Tēnā koe Mr Jonathan King,

Thank you for your email received 25 May 2016, under the Official Information Act 1982. Your request has been forwarded to the appropriate officials at National office to respond. You may expect a response to be sent to you as soon as possible.
 
Nā mātou noa, nā

Official and Parliamentary Information team   |  Ministerial and Executive Services
Ministry of Social Development

Our Purpose:
We help New Zealanders to help themselves to be safe, strong and independent
Ko ta mātou he whakamana tangata kia tū haumaru, kia tū kaha, kia tū motuhake

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Dear Mr King

On 24 May 2016 you emailed the Ministry requesting, under the Official
Information Act 1982, the following information:

·         1. In the past 12 months what was the total monetary amount of
child support payments transferred from IRD to Work & Income?

 

·         1a.Of that amount: how much went to offsetting main benefit
payments; how much was paid out to people due to the child support
payments exceeding the rate of people's benefit payments; and where did
any remaining amount go?

 

·         1b. In the past 12 months what was the total monetary amount
paid out to sole parents in the form of a main benefit?

 

·         2. In the past 12 months what was the total number of
individuals making child support payments to IRD which were transferred to
W&I? Please break this down by gender, age, and ethnicity.

 

·         2a. In the past 12 months what was the total number of people
whose benefit payments were being offset by child support payments to IRD
transferred to W&I? Please break this down by gender, age, and ethnicity.

 

·         2aa.What is this number as a proportion of sole parents
receiving main benefit payments from W&I.

 

·         2b.In the past 12 months what was the total number of children
for whom child support payments to IRD were transferred to W&I?

 

·         3. Please break down the number of child support payments (per
child) which were made to IRD and transferred to W&I in the past 12 months
according to weekly cost bands, e.g. how many payments between $0-10 per
week; how many $10-20 per week, etc.

 

·         3a.In the past 12 months what number of child support payments
to IRD which were transferred to W&I were at the minimum child support
rate?

 

·         3b.In the past 12 months what number of child support payments
to IRD which were transferred to W&I to offset benefit payments were above
the level of the main benefit they were offsetting, and thus led to some
portion of that child support money being transferred to the carer?

 

·         3c.What was the average rate of child support payments (per
child) which were paid to IRD and transferred to W&I?

 

·         4.Based on data MSD has access to, in the past 12 months what
proportion of sole parents were not receiving a W&I main benefit? Please
break this down by age, gender, and ethnicity.

 

·         5. In the past 12 months how many notifications did W&I receive
from IRD which amounted to a notification for W&I to enforce a sanction on
a beneficiary under section 70A of the Social Security Act?

 

·         5a.What is this figure as a proportion of the number of new
sanctions imposed under section 70A in the past 12 months?”

 

I am aware that with the exception of questions 1b, 2aa and 4, your
request has been transferred to Ms Naomi Fergusson, Commissioner and Chief
Executive of the Inland Revenue Department

I will address each of your questions in turn:

 

·         1b. In the past 12 months what was the total monetary amount
paid out to sole parents in the form of a main benefit?

This information is captured in page 136 of the Ministry of Social
Development Annual report which is available on the Ministry’s website at
the following link. The information you are looking for is listed under
the Sole Parent Support Appropriation title.

 

[1]https://www.msd.govt.nz/documents/about-...

 

·         2aa.What is this number as a proportion of sole parents
receiving main benefit payments from W&I.

·         4.Based on data MSD has access to, in the past 12 months what
proportion of sole parents were not receiving a W&I main benefit? Please
break this down by age, gender, and ethnicity.

 

The Ministry is unable to provide you with the percentage of sole parents
in receipt of a Work and Income Benefit as the Ministry do not monitor or
report on sole parents who are not in receipt of a Work and Income
Benefit. However the Ministry publishes data on sole parents on its
website and this is included below. The Statistics New Zealand website
holds a lot of information from the 2013 Census regarding households with
sole parents with children which you may find helpful, a link to this is
also included below:

 

[2]http://www.stats.govt.nz/Census/2013-cen...

 

[3]http://www.msd.govt.nz/about-msd-and-our...

 

 

I hope you find this information helpful. You have the right to seek an
investigation and review of my response by the Ombudsman, whose address
for contact purposes is:

The Ombudsman

Office of the Ombudsman

PO Box 10-152

WELLINGTON 6143

Yours sincerely

Official and Parliamentary Information team   |  Ministerial and
Executive Services

Ministry of Social Development

 

Our Purpose:
We help New Zealanders to help themselves to be safe, strong and
independent
Ko ta mātou he whakamana tangata kia tū haumaru, kia tū kaha, kia tū
motuhake

 

 

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