1/ In 2011 how many second-time or subsequent grants for the DPB were to a caregiver with more than one dependent child; a youngest child under 12 months old and who had been off benefit for between 12 - 48 months? Their answer:
The point of my question? I am trying to ascertain how many people will qualify for a further 5 years of welfare before work-testing because they had a subsequent child off welfare. 437 is a starting figure.
Not included in this figure is for instance someone who left under 12 months ago and returned with a newborn.
The Ministry also qualified my 'off benefit' as 'off DPB-related' which also narrows the field.
The point is, as it stands, as long as a baby isn't added to a benefit the caregiver won't be work-tested until the baby is 5. Some people are clever. They have already forced the Ministry to pay the DPB to both parents if the parents split custody of their children. So there are two benefits to play around with when considering which one to 'add' a subsequent child to.
As in any group of people, there are those who will abide by the rules because they are honest and well-motivated, and that includes people on welfare. But there are others who will play the system for all it's worth. Ironically those are the very people these new rules are supposed to positively influence.
table DP.3: Periods since clients last received any main benefit
Period since client last received any main benefit | 2006/2007 | 2007/2008 | 2008/2009 | 2009/2010 | 2010/2011 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Domestic Purposes Benefits granted to working-age clients1 | |||||
None (clients transferring within the benefit system)2 | 9,447 | 10,035 | 10,654 | 11,416 | 11,071 |
Under 12 months | 9,900 | 10,567 | 10,876 | 9,683 | 9,963 |
1–2 years | 3,289 | 3,938 | 4,483 | 3,656 | 3,198 |
2–4 years | 3,061 | 3,393 | 4,365 | 4,201 | 3,307 |
Had not received a main benefit in the previous 4 years | 7,774 | 8,561 | 11,433 | 11,660 | 10,533 |
Total granted to working-age clients | 33,471 | 36,494 | 41,811 | 40,616 | 38,072 |
Domestic Purposes Benefits granted to other clients1 | |||||
Total granted to other clients | 940 | 1,054 | 1,100 | 942 | 799 |
Total Domestic Purposes Benefits granted1 | |||||
Total | 34,411 | 37,548 | 42,911 | 41,558 | 38,871 |