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

-----Original Message-----
From: Jonathan King [mailto:[FOI #4053 email]]
Sent: Tuesday, 24 May 2016 8:08 p.m.
To: OIA_Requests (MSD)
Subject: Official Information Act request - Child support payments transferred to Work & Income and related information

Dear Ministry of Social Development,

I am writing to request the following information:

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

Yours faithfully,

Jonathan King
Secretary
Auckland Action Against Poverty

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This is an OIA request done via the FYI website.

Please do not send progress updates as PDF files.

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https://fyi.org.nz/help/officers

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-------------------------------
This email and any attachments may contain information that is confidential and subject to legal privilege. If you are not the intended recipient, any use, dissemination, distribution or duplication of this email and attachments is prohibited. If you have received this email in error please notify the author immediately and erase all copies of the email and attachments. The Ministry of Social Development accepts no responsibility for changes made to this message or attachments after transmission from the Ministry.

-------------------------------

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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

 

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Jonathan King [mailto:[FOI #4053 email]]
Sent: Tuesday, 24 May 2016 8:08 p.m.
To: OIA_Requests (MSD)
Subject: Official Information Act request - Child support payments
transferred to Work & Income and related information

 

Dear Ministry of Social Development,

 

I am writing to request the following information:

 

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

 

Yours faithfully,

 

Jonathan King

Secretary

Auckland Action Against Poverty

 

-------------------------------------------------------------------

 

This is an OIA request done via the FYI website.

 

Please do not send progress updates as PDF files.

 

Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on
the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:

[4]https://fyi.org.nz/help/officers

 

If you find this service useful as an OIA officer, please ask your web
manager to link to us from your organisation's OIA page.

 

 

-------------------------------------------------------------------

------------------------------- This email and any attachments may contain
information that is confidential and subject to legal privilege. If you
are not the intended recipient, any use, dissemination, distribution or
duplication of this email and attachments is prohibited. If you have
received this email in error please notify the author immediately and
erase all copies of the email and attachments. The Ministry of Social
Development accepts no responsibility for changes made to this message or
attachments after transmission from the Ministry.
-------------------------------

References

Visible links
1. https://www.msd.govt.nz/documents/about-...
2. http://www.stats.govt.nz/Census/2013-cen...
3. http://www.msd.govt.nz/about-msd-and-our...
4. https://fyi.org.nz/help/officers

hide quoted sections