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Acting Social Development Minister Jo Goodhew says the number of people receiving a main benefit has continued to fall year on year, with the latest figures the lowest for any June quarter since 2008.

“The number of people receiving a main benefit has fallen by 5,172 (or 1.8 per cent) in the last 12 months, with those on Sole Parent Support continuing to drive the strong downward trend,” Mrs Goodhew says.

Associate Social Development Minister Jo Goodhew is congratulating the 63,728 tertiary students who have applied for their 2016 Student Loans and Allowances.

“Peak season used to result in lengthy application hold up’s for students,” Mrs Goodhew says. “But the process is now much faster thanks to StudyLink’s improved services, a better online application system and students applying earlier.”

Associate Social Development Minister Jo Goodhew is urging students to apply for their 2016 student loans and allowances by 16 December.

“We are expecting over 200,000 applications for the 2016 academic year,” says Mrs Goodhew. “The best way students can make their enrolment as smooth as possible is by applying by the 16 December target date.”

“By applying before 16 December, students will allow enough time for all the steps in the application process to be completed before courses start.”

A continued focus by staff to identify overpayments to beneficiaries is reducing the number of people ending up with large debts, says Associate Social Development Minister Jo Goodhew.

Associate Social Development Minister Jo Goodhew says more than 130,000 students this year have benefitted from the improvements made to the student loan and allowance application process.

Improvements include simplified website content, fast pre-filled forms, a digital document depository using New Zealand Post’s ‘Connect’ service, and a vastly improved call centre experience.

E aku rangatira, tēnā koutou katoa. Ka nui te honore ki te mihi ki a koutou.

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Associate Social Development Minister Jo Goodhew has announced the appointment of Board Member Mr Len Cook as the Families Commissioner and Chair of the Families Commission (Superu) Board.

“Mr Cook has already provided excellent service in his role as expert advisor to the Superu Board since 2013 and I am extremely pleased to have him continue in his new capacity,” says Mrs Goodhew.

Associate Social Development Minister Jo Goodhew has welcomed the continuing success of the government’s welfare fraud initiatives.

“One of the key initiatives is close monitoring of low-trust clients who have previously committed welfare fraud,” says Mrs Goodhew.

“Prior to our welfare reforms, approximately 26 percent of clients re-offended.

However the latest report shows that none of the 1,698 clients who have left the close monitoring initiative so far have recommitted welfare fraud.

Associate Social Development Minister Jo Goodhew today announced two new appointments and a reappointment to the Families Commission (operating as Superu – Social Policy Evaluation and Research Unit) Board.

“Len Cook and Hon Dame Tariana Turia have been appointed to the Superu Board, and will bring valuable skills and experience to complement the existing Board members,” Mrs Goodhew says.

Mr Cook has acted as an expert advisor to the Superu Board since 2013 and is a specialist in the use of statistics and social science research.

Associate Minister for Social Development Jo Goodhew has welcomed news that since benefit fraud reform initiatives began two years ago, up to $60 million of taxpayers’ money has been saved.

“Over the past two and a half years around 9,500 benefits have been cancelled after fraudulent and illegitimate payments were discovered. These changes hold people to account for their actions, and make it difficult to defraud the welfare system,” Mrs Goodhew says.

Almost 131,000 students applying for student loans and allowances have benefitted already this year from improvements to StudyLink, Associate Social Development Minister Jo Goodhew says.

“StudyLink has continued to improve the student experience and this has meant more students can apply online and get the answers they need from our contact centres without delay,” Mrs Goodhew says.

The changes have seen call waiting times reduced, with three-quarters of phone calls answered faster this year than last year.

Associate Social Development Minister Jo Goodhew is reminding students to apply for their 2015 Student Allowance and Loan by Tuesday 16 December.

“More than 60,000 students have applied for allowances and loans in the last two months. This is a good start, but with one week to go we’re aiming to exceed the 90,000 students who had applied by 16 December last year,” Mrs Goodhew says.