The Ministry of Social Development has rejected a funding application for $200,000 from Kidicorp to operate their after-school care programmes. This is a subsidy to private enterprise. Being against subsidies, at first glance I would agree with the decision.
But there is more that we don't yet know. MSD also subsidises parents for after school care costs. It appears that subsidy is contingent on the programme meeting safety and quality standards set by CYF (yes, there is some irony there.) Assuming the Kidicorp centres are approved (they have after all been receiving funding) then some parents are able to receive assistance towards costs. That assistance increased with the WFF programme and the government may now consider the provider subsidy is no longer warranted.
The owner of Kidicorp says he will
... have to put forward $400,000 to cover the cost of the service to keep it running.
He doesn't comment on whether that is feasible long term. It may be, in which case he didn't need the subsidy.
Doing the maths the shortfall amounts to an average of $20 per week per child. If Mr Wright can't fund it then either the parents will have to find the extra -possibly through a subsidy they haven't previously made use of - or they may consider moving their child elsewhere. (Or they could return to a benefit which would cost the government a great deal more.)
Other OSCAR programmes operate at schools although I believe places are generally tight. But the government is doubtless providing funding for these as well. So I am somewhat worried that this is another attack on the private sector at the benefit of the state sector, similar to what we saw with the 20 free hours of pre-school education. Which wouldn't have seemed odd under a Labour government but under the new National administration?
It is one of those stories which will develop and more will doubtless be revealed. At the moment the Ministry isn't commenting on the rationale.
Need I say it, leaving more money with the earner in the first instance would make more available to fully fund private programmes. Why we even need these programmes is another debate for another day.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
"Doing the maths the shortfall amounts to an average of $20 per week per child. If Mr Wright can't fund it then either the parents will have to find the extra -possibly through a subsidy they haven't previously made use of - or they may consider moving their child elsewhere. (Or they could return to a benefit which would cost the government a great deal more.)"
The parents are presumably working full time, which is why they would need to use the afterschool programme, an extra $20 per child per week doesn't seem that much, less than the cost of a cup of coffee a day. I don't see what the problem is.
Its just a fatcat having a moan about having the goose laying its golden egg somewhere else.
Multi millionaire Wayne Wright is in business for the bottom line, an altruist he aint.
Dirk
Post a Comment