Statement of Intent 2005 - The Social Setting Today

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The Social Report 2004

This environmental scan summarises key social and economic trends, and draws on the findings of The Social Report 2004 and of Opportunity for all New Zealanders, the Government’s ‘big picture’ summary of social strategies.

The Social Report 2004

The Ministry’s annual Social Report provides an overview of social wellbeing in New Zealand, and monitors how social wellbeing is changing over time.

The Social Report 2004 paints an overall positive picture of social wellbeing among New Zealanders.

New Zealanders are living longer, healthier lives, earning higher average incomes, and achieving higher educational attainment than they were 10 years ago. New Zealand is in the top half of the OECD for life expectancy, education, employment, trust in others, and the absence of corruption.
Poorer outcomes persist for some groups such as Maori, Pacific peoples and young people. While wellbeing overall has improved for each of these groups their overall outcomes still lag behind others.
Many findings show strong links between low incomes and poor outcomes. People living in low socio-economic areas have a lower life expectancy, higher rates of cigarette smoking and obesity, and lower levels of educational achievement and voting participation. New Zealand is in the bottom half of the OECD for a small number of indicators, including suicide, obesity, average income, child deaths by maltreatment, and adult literacy.

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Opportunity for All New Zealanders

In 2004 we led the development of Opportunity for All New Zealanders, the document that shows how government agencies are working together to promote social wellbeing and reduce disadvantage. Launched in December 2004, Opportunity for All New Zealanders also identifies five critical social issues that the Government will respond to over the next three to five years. These draw on findings in The Social Report 2004, and are:

the close link between educational under-achievement and low socio-economic status
the significant barriers to sustainable employment among some members of society
the need to reduce obesity-related disease through healthy eating and healthy activity
the serious health and social costs caused by tobacco, alcohol, and other drug abuse
the effects of family violence, abuse and neglect on a significant number of New Zealanders.

Our work will help to address all of these issues, reflecting a whole-of-government approach to social development,. In particular, we will lead interagency work to reduce and prevent family violence, abuse, and neglect; and with the Department of Labour, we will lead work to remove significant barriers to sustainable employment.

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Single Core Benefit

In February 2005, the Government announced that it will introduce a Single Core Benefit in 2007/08. The Single Core Benefit will replace the main benefit categories in the current benefit system, and provide additional assistance for costs like accommodation, childcare, hardship payments and payments for people with disabilities.

The purpose of the Single Core Benefit is to provide a much simpler benefit system with a stronger work focus.

The Working for Families package introduced in Budget 2004 helped to pave the way for a simpler benefit system, including measures to simplify and streamline social assistance payments. Over the next three years we will undertake the preparatory work for implementing the Single Core Benefit. This will include trialling aspects of a new service model in 12 sites from June 2005, with a national rollout planned from 2006. The new service model will involve:

early and comprehensive assessment of the client’s circumstances and readiness to return to work
work-focused case management, with services built around the employment outcomes the client can achieve, rather than their benefit category
employment assistance such as WRK4U seminars extended to all clients
strong post-placement support to help people stay in work.

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Key trends affecting our work

A strong economy and employment opportunities mean a changing beneficiary population

New Zealand has experienced high economic and employment growth over the past five years, and growth is forecast to continue. Unemployment is steadily reducing; in December 2004, the unemployment rate fell to a record low of 3.6%, with labour force participation reaching 67.7% of the working age population. Our active work-focused services have played a key role in moving a large number of people into employment and reducing New Zealand’s unemployment rate.

As growth continues and unemployment continues to decline, employers are facing a ‘skills gap’ - a lack of suitably qualified and skilled workers. We need to:

train and educate New Zealand’s future labour force, so employers can find the skills and labour they need for business growth
focus more effort on groups who face significant barriers to employment, such as the low skilled, Maori, women, and people with ill health or disability

The make-up of the working age benefit population is changing

Sickness Benefit and Invalid’s Benefit clients and Domestic Purposes Benefit clients are becoming a larger proportion of the working age benefit population. Many of these clients want to work, but need help and support to get into employment. Those clients that are unable to work must be provided with support that enables them to participate in their communities. We need to:

help those clients’ who are able to work find and stay in employment
recognise that clients’ circumstances change and work with them to plan for work as their situation allows
provide a safety net for those clients who are unable to work.

An ageing population will mean fewer workers, and greater demands on social services

At June 2004, New Zealand had 18 people aged 65 and over to every 100 people aged 15 to 64. By 2051, that ratio is projected to increase to 47 people aged 65 and over to every 100 people aged 15 to 64. As in other countries around the world, an ageing population provides opportunities and challenges. To ensure we are able to take advantage of the opportunities and are prepared to face the challenges we need to:

invest in the safety, education, and development of children and young people, who will be the adults, parents, and workforce of the future
identify ways to attract and retain young, qualified, highly skilled workers in a highly competitive global economy
educate New Zealanders about the importance of saving for their retirement.

Increased labour force participation by family members requires services to support their participation

Families have become much more diverse in the past 30 years, with a significant shift from traditional two-parent to one-parent or step/blended families, a shift that is predicted to continue, at a slower rate. Couple-only and one-person households are now the fastest growing household types, and women’s participation in paid employment is expected to continue to increase. We need to:

support families to be strong and connected by ensuring they have access to co-ordinated and effective services
ensure the availability of affordable, high-quality childcare for working parents
ensure that work always pays for parents who move off a benefit into employment.

Population changes create new pressures in our communities

New Zealand’s population is becoming increasingly diverse, with a growing proportion of the population identifying as Asian, Maori, Pacific peoples, or of multiple ethnic identity. Internal migration and immigration are resulting in rapid and increasing growth in some urban centres, particularly Auckland. We need to:

help foster strong social connections across the many communities that now make up New Zealand society
ensure that housing remains affordable in our urban centres
monitor regional wellbeing to ensure that urban growth doesn’t happen at the expense of social and economic development in the regions.