The Progressive Labour Party continues to have the people of Bermuda at the heart of its agenda. The Government made a commitment to strengthen social protections and provide relief to families.

Strengthening social protections

In May, the Government released a policy paper highlighting elements of its Financial Assistance Reform Strategy, which was aimed at providing additional social and economic protections to ensure that Bermudian families are supported.

Enhancements will include, but are not limited to:

• Expanding eligibility by expanding asset restrictions from $500 to $5,000

• Allowing recipients to retain partial income from work so that work benefits a family’s financial wellbeing

• Improving support to assist Bermudian children with greater access to child daycare and child maintenance by increasing the maximum payout per child from $800 to $900 and increasing the $55,000 income cap to $130,000 household income cap

• Adding new funding schemes to allow the receipt of “gifts” up to $2,500

• Creating short-term funding for sudden hardships that equates to a maximum of $1,500 for up to three months

The proposed reform initiatives will be made in this legislative session to provide enhanced protections to individuals, and families in need.

Providing relief to families

The PLP government has a proud record of upholding its promises to the people of Bermuda. This has been demonstrated by reducing the tax burden for Bermudian families.

In the February 2022-23 Budget Statement, this government promised to provide “relief now and more relief to come”, which was achieved by:

• Reducing taxes for those making less than $96,000

• Reducing private vehicle licensing fees by 10 per cent

• Not increasing government fees since 2018

In March, the Government provided further relief by:

• Freezing fuel prices, saving Bermudian families $23 and taxi and minibus operators $35 at the pump each month after stopping what was previously an automatic process of increasing fuel prices

• Extending duty relief on fuel importation to ensure the ongoing freeze in fuel prices meant that more money remained in the pockets of Bermudian families, taxi operators and minibus drivers

• Implementing legislation to drop duty rates on a list of 21 essential items in a direct response to the increasing cost of goods. The Cost of Living Commission Amendment Act reduces the duty on these items to 0%, reducing consumer costs

The work being done by the PLP government emanates from the social justice ethos that is at the core of the party’s values. The above initiatives demonstrate that the Government has remained relentless in its commitment to the people of Bermuda.

There is much work that has been done and still much work left to do. What is clear is that the PLP government has been laser-focused on implementing change that will have a positive impact on the lives of the people of Bermuda.

• Derrick Burgess is the government MP for Hamilton East (Constituency 5) and the Deputy Speaker of the House of Assembly