This political commitment aligns with the recommendations made by the Commissioner for Standards in Public Life, ensuring that the criteria are now more rigorous compared to the amendments introduced in recent years. Among the changes are those related to, for example, the expertise allowance and the scales under which consultants are engaged.

These changes come just two months after it was revealed by the Standards Commissioner that former tourism minister Clayton Bartolo breached ethics when he hired his then-girlfriend (now-wife) as a policy consultant on a trust basis within his ministry, despite actually doing secretarial work.

Following the investigation, the commissioner stated that the Manual for Resourcing Policies and Procedures lacked safeguards against abuse. It did not contain any criteria on the choice of policy consultants, how they should be remunerated or the obligation to submit a CV.