Social Services get more

The Herald reports:

Social service agencies can hardly believe their luck after a National Government yesterday gave them more money for the coming year than the former Labour Government had planned, despite intense pressure to cut spending in the recession.

Social Development Minister Paula Bennett said next week’s Budget would give them a $40 million increase, on top of a $3 million inflation adjustment – $20 million more than Labour had earmarked under its “Pathways to Partnership” programme.

She said the $20 million would be clawed back in 2011-12 to keep total five-year spending on the programme exactly the same as Labour had planned, just under $1.47 billion.

But this was far better than the agencies had expected at a time when other state spending is being cut and after Finance Minister Bill English refused to confirm Labour’s funding plan back in February.

“It’s more than we could have expected,” said Council of Social Services chief executive Ros Rice, who has been to four sector meetings with Ms Bennett in the past two months.

“It’s a fantastic package. When we were talking to her we were not talking about that level of funding.”

If you cut money from the bureaucracy, you then are able to spend more in other areas. Of course Labour has oppossed and complained about every saving made in the bureaucracy.