Benson-Pope David: Social Security Amendment Bill — Third Reading 
Benson-Pope David: Social Security Amendment Bill — Third Reading 
[Volume:640;Page:10111] 
Hon DAVID BENSON-POPE (Minister for Social Development and Employment) 
: 
 I move  
That the Social Security Amendment Bill be now read a third time 
. The Government introduced this bill to signal our commitment to providing the right services and support for people to retain find or move towards employment. We consider it to be an integral part of the Working New Zealand initiatives and a move towards aligning or removing outdated provisions in the Social Security Act. The work focus of this bill is a very positive objective. It supports the basic purpose of the Social Security Act in relation to providing social and financial support to people for whom work is not appropriate or who are for some reason not able to work for a time. 
The bill introduces a number of significant new provisions. It introduces first of all new planning requirements for people who are receiving sickness or invalids benefits. This does not mean that people will be pressured into taking up or returning to work. I have been very concerned about inaccurate and irresponsible statements in this regard that have been made in the media. Those statements have also clearly concerned other members of this House and members of the community. Taito Phillip Field in particular has discussed his concerns with me and it is at his request that I stress a further time that no undue pressure of any kind will be put on non work-tested beneficiaries as a result of this legislation to take up work or return to work. 
I have also introduced further steps in respect of staff training and implementation will be taken to ensure that this is so. Extra monitoring regimes will also be implemented to ensure that my expectations in that respect are met. Planning though is about enabling people to reach their full potential. Through sitting down and talking to people we can better understand their needs and aspirations. Working more actively with people will mean that we can better provide them with the services and support they need. Planning takes account also of individual circumstances and can address issues such as training housing finance health transport work aspirations and ability. It provides the opportunity for a case manager to build a rapport with the person concerned. 
To take a flexible approach to planning based on a person’s circumstances recognises that a one-size-fits-all approach does not work and is not appropriate especially for disabled people or people with ill health. Rather than having a preconceived idea of a person’s capabilities the focus of the planning work will be on working with individuals to set realistic goals and supporting them of course to achieve agreed goals. People who are clearly unable to plan will not be required to do so. There are now and will be in the future people receiving sickness or invalids benefits for whom planning is not appropriate. For example if a person has a very serious illness or impairment that requires a high level of support for everyday living it would obviously be most unreasonable to expect that person to plan for a future that could potentially involve a return to work. 
Changes to the current requirement for other benefits are also introduced including the introduction of a pre-benefit activity requirement for those on the unemployment benefit. New requirements for 16 and 17-year-olds that will encourage them to be actively involved in educational training are part of this legislation as is a correction power so that a benefit can commence at an earlier date than the date of application where a person has failed to complete an application because of an error on the part of the ministry. Also the bill includes a legislative framework for the application process for benefits to ensure that there is a robust transfer of information and that the process is clear and transparent. 
So for the sake of the absence of all doubt let me again repeat that I have asked the Ministry of Social Development to issue clear operational instructions to reinforce the procedures for the implementation of the bill. This will stress that non-work-tested beneficiaries are not to be subjected to pressure to take up or return to work. 
The bill will be beneficial in a number of further ways. It reduces the maximum income stand-down period from 10 weeks to 2 weeks; it aligns the residence criteria at 2 years for all benefits except the emergency unemployment benefit; and it extends the definition of hospital care to include residential care of an equivalent kind so that more people will be able to access the domestic purposes benefit for the care at home of the sick or infirm. The bill also removes the qualifying child criteria for domestic purposes and widows benefits so that access to those benefits will be based on the residence of the caregiver and the dependent child. 
The bill extends the exemption to the stand-down period to any person entering a refuge not just sole parents; it extends the continuation of benefits for 8 weeks to all sole parents not just those receiving a domestic purposes benefit when they lose the care of a child in circumstances outside their control; and it allows young people leaving the care of Child Youth and Family to access the independent youth benefit. 
I am pleased to compliment the Social Services Committee and I would like to thank it for the result of its deliberations which resulted in a number of amendments to the bill. These amendments have improved the clarity of the bill and put the policy intent beyond doubt especially in relation to the application process and “activity in the community”. The select committee identified an issue that the Government has also followed up on immediately. As a result of submissions to the select committee and the representations of my colleague Lynne Pillay in particular the Government agreed to introduce a Supplementary Order Paper to the bill. Supplementary Order Paper 114 inserted a further amendment into the bill that extends the provision currently available for the blind to travel overseas for vocational training for up to 2 years without loss of entitlement to benefit to any person on an invalids benefit as a result of disability ill health or injury. This change has been welcomed by the community. It is a very positive change I am sure members will agree that will assist people with disabilities to undertake vocational training where that training is for whatever reason not available in this country. 
I also acknowledge the members of the Social Services Committee who supported and improved this bill. I acknowledge Sue Mackwell and her team from the Ministry of Social Development for their hard work and commitment in making improvements to legislation for which they should be justifiably proud. In closing let me also pass my appreciation to those members of the House who have dealt with this legislation as a matter of principle in particular New Zealand First United Future Gordon Copeland and Taito Phillip Field. I am delighted to have the honour of commending the Social Security Amendment Bill to the House.