Benefit cuts because of welfare sanctions or overseas travel affected thousands of children last year, according to a new Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) report.
But the group says as a result of minimal data from the Ministry of Social Development, there is no way of knowing exactly how many children are affected and whether the cuts are helping or harming them.
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CPAG's third policy monitoring report, released today, examined payment cuts because of sanctions introduced in 2010, and looked at suspensions and cancellations as a result of travelling overseas. The group is calling for the details to be more readily available.
Travel
The report found there were 4836 sole parent support benefit suspensions due to travel overseas from 15 July 2013 to the end of January 2014, affecting an estimated 8400 children.
Beneficiaries are not eligible for payments while away from New Zealand unless the travel has been approved.
More than half of benefit suspensions included a household where the youngest child was aged five or below, according to the report.
The group's chief researcher and policy analyst, Donna Wynd said many families go overseas for funerals or emergencies and other family members usually covered the cost.
Sanctions
Sanctions introduced in 2010 mean beneficiaries could have their income halved if they have insufficient reason for not meeting their work related obligations, such as failure to attend an appointment with Work and Income.
According the report, at the end of June 2013, 650 sanctions were imposed on households with children. The number was up to 965 at the end of September, and had fallen to 579 at the end of December in the same year.
The report said assuming there are about two children per beneficiary household, the number of children living with reduced incomes go into the hundreds, and to almost 2000 as at the end of September 2013.
An average of 200 beneficiary parents had their benefits halved for at least four weeks at the end of each quarter, the report said.
Ms Wynd said the ministry should be checking on the children whose parents experienced benefit cuts.
"I would like to see the sanctions regime abandoned," she said. "Whatever the rhetoric, the sanctions regime is not a child-focused policy."
'Minimal data'
CPAG is calling on the ministry to regularly make public details about the number of beneficiaries and children affected by sanctions and other cuts.
Ms Wynd, said living on a greatly reduced income has major consequences for children.
"It's critical to know the number of children affected by sanctions and for how long," she said.
"This data should be publicly available, but we're having to request it from the Official Information Act and these are taking quite a long time," she said.
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Social Development said they had yet to read the CPAG report.
Photo: CORBIS
