New trust to deliver social services to whanau

The Maori Party flag. Photo / Kenny Rodger

The Whanau Ora Taskforce has recommended hand-picked providers be placed on "high-trust" contracts to deliver social services under the Maori Party's Whanau Ora policy.

Papers reveal the Whanau Ora Taskforce report, due to be reported to the Government today, will recommend an independent trust be set up and given public money to administer the new policy.

The papers show officials have sounded a note of caution about some recommendations, saying there is a risk providers will get public funding with only limited accountability.

The taskforce was set up by associate social development minister Tariana Turia to recommend ways to deliver the Maori Party's Whanau Ora policy. Under the policy, locally-based private providers would deliver social services, such as welfare and health, to those within a whanau.

Prime Minister John Key has promised to include the policy in this year's Budget. Although Cabinet is yet to sign off on it, the papers show the Government intends to roll it out from July.

The taskforce recommends an independent Whanau Ora Trust be set up to manage the programme. It would report to a specific Whanau Ora minister and get public money, with which it would deliver the programme including managing contracts with providers. The trust would set up a layer of "regional panels" to monitor the success of the programme.

Officials have questioned the trust idea when Te Puni Kokiri already had the expertise and infrastructure needed.

The taskforce proposes providers be put on "streamlined high-trust" contracts and appoint "service brokers" to deal directly with whanau to identify their needs.

It does not define whanau - it said providers should judge for themselves whether a group of people were a whanau.

The taskforce also recommends providers be hand-picked from those known, rather than selected after seeking expressions of interest. It proposes six sites initially, which were yet to be selected from possible providers.

Although the scheme was devised for Maori communities, Mr Key has asked it be available for those in need regardless of race.

WHAT IS WHANAU ORA?
A scheme under which locally-based private providers will look after all social services needs of a whanau, including welfare and health. Although initially devised for Maori, the Prime Minister has said it should be available for all races and based solely on need.

What the Whanau Ora Taskforce recommends:
* Begin in July with six yet-to-be chosen places.
* Set up an independent Whanau Ora Trust to oversee it, including contracting providers.
* The trust to set up a layer of regional panels to assess the success of the policy.
* Give the trust its own appropriation of public funds.
* Government agencies to fund the private providers to deliver services through "streamlined, high-trust contracts".