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Budget 2015 helps more people into work and supports the Government’s Better Public Services target of a 25 per cent reduction in the number of people receiving main benefits, Social Development Minister Anne Tolley says.

Budget 2015 allocates $32.5 million in new operating funding over the next four years and $1.5 million in 2014/15 to help reduce long-term welfare dependency.

Budget 2015 supports the Government’s plan to provide better care for vulnerable children and families across New Zealand, Social Development Minister Anne Tolley says.

It provides $58.6 million in new operating funding over the next four years and $2.3 million in capital funding in 2015/16 to help vulnerable children.

“Our most vulnerable kids deserve the very best support we can provide,” Mrs Tolley says.

Budget 2015 includes a $790 million package to reduce hardship among children in New Zealand’s poorest families, as the next step in the Government’s commitment to address the long-term drivers of deprivation.

The package includes increased work obligations for sole parents on a benefit, more childcare support for low-income families, a $25 a week increase in benefit rates for families with children, and an increase in Working for Families payments to low-income families not on a benefit, Finance Minister Bill English and Social Development Minister Anne Tolley say.