Cabinet secretary slammed for attempting to justify abuse

Cabinet Secretary Ryan Spagnol intervened in an investigation by the Standards Commissioner to justify the use of publicly funded ministerial staff in private constituency offices—an action the Commissioner deemed unsolicited and irrelevant.

Spagnol, a 35-year-old Labour Party activist appointed to the top civil service role by Prime Minister Robert Abela, wrote to Commissioner Joseph Azzopardi while the latter was examining whether ministers were using their publicly funded secretariats to staff political offices.

In his correspondence, Spagnol cited a pre-2013 government document, arguing that it was permissible even before the Labour Party was elected to power, for ministerial secretariat members to assist with constituency-related matters, including managing diaries and correspondence.

He presented this as a basis for allowing publicly funded staff to operate private ministerial offices.

Commissioner Azzopardi dismissed the letter, stating that Spagnol’s interpretation was incorrect and not relevant to the scope of the investigation.

He clarified that “work on correspondence” should not be interpreted as authorisation to staff political offices.

Spagnol was appointed Cabinet Secretary in 2023, despite concerns from senior civil servants over his lack of experience. His appointment included a financial package worth €83,000, exceeding the Prime Minister’s official salary.

The Standards Commissioner’s investigation followed a report by The Shift which revealed that a Luqa office operated by Minister Silvio Schembri was being manned by members of his secretariat. The investigation was requested by Arnold Cassola.

The Commissioner confirmed the involvement of three secretariat employees of Minister Schembri who admitted that they manned the minister’s office ‘occasionally and voluntarily’.

However, he stated that there was not enough evidence to conclude the practice was systematic.

It is widely understood that many ministers use their secretariat staff to meet constituents in private offices around the country. These meetings usually lead to nepotism and political favours.

Such meetings often form part of informal political outreach, with backbench MPs frequently complaining that they are at a disadvantage in their districts due to the resources available to ministers.

The practice has persisted across administrations for decades, and no concrete steps have been taken to regulate or prevent it.