in a community;

(c) to enhance the quality of life of persons with disability

through innovative personalised support, expertise,

and advocacy;

(d) to work with persons with disability and their families

to secure the means, opportunities and services

whereby they can execute their right to fully

participate in community life;

(e) to manage the services related to persons with

disability;

(f)

to ensure that the services are run, managed and

provided in terms of the existing and approved

standards from time to time;

(g) to monitor and administer pensions of clients living in

residential homes;

(h) to monitor service agreements concluded through the

Ministry responsible for matters relating to persons

disability;

(i)

to engage the service users in meaningful activities

that enhance their ability for independent living;

(j)

to actively involve the service users within the

community;

(k) to act as support for the service users and parents /

guardians;

(l)

to enhance service users quality of life through further

training and development independent living training;

(m) to encourage service users to explore and work

towards employability;

(n) to provide core skilled programmes such as basic skills

towards independent living supported by other skills

that augment quality of life;

(o) to develop programmes to engage service users in as

many activities as possible within the community.

Activities are to be both occupational and leisurely in

nature;

(p) to carry out programmes of physical and psychological

well-being and activities that improve their

educational, social communications, cultural, leisure,

and employability skills;

(q) to participate in disability-related projects and to

explore initiatives which can be used as outwork,

sheltered and supported employment;

(r) to ensure that programmes are undertaken on levels

according to the service users’ individual abilities and

needs;

(s) to enhance and maintain skills and foster socialisation

within different peer groups;

(t)

to provide space and structure for service users; and to

develop and improve upon their social skills in terms

of adapting to various social situations;

(u) to support, teach and motivate such persons with

disability within their homes and the community

utilising a holistic approach targeting as many skills as

possible;

(v) to give all available support and consultancy to the

family as a whole in a bid to ensure that the person

with disability has the optimum quality of life

possible;

(w) to ensure that persons with disability who are service

users are given a voice through support and

empowerment;

(x) to ensure that persons with disability are given the

opportunity to fully reach their potential, whatever

their ability, whilst making them aware that they have

the right to make choices that effect their life;

(y) by adopting a holistic approach, to empower persons

with disability and their families and care-givers

through personal assistance, socialisation and

intervention to improve their quality of life, and thus

promote their right to learn, choose and develop their

skills - elements which are often taken for granted by

persons without disabilities;

(z) to increase social awareness by integrating persons

with disabilities - whether intellectual, physical or

both - within the community and introducing them to

everyday situations;

(aa) to provide community services both in Malta and Gozo

and to target a variety of needs as experienced by the

individual with disability and, or their family/care-

givers. The intervention strategies or personal

assistance needs shall be reviewed according to

necessity to determine whether the identified outcomes

are being achieved;

(bb) to provide direct personalised support to help persons

with disability with activities of daily living within

their home, workplace or in the community, where and

when needed;

(cc) to provide an opportunity for persons with disability to

continue developing their skills or receive training to

learn new skills within the community environment so

as to focus on daily living skills, communication and

social interaction to prepare persons with disabilities

for school, work, day centres, or general socialisation

within the community;

(dd) to ensure the highest standards in care and social work

exercised; and

(ee) to keep under review the workings of this Order, and

where deemed required, at the request of the Minister

or otherwise, submit proposals for the Order’s review.

(1) In the performance of its functions, including but not

limited to

(a)

assessing the suitability or eligibility of any

individual to commence or continue receiving or benefiting

from its services or schemes;

(b)

verifying the completeness, accuracy

or

truthfulness of any submitted information or document;

(c)

ensuring the provision of appropriate and

effective support, services or assistance to its service users,

the Agency shall have the power to request the relevant and

necessary information, including but not limited to, details regarding

any financial or other benefits, health status, or disability of any

service user or otherwise beneficiary and from any person, including

but not limited to, any ministry, department, authority, agency,

government entity, voluntary organisation or other body.

(2) Any request or consultation referred to in sub-article (1)

shall be limited to the information that is strictly necessary for the

Agency to effectively fulfil its functions.

(3) Any person, including but not limited to, any ministry,

department, authority, agency, government entity, voluntary

organisation or other body, that communicates or otherwise makes

available any information to the Agency in reply to a request or

consultation as referred to in sub-article (1) shall be deemed to act

lawfully.

(1) The Minister responsible for Aġenzija SAPPORT shall

be the Minister responsible for matters relating to persons with

disability.

(2)

The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry responsible for

matters relating to persons with disability, hereinafter referred to as

"the Permanent Secretary", shall supervise the Agency in terms of

article 29 of the Act.

(3) The Permanent Secretary may be assisted in such

supervision by another Permanent Secretary from another Ministry

in accordance with the proviso to article 14(6) of the Act.

(4) If a Minister, other than the Prime Minister, assumes

responsibility for the Agency, its supervision shall fall under the

Permanent Secretary of that Ministry.

The Agency shall be governed by the provisions of the

Public Finance Management Act unless otherwise stated in the

Agency Agreement between the Permanent Secretary and Aġenzija

SAPPORT, in which case the provisions of the Agency Agreement

shall prevail.

The operations of the Agency shall follow an Agency

Agreement which is to be agreed between the Permanent Secretary

and Aġenzija SAPPORT.

The Agency shall be headed by the Chief Executive Officer

of the Agency who shall perform all the functions and duties as

stipulated in the Act.

(1) The Minister responsible for the Agency may establish

an advisory board to assist the Chief Executive Officer in the

discharge of his duties.

(2) An Advisory Board established under this article shall

consist of not less than two and not more than four members

appointed by the Minister responsible for the Agency.

(3) The remuneration paid to members of the Agency’s

Advisory Board shall be in accordance with any directives and

guidelines which may be issued by the Agency from time to time.

(1) The applicability of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 and the

Data Protection Act, including any regulations made thereunder

and the fundamental rights and freedoms of the data subjects shall

not be prejudiced by this order.

(2) When the Agency is acting in its capacity of a controller in

terms of Article 4(7) of the Regulation (EU) 2016/679 shall

perform the relevant data processing operations which are strictly

necessary for the purposes of this order.

(3) Where the personal data communicated or otherwise made

available to the Agency by virtue of this order or any other law in

the performance of its functions, includes data other than that

required for the purposes for which such data was communicated or

otherwise made available to, the Agency shall immediately erase

such data upon receipt.

(4) The processing of personal data, including special

categories of personal data, for the purposes of this order shall be in

conformity with the provisions of Article 5 of Regulation (EU)

2016/679, and the said personal data shall not be further processed

in a manner that is incompatible with the purposes of this order.

(5) The processing of personal data for research and statistical

purposes shall be subject to appropriate safeguards pursuant to

Regulation (EU) 2016/679 for the rights and freedoms of the data

subjects

Provided that the said safeguards shall ensure that the

appropriate technical and organisational measures are implemented

in particular to ensure compliance with the principle of data

minimisation as established in Article 5(1)(c) of Regulation (EU)

2016/679, which measures may include pseudonymisation.

(1) The Agency, while taking into account the nature,

scope, context and purposes of processing, as well as the risks of

varying likelihood and severity for the rights and freedoms of the

data subjects, both at the time of the determination of the means for

processing as well as at the time of the processing itself, shall

implement appropriate technical and organisational measures, in an

effective manner and integrate the necessary safeguards into the

processing in order to protect the rights of the data subjects and to

ensure a level of security appropriate to the risk.

(2) The data protection officer designated by the Agency in

accordance with Article 37(1)(a) of Regulation (EU) 2016/679

shall be involved and consulted properly and in a timely manner on

all matters in relation to the protection of personal data processed

for the purposes of this order.

(3) For the purposes of ensuring and to be able to demonstrate

that the processing of personal data is performed in accordance

with the provisions of Regulation (EU) 2016/679, the Agency shall

implement the appropriate data protection policies, which policies

shall be periodically reviewed and updated where necessary.