Information relating to reductions of the rates of benefits for sole parents under Section 70a of the Social Security Act

Jonathan King made this Official Information request to Ministry of Social Development

The request was partially successful.

From: Jonathan King

Dear Ministry of Social Development,

I am writing to request information relating to the reductions of the rates of benefits for sole parents under Section 70a of the Social Security Act.

Specifically I am requesting:

1. The number of sole parents currently subject to reductions in the rates of their benefit payments under Section 70a of the Social Security Act, broken down by total number and percentage according to:

(a) Gender
(b) Age
(c) Ethnicity
(c) How many reductions are currently applied to that sole parent's benefit payments under Section 70a
(d) Whether 70a(5) has been applied (a further $6 reduction per week)
(e) Which clause in 70a(2) has been applied (a, b, or c)
(f) As a percentage of sole parents currently receiving one of the benefit payments listed in 70a(1)(b)

2. The number of cases in the last 12 months in which reductions under Section 70a(2) have not been applied, or reductions have been stopped, as a result of reference to the clauses in 70a(3). Please break these down by total number and percentage according to which clause has been applied (a, b, ba, bb, or c).

Yours faithfully,

Jonathan King
Secretary
Auckland Action Against Poverty

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From: OIA_Requests (MSD)
Ministry of Social Development

Tēnā koe Jonathan King

Thank you for your email received 12 April 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 #3888 email]]
Sent: Tuesday, 12 April 2016 2:32 p.m.
To: OIA_Requests (MSD)
Subject: Official Information Act request - Information relating to reductions of the rates of benefits for sole parents under Section 70a of the Social Security Act

Dear Ministry of Social Development,

I am writing to request information relating to the reductions of the rates of benefits for sole parents under Section 70a of the Social Security Act.

Specifically I am requesting:

1. The number of sole parents currently subject to reductions in the rates of their benefit payments under Section 70a of the Social Security Act, broken down by total number and percentage according to:

(a) Gender
(b) Age
(c) Ethnicity
(c) How many reductions are currently applied to that sole parent's benefit payments under Section 70a
(d) Whether 70a(5) has been applied (a further $6 reduction per week)
(e) Which clause in 70a(2) has been applied (a, b, or c)
(f) As a percentage of sole parents currently receiving one of the benefit payments listed in 70a(1)(b)

2. The number of cases in the last 12 months in which reductions under Section 70a(2) have not been applied, or reductions have been stopped, as a result of reference to the clauses in 70a(3). Please break these down by total number and percentage according to which clause has been applied (a, b, ba, bb, or c).

Yours faithfully,

Jonathan King
Secretary
Auckland Action Against Poverty

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Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
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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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From: Thomas Fleming
Ministry of Social Development

Dear Mr King

On 12 April 2016 you emailed the Ministry requesting, under the Official
Information Act 1982, the following information:

·         The number of sole parents currently subject to reductions in
the rates of their benefit payments under Section 70a of the Social
Security Act, broken down by total number and percentage according to:

(a) Gender

(b) Age

(c) Ethnicity

(c) How many reductions are currently applied to that sole parent's
benefit payments under Section 70a

(d) Whether 70a(5) has been applied (a further $6 reduction per week)

(e) Which clause in 70a(2) has been applied (a, b, or c)

(f) As a percentage of sole parents currently receiving one of the benefit
payments listed in 70a(1)(b)

o The number of cases in the last 12 months in which reductions under
Section 70a(2) have not been applied, or reductions have been stopped,
as a result of reference to the clauses in 70a(3). Please break these
down by total number and percentage according to which clause has been
applied (a, b, ba, bb, or c).

This email confirms that the Ministry has identified the information in
scope of your request and will respond accordingly. This information will
be processed under the Official Information Act. The response will provide
you with six tables which show a breakdown of the number of sole parents
who are subject to a reduction in their rates of benefit under section 70A
of the Social Security Act 1964. The tables provide you with the number of
sole parents with a section 70A child support deduction broken down by
gender, age, ethnicity, the number of deductions, the benefit they receive
and the reasons a reduction has not been applied (exemption).

Please note that information will be withheld under the following sections
of the Official Information Act:

·         Section 18(e) of the Official Information Act as this
information does not exist.

·         Section 18(f) of the Official Information Act.

A full response will be provided to you as soon as practicably possible.
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: OIA_Requests (MSD)
Sent: Wednesday, 13 April 2016 9:27 a.m.
To: 'Jonathan King'
Subject: 20160413_King, Jonathan_OIA Request

 

Tēnā koe Jonathan King

 

Thank you for your email received 12 April 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
[[1]mailto:[FOI #3888 email]]

Sent: Tuesday, 12 April 2016 2:32 p.m.

To: OIA_Requests (MSD)

Subject: Official Information Act request - Information relating to
reductions of the rates of benefits for sole parents under Section 70a of
the Social Security Act

 

Dear Ministry of Social Development,

 

I am writing to request information relating to the reductions of the
rates of benefits for sole parents under Section 70a of the Social
Security Act.

 

Specifically I am requesting:

 

1. The number of sole parents currently subject to reductions in the rates
of their benefit payments under Section 70a of the Social Security Act,
broken down by total number and percentage according to:

 

(a) Gender

(b) Age

(c) Ethnicity

(c) How many reductions are currently applied to that sole parent's
benefit payments under Section 70a

(d) Whether 70a(5) has been applied (a further $6 reduction per week)

(e) Which clause in 70a(2) has been applied (a, b, or c)

(f) As a percentage of sole parents currently receiving one of the benefit
payments listed in 70a(1)(b)

 

2. The number of cases in the last 12 months in which reductions under
Section 70a(2) have not been applied, or reductions have been stopped, as
a result of reference to the clauses in 70a(3). Please break these down by
total number and percentage according to which clause has been applied (a,
b, ba, bb, or c).

 

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:

[2]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.
-------------------------------

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

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From: Jonathan King

Dear Ministry of Social Development,

Thank you for your update.

Just to clarify, you've said that:

"The response will provide you with six tables which show a breakdown of the number of sole parents who are subject to a reduction in their rates of benefit under section 70A of the Social Security Act 1964. The tables provide you with the number of sole parents with a section 70A child support deduction broken down by gender, age, ethnicity, the number of deductions, the benefit they receive and the reasons a reduction has not been applied (exemption)."

It's unclear whether you intend to include the following information in the tables, so just to reiterate, please note that in addition to the breakdowns you have listed I am requesting the information to be broken down by:

* Whether 70a(5) has been applied (a further $6 reduction per week)

* Which clause in 70a(2) has been applied (a, b, or c)

* As a percentage of sole parents currently receiving one of the benefit payments listed in 70a(1)(b)

* The number of cases in the last 12 months in which reductions under Section 70a(2) have not been applied, or reductions have been stopped, as a result of reference to the clauses in 70a(3). Please break these down by total number and percentage according to which clause has been applied (a, b, ba, bb, or c).

In addition to this, I would like to clarify that I am requesting that all the tables and all the information be broken down by gender, age, and ethnicity.

Yours faithfully,

Jonathan King
Secretary
Auckland Action Against Poverty

Link to this

From: OIA_Requests (MSD)
Ministry of Social Development


Attachment 20160510 King Jonathan Response.pdf
1.2M Download View as HTML


Tēnā koe Mr Jonathan King

Please find attached the Ministry's response to your Official Information Act request regarding Section 70 reductions for Sole Parents
 
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 #3888 email]]
Sent: Friday, 6 May 2016 4:49 p.m.
To: OIA_Requests (MSD)
Subject: Re: Official Information Act request - Information relating to reductions of the rates of benefits for sole parents under Section 70a of the Social Security Act

Dear Ministry of Social Development,

Thank you for your update.

Just to clarify, you've said that:

"The response will provide you with six tables which show a breakdown of the number of sole parents who are subject to a reduction in their rates of benefit under section 70A of the Social Security Act 1964. The tables provide you with the number of sole parents with a section 70A child support deduction broken down by gender, age, ethnicity, the number of deductions, the benefit they receive and the reasons a reduction has not been applied (exemption)."

It's unclear whether you intend to include the following information in the tables, so just to reiterate, please note that in addition to the breakdowns you have listed I am requesting the information to be broken down by:

* Whether 70a(5) has been applied (a further $6 reduction per week)

* Which clause in 70a(2) has been applied (a, b, or c)

* As a percentage of sole parents currently receiving one of the benefit payments listed in 70a(1)(b)

* The number of cases in the last 12 months in which reductions under Section 70a(2) have not been applied, or reductions have been stopped, as a result of reference to the clauses in 70a(3). Please break these down by total number and percentage according to which clause has been applied (a, b, ba, bb, or c).

In addition to this, I would like to clarify that I am requesting that all the tables and all the information be broken down by gender, age, and ethnicity.

Yours faithfully,

Jonathan King
Secretary
Auckland Action Against Poverty

-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #3888 email]

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

-------------------------------------------------------------------
-----Original Message-----
From: OIA_Requests (MSD)
Sent: Wednesday, 13 April 2016 9:27 a.m.
To: 'Jonathan King'
Subject: 20160413_King, Jonathan_OIA Request

Tēnā koe Jonathan King

Thank you for your email received 12 April 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 #3888 email]]
Sent: Tuesday, 12 April 2016 2:32 p.m.
To: OIA_Requests (MSD)
Subject: Official Information Act request - Information relating to reductions of the rates of benefits for sole parents under Section 70a of the Social Security Act

Dear Ministry of Social Development,

I am writing to request information relating to the reductions of the rates of benefits for sole parents under Section 70a of the Social Security Act.

Specifically I am requesting:

1. The number of sole parents currently subject to reductions in the rates of their benefit payments under Section 70a of the Social Security Act, broken down by total number and percentage according to:

(a) Gender
(b) Age
(c) Ethnicity
(c) How many reductions are currently applied to that sole parent's benefit payments under Section 70a
(d) Whether 70a(5) has been applied (a further $6 reduction per week)
(e) Which clause in 70a(2) has been applied (a, b, or c)
(f) As a percentage of sole parents currently receiving one of the benefit payments listed in 70a(1)(b)

2. The number of cases in the last 12 months in which reductions under Section 70a(2) have not been applied, or reductions have been stopped, as a result of reference to the clauses in 70a(3). Please break these down by total number and percentage according to which clause has been applied (a, b, ba, bb, or c).

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:
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.

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

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