SpeechSocial Development and EmploymentANGIE WARREN-CLARK (Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee): Thank you Mr Chair. I'm pleased to stand and lead off this debate on the annual review for the Ministry of Social Development and Employment as the chair of the Social Services and Community Committee.I'd like to thank firstly the clerks and officials and the select committee members for their professional and comprehensive efforts during the annual review period. I also want to thank the Minister for making herself available. The Parliament website contains our theme-based select committee reports and covers the annual reviews for all the ministries that are included and I recommend that people go and have a look there.I begin with the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) and employment. The Minister the Hon Carmel Sepuloni appeared in select committee for a theme-based review. Minister Sepuloni spoke about the childcare assistance review the ministry's performance targets seasonal work opportunities and Mana in Mahi targets. The Minister noted the number of policies and financial assistance that can help families. She noted that payments had increased each year since 2017 with the next increase due on 1 April 2023. We also discussed the ministry's performance targets. The Minister noted that the Government had made investments in upskilling and in trades training. These included the reintroduction of the Training Incentive Allowance for higher education.Seasonal work opportunities were discussed. The ministry is looking to create better transitional systems to ensure that a person does not need to go back on a benefit between changing industries. The Minister reported to our committee that Mana in Mahi had exceeded its performance targets for the programme in August last year: 6000 people have been placed in work and 90 percent of those have not returned to benefit. The Auditor-General issued a standard audit report for the 2021-22 year and rated most of MSD's systems and controls as good. The ministry spoke to the committee about its non-financial performance as well and reported that they had achieved 83 percent of performance measures. We discussed the wage subsidy payments made between 2020 and 2022 and the ministry noted that only 1 percent of payments needed investigation—and of that 1 percent 93 percent or $810 million had been paid back. MSD spoke in detail about their strategic direction plan and in particular Te Pae Tawhiti – Our Future which is changing the systems and procedures so that they become less complex—and in turn make it easier to help clients get correct support. In Budget 2020 there was an increase from $300 to $1000 for dental treatment as well as the range of treatments eligible for grants. MSD reported that this has made a substantial difference to their clients and positive feedback has been consistent. For the 2021 year we noted that MSD has exceeded its target for Flexi-wage and has spent less than half of the funds appropriated. MSD advised that as the New Zealand economy recovered faster than expected fewer people needed benefits and more people entered the market; young people in particular entered the workforce in high numbers. MSD also mentioned that in the last two years 113000 people had left a benefit scheme and begun working.The committee questioned the ministry about children with parents on benefit. The ministry noted that numbers in this area had decreased slightly. The Auditor-General downgraded MSD's management control environment to needs improvement". This was due to MSD's calculation regarding accommodation supplement for couples where one person lived in a residential care facility; this has now been rectified by legislation in November 2022. We also reviewed the newly formed Ministry for Ethnic Communities the Ministry of Pacific Peoples the Ministry for Women and the Social Wellbeing Agency and our theme-based review contained in this report. There is much to discuss but time is short—therefore I recommend that the annual review for 2021 be accepted."