Scott Alastair: Oral Questions — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeScott Alastair: Oral Questions — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 19 February 2015. Volume:703;Page:1761. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]1.ALASTAIR SCOTT (National—Wairarapa)to the Minister of Finance: What progress is the Government making in its programme to get better results from public services?Hon BILL ENGLISH (Minister of Finance):Today we released the update of results from the Government’s Better Public Services programme. This programme measures results in 10 areas set out by the Prime Minister in 2012 where we believe not only that we can but that we should make a real difference to the lives of New Zealanders. The results include reducing assaults on children reducing long-term welfare dependency improving educational achievement increasing immunisation and reducing the incidences of rheumatic fever. I am pleased to say that the latest 6-monthly update shows we are making progress in all of our results. Our challenge now though is to keep progress going as we try to help people who are harder to reach or address problems that are simply more difficult to resolve.Alastair Scott: What changes has the Government announced to the Better Public Services programme?Hon BILL ENGLISH: This is a Government that believes that it should be transparently accountable for what it is trying to achieve for New Zealanders. This programme certainly is going to be challenging because today we have confirmed we are going to make three of our targets more difficult. We are extending the target to reduce welfare dependency beyond those who are somewhere near ready for work to people on all main benefits including those who may not have worked for some time. As we have already signalled we are changing the overall crime target to require a 20 percent reduction by 2018 where the previous target was a 15 percent reduction by 2017 because we have already achieved a 15 percent reduction in crime. We are also lifting the target to increase the workforce skills of people aged 25 to 34. Our aim is that 60 percent of all 25 to 34-year-olds have a level 4 qualification by 2018 up from the previous 55 percent by 2017.Alastair Scott: What new approaches is the Government taking to get better results from public services?Hon BILL ENGLISH: There are a lot of new approaches but a few of them matter quite a bit. In particular we are shifting the focus to individuals their families and communities rather than focusing on our Government departments. This is because to turn round intergenerational welfare dependency or lift National Certificate of Educational Achievement results further for groups who have a long record of low achievement we have to understand what is going on in the homes and lives of these people. That will allow us to find better solutions to what have been longstanding and difficult problems. These answers may not always come from the Public Service; they may come from other organisations that know a lot more about our customers than we do.Alastair Scott: How do these changes fit with the Government’s continuing programme to restrain its spending?Hon BILL ENGLISH: Achieving better results is at the heart of the Government’s programme to restrain its spending. Where the previous Government had a model that spending more was the result that it was after what we are trying to do is actually get results for people. We are finding that that often means better use of information and reorganisation of Government services and changing the philosophical approach—for instance to Whānau Ora—rather than spending more money. So although we have had tight spending constraints in recent years we have been able to achieve better results with our public services.