IN-CONFIDENCE
7 November 2023
X Walsh
[FYI request #24385 email]
Tēnā koe X Walsh,
On 10 October 2023
, the Ministry of Social Development (the Ministry)
received your request, under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act), for
the following information:
•
I am writing to ask what is the number of enrolled domestic tertiary
students vs the number of student allowance recipients over the past
23 years since 2000, including numbers and relevant percentages -
preferably in a table.
On 19 October 2023 the Ministry transferred part of your request to the
Ministry of Education, namely the part that relates to the number of enrolled
domestic tertiary students, as this information is more closely connected with
the function of their agency. You will hear from the Ministry of Education
separately.
The student support system enables all New Zealanders to participate in
tertiary education and training. The main elements of student support are the
Student Loan Scheme and the Student Allowance Scheme.
The Student Allowance is a weekly payment for eligible students to help with
living expenses during their study. The payment is based on the financial and
personal circumstances of the student and their family and does not need to
be paid back. More information about Student Allowance is available here:
www.studylink.govt.nz/products/a-z-products/student-allowance/index.html.
The Ministry publishes a large amount of data regarding StudyLink assistance
which might be of interest to you. This information is available at:
www.msd.govt.nz/about-msd-and-our-work/publications-
resources/statistics/studylink/index.html.
The Ministry also publishes up to date information regarding the number of
Student Allowance recipients, dating back to 1999. You can find this
information at the following link:
IN-CONFIDENCE
https://view.officeapps.live.com/op/view.aspx?src=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.
msd.govt.nz%2Fdocuments%2Fabout-msd-and-our-work%2Fpublications-
resources%2Fstatistics%2Fstudylink%2F2023%2Fmar-23-student-loan-and-
student-allowance%2Fstudent-allowance-ytd-january-to-march-
2023.xlsx&wdOrigin=BROWSELINK.
The Ministry is refusing your request for the relevant percentages of the
number of enrolled domestic tertiary students as compared to the number of
student allowance recipients under section 18(e) of the Act, as this information
does not exist. This information sits across two agencies, and the Ministry
would need to create this information to be able to answer your request.
The principles and purposes of the Official Information Act 1982 under which
you made your request are:
• to create greater openness and transparency about the plans, work and
activities of the Government,
• to increase the ability of the public to participate in the making and
administration of our laws and policies and
• to lead to greater accountability in the conduct of public affairs.
This Ministry fully supports those principles and purposes. The Ministry
therefore intends to make the information contained in this letter and any
attached documents available to the wider public. The Ministry will do this by
publishing this letter on the Ministry’s website. Your personal details will be
deleted, and the Ministry will not publish any information that would identify
you as the person who requested the information.
If you wish to discuss this response with us, please feel free to contact
[MSD request email].
If you are not satisfied with this response number of student allowance
recipients, you have the right to seek an investigation and review by the
Ombudsman. Information about how to make a complaint is available at
www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or 0800 802 602.
Ngā mihi nui
Sarah Quigan
Manager
Official Information
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