Statement of Intent 2008 - Nature and scope of functions
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The Ministry provides services to its responsible Minister, the Minister for Social Development and Employment; to the Associate Ministers for Social Development and Employment; to the Minister and Associate Minister for Senior Citizens; to the Ministers for Disability Issues, and the Community and Voluntary Sector; and to the Ministers of Youth Affairs and Veterans’ Affairs.
At some point in their lives, most New Zealanders will have contact with the Ministry of Social Development. Throughout the country we have around 200 frontline sites that serve more than 1,000,000 clients.
The Ministry provides whole-of-social sector second opinion advice to government.
The Ministry leads the Families - Young and Old budget process and co-ordinates cross-sector collaboration in the social sector. The Ministry chairs the Social Sector Forum of Chief Executives and participates in the Justice Sector Chief Executives forum.
The Ministry has responsibility for progressing and monitoring strategies, including:
- the New Zealand Positive Ageing Strategy, the responsibility of the Office for Senior Citizens
- the New Zealand Disability Strategy, the responsibility of the Office for Disability Issues
- the Statement of Government Intentions for an Improved Community - Government Relationship, the responsibility of the Office for the Community and Voluntary Sector.
We are responsible for:
- the statutory care and protection of children and young people, youth justice services, adoption services and funding to community service providers
- the delivery of employment and income support services and New Zealand Superannuation
- the administration of New Zealand’s international welfare portability arrangements
- the provision of student allowances and student loans
- the access to affordable health care for older people, families and lower income New Zealanders;
- a benefit system that has integrity and that minimises the debt levels of our clients
- accessible services to rural clients
- the leadership and co-ordination of social and support services, and funding to community service providers
- access to a range of concessions and discounts.
We are structured into the following clusters:
- Work and Income, Specialist Services, Child, Youth and Family, and, Family and Community Services
- Social Services Policy, Social Development Policy and Knowledge (incorporating the Offices for Disability Issues, Community and Voluntary Sector, and Senior Citizens)
- People, Capability and Resources, Risk and Assurance, and, Corporate and Governance.
We will be administering the following Votes in 2008/2009:
- Vote Senior Citizens
- Vote Social Development1
- Vote Veterans’ Affairs – Social Development
- Vote Youth Development.
We provide purchase, governance and ownership advice for the following Crown entities:
- Children's Commissioner
- Families’ Commission
- New Zealand Artificial Limb Board
- Retirement Commissioner
- Social Workers Registration Board.
We provide advice on appointments to the following statutory tribunals:
- Social Security Appeal Authority
- Social Workers’ Complaints and Disciplinary Tribunal
- Student Allowance Appeal Authority.
The key pieces of legislation we manage and administer are:
- Adoption Act 1955 (operational administration)
- Adoptions (Intercountry) Act 1997 (operational administration)
- Adult Adoption Information Act 1985 (operational administration)
- Children, Young Persons, and Their Families Act 1989
- Children's Commissioner Act 2003
- Department of Child, Youth and Family Services Act 1999
- Department of Social Welfare Act 1971
- Disabled Persons Community Welfare Act 1975 (except Part 2A)
- Education Act 1989 (Part 25)
- Employment Services and Income Support Integrated Administration Act 1998
- Families Commission Act 2003
- Family Benefits (Home Ownership) Act 1964
- New Zealand Superannuation and Retirement Income Act 2001 (Parts 1 and 4 and Schedules 1 and 6)
- New Zealand Sign Language Act 2006
- Social Security Act 1964
- Social Welfare (Transitional Provisions) Act 1990
- Social Workers Registration Act 2003.
2008 Legislation Programme which impacts on the Ministry of Social Development
- Children, Young Persons, and Their Families Amendment Bill (No 6) 2007
- Education (Student Allowances) Amendment Bill
- Social Assistance (Treatment of Overseas Pensions and Payment Overseas) Amendment Bill
- Social Reporting Bill
- Social Security (Miscellaneous Provisions) Amendment Bill.
Details of appropriations for Vote Social Development 2008/2009
The Department administers a wide range of outputs as shown in the table below. Departmental output expenses for 2008/2009 will be approximately $1.156 billion and programme expenses will total approximately $17 billion.
Details of the outputs can be found in the Supporting Information to the Estimates of Appropriation
Details of annual and permanent appropriations
Title and scope of appropriations by appropriation type
Departmental output expenses
Adoption Services (M63)
The management of services, incorporating education, assessment, reporting, counselling, and mediation, to all people who are party to adoption-related matters, past or present.
Care and Protection Services (M63)
Social work services, both statutory and informal, that protect and assist children and young people who are in need of care and protection.
Collection of Balances Owed by Former Clients and Non-beneficiaries (M63)
Services to manage the collection of overpayments and recoverable assistance loans from former clients and other balances owed comprising of Student Allowance overpayments, Liable Parent Contributions, and court ordered Maintenance.
Development and Funding of Community Services (M63)
Management of Government funding of community-based social and welfare services.
Family and Community Services (M63)
Provision of leadership and co-ordination services to support and strengthen families and whānau; including providing information and advice that assists families, young people and communities and managing preventative social services programmes.
Income Support and Assistance to Seniors (M63)
This appropriation is limited to paying New Zealand Superannuation and social security entitlements (including administering related international social security agreements) and providing advice and brokering services to help older people maintain independence and social participation; and administering international social security agreements relating to non-superannuitants
Management of Service Cards (MCOA) (M63)
Administration of Community Services Card Output Class
This output class is limited to assessing entitlement, issuing cards, and promoting and distributing information about the Community Services Card.
Management of SuperGold Card Output Class
This output class is limited to management of the SuperGold Card and the Veteran SuperGold Card comprising assessing entitlement for, and issuing cards, distributing information about the Card, enlisting business partners to provide discounts to cardholders, and promoting use of the Card.
Management of Student Support (M63)
This appropriation is limited to managing financial support to students involving assessing and paying student allowances to eligible secondary and tertiary students, student loans to tertiary students, and Government scholarships and awards for tertiary students, and, as part of managing this support, providing related guidance to students making financial and study decisions.
Policy Advice and Support to Ministers (MCOA) (M63)
Social Policy Advice Output Class
This output class is limited to policy advice and servicing support comprising advice on cross-sectoral and long term social policy matters; advice on the design and operation of social development programmes and initiatives; the provision of information to, and discussion fora for, the public and other agencies on social policy issues; and ministerial servicing.
Crown Entity Monitoring Output Class
This output class is limited to the purchase, appointment and monitoring advice for social development and employment Crown entities, and appointment advice for social development and employment statutory tribunals.
Prevention Services (M63)
Education and advice services for the prevention of child abuse and neglect, and the promotion of the wellbeing of children, young people and their families.
Services to Protect the Integrity of the Benefit System (M63)
Services to minimise errors, fraud and abuse of the benefit system.
Tailored Sets of Services to Help People into Work or Achieve Independence (M63)
This appropriation is limited to delivering tailored sets of services to individuals to help them into sustainable employment, participate more fully in their community or achieve a greater level of social independence; and the management of related non-departmental output contracts. The composition of each set of services is determined by the individual’s needs and selected from a mix of employment readiness training and support, employment placement, social support services, payment of income support and training support benefits, and referrals to other employment or social support providers.
Youth Justice Services (M63)
Social work and other services to manage and resolve offending behaviour by children and young people, by providing assessment, support, programmes, containment and care of young offenders.
Vocational Skills Training (M63)
This appropriation is limited to vocationally based skills training for working-age people through the Training Opportunities Programme.
Other Votes administered
Vote Senior Citizens
Senior Citizens Services (M61)
Provision of policy advice on matters concerning legislation to protect the rights and interests of older people, their wellbeing and related issues. It also includes ministerial services and support local community involvement in senior citizens' issues.
Vote Veterans’ Affairs – Social Development
Processing and Payment of Pensions (M75)
The purchase of processing and payment of War Disablement Pensions and related allowances, veterans’-related pensions and concessions and payments under the Rehabilitation Loan Programme.
Vote Youth Development
Youth Development (M77)
Leadership and provision of policy advice and service delivery to improve outcomes for young people.
Review of measures
With the change to the Ministry’s appropriation structure from 2008/2009 onwards, a commitment has been made to further develop a performance management framework over the coming three years that relates the Ministry’s outcomes to its outputs. The thinking on how this framework may look has already begun with the creation of the new appropriation “Tailored Sets of Services to Help People into Work or Achieve Independence”. The following diagram provides an outline of the approach being adopted:
Contributing outcomes
New measures in place for each contributing outcome
Intermediate impacts
(Identification of the intermediate impacts is still to be confirmed.)
All intermediate impacts will ultimately be measured
Indicative outputs
Quantity, quality and timeliness measures to be developed for each set of outputs.
Cost effectiveness measures
Last year, for the first time, comments were provided on our approach to measuring the cost effectiveness of the interventions that we deliver. Our approach to measuring cost effectiveness will be progressive as we find ways to cost our interventions and assess, through evaluation, the effectiveness of the spend.
1 Vote Child, Youth and Family Services has been merged with Vote Social Development from 2008/2009.
