Social services hoping for more Govt cash

New Zealand's struggling social services are hoping for a pre-Budget funding boost today to cope with the social fallout of the recession.

Social Development Minister Paula Bennett has invited several hundred people to a function room at Auckland's Ellerslie Racecourse to unveil funding decisions for the community and voluntary sector before next week's Budget.

Umbrella groups representing the sector have asked for a "recession response programme" to cope with a combination of increased social needs and growing numbers of redundant workers wanting to work as volunteers.

Council of Social Services chief executive Ros Rice said she was "cautiously optimistic" that there would be more money.

But Ms Bennett is also expected to confirm suggestions from Finance Minister Bill English that the National Government will drop a $193 million-a-year plan announced by Labour Prime Minister Helen Clark before the last election to fully fund "essential services" for children and families by 2011.

Today's announcement comes as budgeting agencies and foodbanks report growing numbers of families seeking help after one or both partners have lost jobs or overtime hours.

Mangere Budget Service manager Darryl Evans said numbers coming into his office were up from three or four a day to 17 a day.

He opened a new office in Mahunga Drive last week, but has also told two of his eight staff that their jobs will end next month if the new Government does not maintain the funding increase he received last year under Labour's four-year plan.

"Providing the funding is rolled over, they will roll over too," he said.

Salvation Army spokesman Jon Hoyle said food parcels distributed nationally in the first quarter of this year were up 44 per cent on the same time last year, to 10,517.

Numbers receiving counselling were up 34 per cent and families needing budget advice were up 15 per cent.

Auckland City Missioner Diane Robertson said food parcels distributed through the mission's 70 associated foodbanks were up 60 per cent on this time last year.

"Our demographics are women who have been in cleaning jobs and other very low-paid jobs and may have been holding down two or three part-time jobs and have lost them.

"They are in families that were being held together by those secondary incomes.

"They are not entitled to benefits or redundancy because one partner is still working, but not having the extra job has pushed them completely over the edge in terms of providing for their families."