3. Question No. 3—Social Development and EmploymentGLEN BENNETT (Labour—New Plymouth) to the Minister for Social Development and EmploymentQuestion No. 3—Social Development and Employment3. GLEN BENNETT (Labour—New Plymouth) to the Minister for Social Development and Employment: What recent announcements has the Government made about supporting people in the welfare system?Hon CARMEL SEPULONI (Minister for Social Development and Employment): Talofa Mr Speaker ia manuia le Vaiaso o le Gagana Samoa. In Budget 2021 the Government announced that weekly main benefit rates will increase by between $32 and $55 per adult by 1 April 2022. These are the biggest benefit increases in a generation. The Budget 2021 benefit increases alongside the changes we've made since 2018 mean that 109000 families and whānau with children will be on average $175 a week better off compared to 2017. This Budget finally reverses the welfare cuts of the 1991 mother of all Budgets". It not only rights a wrong but it puts more money into the pockets of New Zealanders who need it and it is money that will go right back into our economy helping to secure our recovery.Glen Bennett: What specific announcements did she make as part of the Budget package to support people in the welfare system to work?Hon CARMEL SEPULONI: We've been very clear that alongside income support our welfare system is crucial with respect to supporting New Zealanders into work. This Budget saw an additional $99 million for front-line work-focused case management. This is off the back of a $200 million investment in the 2020 Budget. We have also reinstated the training incentive allowance (TIA) to support people to take up level 4 to 7 study. This will mean that 16000 sole parents carers and disabled people on eligible benefits will be supported financially to retrain upskill and get into employment over a four-year period. This includes approximately 7000 Māori and Pacific people. The ladder of opportunity was pulled up by National in 2009 but I'm—SPEAKER: Order! Order! This is a warning—a final warning for the Government today—on those matters.Glen Bennett: How has Budget 2021 responded to the Welfare Expert Advisory Group's recommendations?Hon CARMEL SEPULONI: Benefit increases and support into employment including the reinstatement of the TIA were all part of the recommendations made by the Welfare Expert Advisory Group but there are also a number of recommendations made by the group that relate to improving processes within the welfare system. Budget 2021 will see another process change adopted: the Ministry of Social Development will no longer be requiring that people provide medical certificates at fixed review periods which was at least every four weeks for the first two months and at least every 13 weeks after that. Under the new process for subsequent work capacity medical certificates the client's health practitioner will have more flexibility to recommend the time between medical reviews. These changes will mean that people are not having to spend money on unnecessary GP visits. It will also save the health system 20000 GP visits per month that were only for the purpose of bureaucratic process. Our welfare overhaul is ongoing. We have made some significant changes but look forward to doing more.Ricardo Menéndez March: Why have the Government chosen to wait until next April for the full benefit increases and only raised them a little bit this year when people are struggling to make ends meet—SPEAKER: Order! I know he's a new member but his question had finished before he added something on to the end. If the member wants some advice about how to structure questions I'm pleased to give it to him in my room but he's growing a habit of adding unnecessary material.Hon CARMEL SEPULONI: Generally when changes like this to things like benefits are made at Budget they are introduced on 1 April. We have brought forward part of the benefit increases to be effective as of 1 July which is a flat $20 increase for everyone on benefit. The rest will come into force on 1 April. There are differential increases so that also gives the officials a little bit of time to work out how they do that properly."