Radhakrishnan PriyancaSOCIAL SECURITY (SUBSEQUENT CHILD POLICY REMOVAL) AMENDMENT BILLFirst ReadingHon PRIYANCA RADHAKRISHNAN (Associate Minister for Social Development and Employment) on behalf of the Minister for Social Development and Employment: I present a legislative statement on the Social Security (Subsequent Child Policy Removal) Amendment Bill.DEPUTY SPEAKER: That legislative statement is published under the authority of the House and can be found on the Parliament website.Hon PRIYANCA RADHAKRISHNAN: I move That the Social Security (Subsequent Child Policy Removal) Amendment Bill be now read a first time. I nominate the Social Services and Community Committee to consider the bill. The Government has committed to overhaul the welfare system following years of neglect by the previous National Government. Our vision is for a welfare system that ensures that people have an adequate income and standard of living are treated with and can live with dignity and are able to participate meaningfully in their communities. In November 2019 Cabinet endorsed a long-term welfare overhaul work programme to build towards that vision. As part of this work programme we continue to explore the removal of ineffective obligations and sanctions as recommended by the Welfare Expert Advisory Group. The short-term focus of that work is on the sanctions that impact children their families and whānau. Initial progress on this review of obligations and sanctions included the repeal in April 2020 of section 192 of the Social Security Act 2018 which previously sanctioned sole parent beneficiaries who did not identify the other parent of their child. The Government has also made progress in other areas of the welfare overhaul such as the introduction of the Families Package in 2018; a permanent $25 increase to main benefits in April 2020; the indexation of main benefits to increases in average wages from April 2020; an increase to abatement thresholds for main benefits in line with minimum wage increases in April 2020 with further increases announced in February 2021; and a range of other initiatives including those implemented as part of the Government's response to COVID19. We're taking further steps to put children first by removing the subsequent child policy from the Social Security Act 2018. The subsequent child policy was introduced in 2012. It currently impacts eligibility for sole parent support as opposed to jobseeker support and places obligations on parents to return to work earlier if they have an additional dependent child while receiving a main benefit. If a person has a subsequent child while receiving a main benefit that child is only considered when setting work obligations until they reach the age of one. Work obligations are then based on the age of the person's youngest non-subsequent dependent child. In effect after the subsequent child turns one that child is ignored for the purposes of setting work obligations and eligibility for sole parent support. The policy's primary focus was on requiring parents to return to work as early as possible after having a subsequent child. However there is no evidence to suggest that the policy has reduced time on benefit or improved financial or social outcomes. In fact it disproportionately impacts Māori and women has contributed to increasing complexity in the welfare system and has reduced flexibility for parents to spend time with their child or children. The Welfare Expert Advisory Group recommended the removal of the subsequent child policy. It noted the policy is an aspect of the system that does not support women's roles as carers. In our manifesto the Government committed to removing the subsequent child policy in 2021. In July 2020 Cabinet agreed to the policy's removal and the Government publicly announced this decision.Approximately 9000 people and their families will be impacted by the policy's removal. For these people the removal of the policy means increased flexibility to spend time with their children in the first thousand days of their lives which is a critical time period for a child's long-term development. It also means increased equity and simplicity in the welfare system a reduction in stress and a positive impact on mental health and wellbeing and eligibility for additional financial assistance for some clients. For those parents who do want to work earlier they will still have access to employment support and be supported to transition into the workforce. The Social Security (Subsequent Child Policy Removal) Amendment Bill contains two parts. Part 1 will amend the Social Security Act and Social Security Regulations to remove provisions relating to the policy and to make related consequential amendments. It comes into force on 8 November 2021. Part 2 sets out transitional provisions related to the removal of the policy and it comes into force on 11 October 2021. This will allow for a 28-day transition period prior to the policy's removal and the transition period will also extend 28 days after the policy's removal to ensure equitable access and equitable treatment across a range of timings. These transitional provisions allow the Ministry of Social Development to treat new applications or clients with a change in circumstances consistently with the removal of the policy to avoid multiple changes to their entitlements over a short period of time. This will improve the client's experience for those affected by reducing complexity for affected clients and will ensure that the treatment of specified client scenarios in the transition period aligns with the policy intent of the initiative. The changes in this bill reflect the Government's commitment to supporting the wellbeing of New Zealanders and enabling everyone who is able to to be earning learning caring or volunteering. I commend this bill to the House. DEPUTY SPEAKER: The question is that the motion be agreed to.