Upston Louise: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeUpston Louise: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 15 April 2014. Volume:698;Page:17224. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]6.LOUISE UPSTON (National—Taupō) to theMinister for Social Development: What recent changes has the Government made to the social housing sector?Hon PAULA BENNETT (Minister for Social Development): This week we have had significant reforms that have come into effect that will help New Zealanders access reliable social housing when they need it. As of Monday Work and Income is now assessing a person’s need for social housing taking over the function from Housing New Zealand. The Government has also allocated $26.6 million to extend the income-related rents to not just those who were in State houses but also to those with community housing providers. This will make a big difference to them.Louise Upston: Why has Work and Income taken over the housing needs assessment?Hon PAULA BENNETT: Well it simply made sense to do that. In most cases you are talking about the same people who want income support also being in Housing NewZealand houses. We hold a lot of information about them. It does not make sense that they have to go to two different Government departments to do that. Also with Work and Income we can look at someone’s employment needs. We can look at their wider social needs as well as their housing needs. So being able to have the person come in once in a more simplified manner and being able to look at all of their social needs makes sense and is better for them.Louise Upston: Why is the income-related rent subsidy being extended to community housing providers?Hon PAULA BENNETT: This would be one of the most significant changes. To date those income-related rents have never been able to be used for community housing providers. What you see is—a house that we looked at just on Sunday had been charging 80 percent of the market rent and the community housing provider themselves had been paying the other 20 percent. Now that they are able to access the income-related rent you can see that they can be paying anywhere between 25 percent up to 100 percent. But getting that subsidy from the Government puts more money in the pockets of the individual and their families more money in the pocket of the community housing provider and it is better for everyone.Sue Moroney: Why did she make the elderly and those with disabilities vulnerable to losing their homes by including them in State housing tenancy reviews?Hon PAULA BENNETT: Because in some cases it will be particularly for those who are older that they may be better suited going into a one-bedroom home or into a different home. So to simply say that that three-bedroom or four-bedroom home that they have always lived in is suitable to their needs is not right. For some of those with disabilities there are all sorts of different levels of and high needs from disabilities. For some there will be somewhere that is better suited. I repeat as I have many times before that reviewable tenancies are not about simply going in and evicting someone; they are about going in and talking to them about what their needs are whether there is somewhere that better suits them and whether or not we can help them into that.