Assessing our performance

This section sets out how we will track, monitor and assess our performance.

Since the changes to the Public Finance Act in 2013, most of our performance measures, including our outcome measures, are contained in Estimates of Appropriations for Vote Social Development. Annual performance will be assessed against these measures.

Performance framework

The Ministry takes an integrated, top-down/ bottom-up view of performance. Our outcomes and intermediate outcomes form our medium to long-term performance objectives. These are monitored through our systems and processes and our regular internal and external reporting framework.

Short- to medium-term priorities are monitored through milestones and deliverables. The Enterprise Portfolio Management Office is putting in place systems and processes to capture and monitor alignment of activity with priorities, achievement of milestones and deliverables (and budget), and benefits realised.

The Ministry’s Leadership Team has established four governance committees, which receive regular performance reports and monitor progress and achievement. This allows the Leadership Team to focus on medium-term achievement and performance risk areas. To enable this organisational performance focus, a quarterly organisational performance report is provided to the Leadership Team and forms the basis of a quarterly performance-focused meeting.

Individual performance expectations are set and monitored using On Track. This is a dynamic and forward-looking process that allows for a series of conversations that plan for development and expectations and allow flexibility and renegotiation to respond to changing circumstances and priorities.

Delivering Better Public Services

In 2012 the Government established result areas with specific targets for the public sector. Some of these have since been refreshed. The Ministry is leading and contributing to a number of these results.

Better Public Services theme

Better Public Services result target

Progress towards results

Ministry of Social Development lead/co-ordination role

Reducing welfare dependence (Result 1)

A 25 percent reduction (from 295,000 people as at June 2014 to 220,000 as at June 2018) in the total number of people receiving main benefits.

A $13 billion reduction in the long-term cost of benefit dependence, as measured by an accumulated actuarial release, by June 2018.

New targets were introduced in December 2014. Progress on these will be measured following the completion of the June 2015 quarter.

Supporting vulnerable children (Result 2)

Increase participation in early childhood education so that, in 2016, 98% of children starting school will have participated in quality early childhood education (ECE).

The percentage of children who had attended ECE before starting school increased to 96.1% for the 12 months to December 2014.

This is an increase of 0.4 percentage points compared with the year to December 2013.

(Result 3)

Increase infant immunisation rates so that 95% of eight-month-olds are fully immunised by December 2014 and this is maintained through to 30 June 2017, and reduce the incidence of rheumatic fever by two-thirds to 1.4 cases per 100,000 people by June 2017.

As at December 2014, 93.5% of eight-month-olds were fully immunised.

The provisional incidence rate for acute rheumatic fever initial hospitalisations for the year ending December 2014 was 3.4 per 100,000. This is a decrease of 0.9 percentage points from the year ending December 2013, when the rate was 4.3 per 100,000 initial hospitalisations.

(Result 4)

Halt the 10-year rise in children experiencing physical abuse and reduce current numbers by 5% by 2017.

In the year to December 2014, physical abuse was substantiated for 3,195 children, compared with the 3,089 in the 12 months to December 2013. This is an increase of 3.4 percentage points.

Ministry of Social Development contribution

Boosting skills and employment
(Result 5)

85% of 18-year-olds will have achieved NCEA Level 2 or an equivalent qualification in 2017.

78.6% of 18-year-olds achieved NCEA Level 2 in 2013, up from 77.2% in 2012. This is an increase of 1.4 percentage points.

Reducing crime
(Result 7)

A 20% reduction in total crime by 2018.

A new target was introduced in December 2014. Progress on this will be measured following the completion of the June 2015 quarter.

(Result 8)

By June 2017, reduce the reoffending rate by 25%.

For the year to December 2014, the reoffending rate reduced by 10.3% towards the target of 25% by 2017.

Improving interaction with Government (Result 10)

An average of 70% of New Zealanders’ most common transactions with government will be completed in a digital environment by 2017.

As at December 2014, there was a 46.3% average digital uptake of the selected bundle of services. This is 3.5 percentage points above the December 2013 result.