20 March 2024
Ohakune Ratepayers and Residents' Society Inc
[FYI request #25832 email]
Tēnā koutou,
Official Information Act request
Thank you for your email of 22 February 2024, requesting information about main
benefits recipients in the Ruapehu District.
I have considered your request under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act).
Please find my decision on your request below and in the attached spreadsheet.
We request the data for Ruapehu as a whole and if possible for Ohakune and raetihi
individually.
1./ how many people receiving a main benefit along with what type of benefit
(jobseeker, work ready, health condition or disability, sole parent disability,
supported living)
a breakdown of payments by age bracket
Please find attached in
Table One,
which provides the number of working age
main benefit clients in the Ruapehu District Territorial Local Authority (TLA) area
as at the end of December 2023, broken down by benefit type and age group.
2./ a breakdown of how many have been on the benefit for 12 months or more
and 12 months or less
You will find in
Table Two, the number of working age main benefit clients in the
Ruapehu District TLA area as at the end of December 2023, broken down by benefit
type and continuous duration length.
3./ a total cost per 12 month period (last 3 years) spent on welfare payments for
Ruapehu region, Ohakune town and raetihi town.
4./ a total cost of additional benefits paid for each region (above), I.e. when a
beneficiary has asked for fuel or transport to medical appointments etc.
The Ministry is unable to provide data on the cost to the Ministry of benefits paid
at a regional level for parts three and four of your request, as this information is
not held. The Ministry can only provide expenditure at a national level. If you are
interested, we invite you to submit another request for this information.
As such, I am refusing parts three and four of your request under section 18(g) of
the Act, as the information you had requested is not held by the Ministry and I
The Aurora Centre, 56 The Terrace, PO Box 1556, Wellington
– Telephone 04-916 3300 – Facsimile 04-918 0099
have no grounds to believe that the information is either held by or closely
connected to the functions of another department, Minister of the Crown or
organisation.
If you wish to discuss this response with us, please feel free to contact
[MSD request email]. If you are not satisfied with my decision on your request, you have the right to
seek an investigation and review by the Ombudsman. Information about how to
make a complaint is available
at www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or 0800 802 602.
Ngā mihi nui
pp.
Magnus O’Neill
General Manager
Ministerial and Executive Services
