Dyson Ruth: Corrections (Social Assistance) Amendment Bill Customs and Excise (Social Assistance) Amendment Bill Injury Prevention Rehabilitation and Compensation (Social Assistance) Amendment Bill — Third Readings 
Dyson Ruth: Corrections (Social Assistance) Amendment Bill Customs and Excise (Social Assistance) Amendment Bill Injury Prevention Rehabilitation and Compensation (Social Assistance) Amendment Bill — Third Readings 
[Volume:646;Page:15377] 
Hon RUTH DYSON (Minister for Social Development and Employment) 
: 
 I move  
That the Corrections (Social Assistance) Amendment Bill the Customs and Excise (Social Assistance) Amendment Bill and the Injury Prevention Rehabilitation and Compensation (Social Assistance) Amendment Bill be now read a third time 
. These three bills were introduced to the House as the Social Assistance (Debt Prevention and Minimisation) Amendment Bill. The measures that these bills introduce will increase the efficiency of the existing information matches between the Ministry of Social Development and three other Government agencies—the Department of Corrections the New Zealand Customs Service and the Accident Compensation Corporation. I will explain the relevance of those three Government agencies over the next little while. 
The three bills amend the provisions relating to the use of data supplied by those three agencies. The amendments will allow the Ministry of Social Development to use that data firstly to prevent unnecessary debt by allowing benefit payments to be stopped in a timely way if a beneficiary enters prison; secondly to be more effective in the recovery of Crown debts; and thirdly to assist in identifying claims for student allowances and the living component of student loans from people who are in prison and not entitled to this assistance. 
Labour is committed to preventing the overpayment of benefits and the misuse of these benefits. We are committed to a modern welfare system and a modern social security system. These bills help to modernise that welfare system thereby making the most effective use of the tools we have available. 
We introduced this legislation to improve the efficiency of current administrative procedures and to enhance confidence and trust in the social assistance system. I have been pleased with the support that the legislation has received from other parties in its previous stages through the House. It is good to see that so many parties can agree on straightforward measures to improve efficiency and to prevent unnecessary benefit debt. 
I acknowledge the work of the Social Services Committee where I understand the conversations and deliberations were extremely constructive. The select committee proposed a minor change that has improved the clarity of the legislation and it did so as a result of a submission. Committee members expressed concern at the potential for the wrong benefit to be suspended. The committee was informed that benefits are paid a week in arrears so in most cases people will still be entitled to receive and will receive some benefit payment after entering prison and will get the notification of suspension up to a week before the benefit is suspended. Work and Income will reinstate payments overnight and if needed will make emergency assistance available immediately in cases where payments are suspended in error. Those two points alleviated the committee’s concerns. 
Committee members were also anxious to ensure that processes were in place to assist the family members of people entering prison. The committee was informed that for the small percentage of prisoners with dependent family members telephone contact would be made with those prisoners’ partners in order to ensure that continuing assistance was provided when needed. The committee has suggested that Work and Income consider placing representatives at major courts to adjust benefits immediately and to assist family members. I have asked the ministry to consider the practicality of doing that and if it is not feasible to consider what other action could be taken to assist people in this situation. The amendments contained in the Corrections (Social Assistance) Amendment Bill will allow benefits to be stopped immediately when a person enters prison thereby reducing any overpayment of benefit and subsequent debt. 
The bill will also allow information currently supplied when a person enters prison to continue to be supplied as long as that person remains in prison. This will allow the Ministry of Social Development to identify when a prisoner applies for a benefit or for the living costs component of a student loan or student allowance. Prisoners will still be able to access assistance for their study costs but will be prevented from receiving assistance for their living costs because quite clearly those costs are met by the corrections system while the person is in prison. 
The amendments contained in all three bills will also allow data to be used to locate people who have benefit debt but who are no longer receiving a benefit. When people are off a benefit they are more likely to be in a good position to repay any benefit debt. The amendment will allow data matching to be used replacing to a large extent the existing paper processes currently used between the ministry and the three agencies to locate benefit debtors. It will enable the ministry to contact people about their benefit debt more effectively and efficiently. 
These bills make sound economic sense as well as social sense. They represent the efficient and effective use of technology time and money. As I said earlier in my contribution Labour is committed to preventing the overpayment of benefits and the misuse of any benefit. We are committed to a modern welfare system and these bills help to modernise our welfare system as it is currently thereby making the most effective use of the tools that are available. I commend these bills to the House.