Releases

Social Development Minister Anne Tolley says changes to accommodation support for studying sole parents mean that more parents are accessing higher rates of the support. “The majority of sole parents who are studying full time are now receiving the same accommodation support they would if they were on a benefit, leaving them on average $38.88 a week better off,” Mrs Tolley says. ...

Social Development Minister Anne Tolley says a Bill to expand the Youth Service has passed its final reading in Parliament today. The Social Security (Extension of Young Persons Services and Remedial Matters) Amendment Bill expands the wraparound support provided by the Youth Service to all 19-year-old parents and 18 and 19-year-olds at significant risk of long term welfare dependence. ...

Ministers today welcomed a new pilot in Christchurch which aims to ensure families experiencing family violence are safe and receive the services they need to prevent further harm. At the heart of the new approach are government agencies and NGOs working together for families and whānau to provide increased support to high-risk victims, better manage perpetrators and improve collaboration between agencies. ...

Social Development Minister Anne Tolley will today represent the New Zealand Government at the International Battle of the Somme Commemorative Service in Thiepval, France. The commemoration, organised by the French and British governments, marks a hundred years to the day since the battle began on 1 July 1916. The New Zealand Division joined the battle in September 1916. It’s estimated that there were 8000 New Zealand casualties at the Somme, including 2000 troops who were killed, in what was the division’s first major engagement on the Western Front.

Social Development Minister Anne Tolley is today attending commemorative events in Brockenhurst, Hampshire, which was the site of the No.1 New Zealand General Hospital in the First World War. The hospital opened a hundred years ago this month to support New Zealand troops serving in the war, and by 1919 21,000 patients had been treated there, with another 27,000 patients treated at the No.2 General Hospital in Walton on Thames. ...