8. KATRINA SHANKS (National) Link to this
to the Minister for Social Development and Employment
What recent reports has she received on the management of sickness and invalids benefits?
Hon PAULA BENNETT (Minister for Social Development and Employment) Link to this
The Auditor-General has released a report that looks at changes attempted by the Labour Government. These changes were supposed to actively help and encourage sickness and invalids beneficiaries back into work. The report says that Labour simply did not do enough. Clearly Labour did not, with the increase we saw in invalids benefits and sickness benefits under the previous Government.
Hon PAULA BENNETT Link to this
The report confirms that the changes we committed to before the election are firmly heading in the right direction. The recommendations focused on improving the determination of eligibility, providing more comprehensive case management, and extending the monitoring and evaluation, as National campaigned for.
Hon Annette KingWhere in the audit report does it state that the case management of sickness and invalids beneficiaries is a failed programme, as she claimed last week; and is it not true that the audit report actually said: “The Ministry … has a challenging task in managing large numbers of … beneficiaries”, and encouraged the department “to build on the progress that it has made so far.”?
Hon PAULA BENNETT Link to this
The numbers speak for themselves. Since 1999 there has been a 73.9 percent increase in those on the sickness benefit, and a 65.9 percent increase of those on the invalids benefit. Unlike Labour, we have high expectations for those people. We think we can help get them back into work, and that is what we will do.
If the changes she claims her Government has made “are … heading in the right direction”, why are sickness benefit and invalids benefit numbers soaring to the highest level we have seen in 5 years?
Hon PAULA BENNETT Link to this
Those changes are to be introduced via legislation next year. At the moment we are still operating on the obviously failing policies of the previous Government, and we see that the mechanisms that are implemented through Work and Income are not working. We will actually be making changes that mean positives for those who are on those benefits.