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New Zealand’s first social bond will help around 1,700 people with mental illness into work, Finance Minister Steven Joyce and Social Investment Minister Amy Adams say.

“The social bond approved by Cabinet in December 2016 has successfully raised the required finance so is now operational as New Zealand’s first social bond,” Mr Joyce says.

Some of Wellington’s most vulnerable will benefit from a new emergency housing service now open thanks to the Government’s backing, Social Housing Minister Amy Adams says.

Operated by Oasis Network Inc, Hillary Court in Naenae will see up to 15 single males at a time housed and provided with wraparound social services to help them get back on their feet.

Ms Adams opened the facility and met residents today alongside Associate Social Housing Minister Alfred Ngaro and local MP Chris Bishop.

The Government will introduce a new scheme to address historical convictions for homosexual offences, Justice Minister Amy Adams has announced.

“While the Homosexual Law Reform Act 1986 decriminalised consensual sex between men aged 16 and over, convictions for those offences remain on record and can appear in criminal history checks,” Ms Adams says.

More frontline services and extra places in perpetrator programmes are on the way for the multi-agency Integrated Safety Response pilot, following an additional injection of funding, Ministers have announced.

An extra $680,000 will allow the Christchurch ISR pilot to continue its work to combat family and sexual violence.

“The ISR pilot takes a whole-of-family approach to stop family violence by identifying risks and intervening earlier,” Ms Adams says.

The justice sector will receive an extra $115 million over four years to support the rollout of more police on the beat.

Justice and Courts Minister Amy Adams and Corrections Minister Louise Upston say the additional investment supports the work already underway to prevent crime and make communities safer. The $115 million funding boost for the Ministry of Justice and Department of Corrections is part of the Government’s larger $503 million Safer Communities package announced yesterday.

A new pilot programme is underway to help at-risk social housing tenants hold onto their tenancies, Social Housing Minister Amy Adams said today.

Under the Sustaining Tenancies Initiative, tenants with complex or serious needs who may be at risk of losing their tenancy will receive practical support from community providers to help get back on track.

Justice Minister Amy Adams has welcomed New Zealand’s return to the top of global transparency rankings.

A number of Government initiatives have helped return New Zealand to first equal in the world, along with Denmark, in Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index. New Zealand scored 90 points out of 100.

An increase in the housing register underscores the importance of the Government’s social housing reform programme and its $344 million commitment to additional emergency housing places, Social Housing Minister Amy Adams says.

“We have a comprehensive social housing plan in place, and we’ve moved quickly to provide more emergency and social housing,” Ms Adams says.

The number of people and families seeking social housing on the Housing Register at the end of December was 4771, up 169 or about 3.7 per cent on the previous quarter.

Social Housing Minister Amy Adams has today welcomed data showing new help introduced by the Government is creating tangible support for struggling New Zealanders.

For the first time, the Ministry of Social Development’s quarterly benefit fact sheets have included figures on uptake of the Emergency Housing Special Needs Grant (SNG), introduced in July 2016.