Lotu-Iiga Sam: Financial Review Debate — In Committee 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Lotu-Iiga Sam: Financial Review Debate — In Committee 
[Sitting date: 01 May 2012. Volume:679;Page:1801. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
Peseta SAM LOTU-IIGA (National—Maungakiekie) 
: 
 I just want to thank those involved in the financial review of the Ministry of Social Development including my parliamentary colleague Jacinda Ardern and others seeking the call here today. I want to commend the report that has been put to the House. That report details explicitly the range and the scope of the services that the Ministry of Social Development undertakes. The breadth and depth of the services are quite remarkable.  
We all know that the ministry deals with the care and protection of vulnerable children. It deals with income support superannuation services funding to community service providers social policy and advice to our Government and student allowances and loans. It administers well over $21 billion—yes that is $21 billion—a year easily the largest Government spend and one-third of all Government expenditure. The running costs of the ministry are around $1 billion a year. It has over 300 sites scattered across our nation and 9300 staff are committed to the effective implementation of programmes and distribution of services.  
The revenue is approximately $1.2 billion and the expenditure of the ministry was $1.198 billion; so as with this Government this particular Government department is operating within its means. It is operating a $5.9 million surplus. The Social Services Committee noted that the Office of the Auditor-General gave the ministry a “very good” rating for its management control environment as well as “good” ratings for its financial services and service performance information and associated systems.  
One of the real tests for the ministry in the last financial year was how it responded to the earthquakes in Canterbury and I will quote the committee’s report: “this was a very good indication of the capability of the organisation its adaptability and its willingness to cope with a crisis and its ability to respond to change which will be important as welfare reform is implemented.” It set up welfare centres. It provided extra staff. It flew in and drove in 800 extra staff from around the country. It ran the Government’s helpline. As people were calling in asking and pleading for help during this crisis the ministry and its employees and its agents stepped up to the mark and assisted over 50000 Cantabrians. It also distributed $10 million through various non-governmental organisations that responded to the crisis in Canterbury.  
The committee also commended the ministry for seeking capability improvements through the use of technology. It is working hard to share better information and this will be demonstrated in the new welfare reforms. Information sharing is a critical part of our welfare reforms. It is working with the Ministry of Education—and I know that the Minister is here today—working between the ministries to deliver services to our young people in particular. An example of this demonstration of the uptake of technology is shown in the Value-for-Money programme. For example Child Youth and Family social workers are currently trialling iPads and the global positioning system feature which improves the security of staff who are out on the front line who are distributing those front-line services.  
Our committee also looked at Future Focus and noted the overall decline of beneficiary numbers. The committee noted that youth unemployment had fallen by 4000 and since that report the March benefit figures show that more than 5000 people who were on the unemployment benefit around New Zealand went off welfare and into work just last month. I just want to repeat that for Miss Ardern: 5000 young people who were on the unemployment benefit around New Zealand went off welfare and into work last month. That is commendable to the Minister for Social Development. It is certainly commendable to the Ministry of Social Development.