Bennett suspects grants being abused

Paula Bennett. Photo / Richard Robinson

Social Development Minister Paula Bennett has asked officials to look into the cases of people repeatedly applying for emergency special needs grants, to make sure they are not abusing the welfare system.

She is working on implementing a new policy which will require anyone who applies for a grant more than three times to do a budgeting advice course.

But first she needs to ensure there are sufficient advisers in place to offer the courses.

In figures provided to Labour MP Annette King, Ms Bennett said nearly 58,000 people applied for emergency grants in July. These are for both beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries who need urgent help with food or other essential costs.

Ms Bennett said she had expected the use of the grants to increase because of the recession but was doing checks to make sure they were not being abused.

She has asked officials to look at those repeatedly asking for grants, saying while many people sought them out of genuine need, she was concerned about others who knew how the system worked and applied repeatedly. Claire Trevett