Statement of Intent - Chief Executive's Introduction

The Government has outlined its priorities for the Ministry of Social Development in the medium term. This Statement of Intent outlines how the Ministry of Social Development will respond to these priorities.

Employment provides the best opportunities for most people. We are responsibile for keeping New Zealanders in work and in these tough times we will be working hard with employers to keep people in the workforce. The Job Support Scheme is aimed at helping businesses hold on to workers who might otherwise be facing redundancy. We will work with nationally significant employers and industries to develop tailored solutions to their workforce needs.

We will also focus on the small group of teens who need stronger, longer, more intensive interventions to get their lives on track. We are implementing the Fresh Start package for these young people, which will give the Youth Court a range of options to tailor individual intensive programmes for youth.

A priority for the Ministry is making sure that children and young people have a great start in life. Most New Zealand children do. For some we need to give their parents more support, while for others we need to provide care for them away from their families. We are increasing our focus on parenting and on giving the very young safe and nurturing environments.

Underlying all that we do will be a value for money focus. We are undertaking a line-by-line review to test the effectiveness and efficiency of everything we do. We will implement changes to assure taxpayers the programmes and services delivered by the Ministry are the best value.

 

Peter Hughes
Chief Executive
Ministry of Social Development