Ardern Jacinda: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeArdern Jacinda: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 04 March 2014. Volume:696;Page:16244. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]5.JACINDA ARDERN (Labour) to theMinister for Social Development: When was she first advised about the miscalculation affecting “estimates of disposable income” and how was this advice received?Hon PAULA BENNETT (Minister for Social Development): On Tuesday 10 December 2013 my staff were told verbally; on Monday 16 December the Ministry ofSocial Development officials briefed me in a meeting; and on Tuesday 18 February the ministry advised me of the revised figures for the household income report.Jacinda Ardern: Is the Minister telling the House that during the majority of the public debate over the Children’s Commissioner’s Child Poverty Monitor she knew that the numbers it had been given by her ministry were wrong and yet she told no one?Hon PAULA BENNETT: As outlined by the Minister of Finance I think what was most important was that a proper and thorough check of the error—where it was whether there were possibly other errors—had to be gone through and that is what happened during that time.Jacinda Ardern: Has she or her ministry apologised to the Children’s Commissioner which is now having to redo the Child Poverty Monitor—the technical report has been removed from the website as a result of this mistake—a report that it had to use charitable money to complete in the first place?Hon PAULA BENNETT: At the end of the day it is not the Ministry of Social Development it is not Bryan Perry and it is not the household income report that has made this mistake; it is the data that was received from Statistics New Zealand and Treasury. It is them and we have made them aware. We are now offering the Children’s Commissioner whatever assistance we can to help it with a new report.Jacinda Ardern: Knowing now that there are 285000 children living in poverty rather than 265000 what does she plan to do differently in terms of tackling this issue?Hon PAULA BENNETT: What we have seen is that the estimate was around 2 percent higher than what we advised. As the Minister said actually it flat-lined and is now getting better than what it was in 2010. So what that says to us—Hon Member: 20000 more.Hon PAULA BENNETT: It is. Well in 2010 going by 60 percent of the median after housing costs it was supposedly 300000. It is now 285000 and in the last year it has been on 285000 as well. So as I say it has gone down and then flat-lined. It is the responsibility of parents. It is the responsibility of families. It is the responsibility of communities. And yes the Government has a role to play. With that we have made sure that welfare reforms—[Interruption] I can tell the member that there are 12000 fewer children living in benefit-dependent households just in the last 12 months alone.Jacinda Ardern: How does her Government’s so-called focus on getting people into work help with the two out of five children in poverty who are in working families already?Hon PAULA BENNETT: We assist them with things like the accommodation supplement. As you know 40 percent of that goes to families who are in work. As she knows there is assistance for hardship. More than 800000 hardship grants were issued last year equalling well over $2 million. Some of those grants went to working families as well in looking after them.Jacinda Ardern: It’s getting worse.Hon PAULA BENNETT: It is not actually getting worse. The member yells out: “It’s getting worse.” It actually is not if she goes by the facts that are there. [Interruption] I also hear another member yelling out that it is a cover-up. Well it is not a very good cover-up when the ministries themselves put out a press release.