Kiwis Count Survey 2009 - Social Assistance Fact Sheet

• Overall, the Social Assistance group improved slightly from 67 in 2007 to 68 in 2009.
• Two services had statistically significant improvements in 2009; A childcare subsidy improved from 56 in 2007 to 65 in 2009, while A housing subsidy or accommodation supplement improved to 62, from 56 in 2007.
• Among Maori, New Zealand superannuation fell significantly from 77 in 2007 to 69 in 2009, while two services (Sickness, domestic purposes or unemployment benefit and A housing subsidy or accommodation supplement) had statistically significant improvements.

Introduction

In 2009 the Social Assistance service group made a small improvement from 67 in 2007 to 68 in 2009. The services that scored lowest in 2007 had the biggest improvements in 2009. A childcare subsidy improved from 56 in 2007 to 65 in 2009, while A housing subsidy or accommodation supplement improved from 56 in 2007 to 62 in 2009. New Zealand superannuation declined from 79 in 2007 to 75 in 2009, as did Accident compensation for injuries. The other services in the group made small improvements on 2007 results.

Fig 1: Overall service quality scores for services in the Social Assistance group, 2007-2009

Comparisons with Canada

In the Canadian Citizens First survey, superannuation has improved considerably since 1998. In New Zealand superannuation has not improved between 2007 and 2009. Similarly, the Sickness, domestic purposes or unemployment benefit service improved across four successive surveys in Canada, while in New Zealand service quality scores for this service have remained the same.

Fig 2: Comparison of service quality scores in Canada from 1998-2007 and New Zealand from 2007-2009 ¹

Results for Māori

Results for Māori in the social assistance group varied greatly. Benefits, childcare subsidies and housing or accommodation supplements all had big improvements on 2007. A housing subsidy or accommodation supplement performed especially well, increasing from 52 in 2007 to 62 in 2009. However, results were less positive for New Zealand superannuation (falling eight points to 69), State or council rental accommodation (falling seven points to 55); and Accident compensation for injuries (falling six points to 59).

Fig 3: Comparison of service quality scores for Social Assistance services between Māori and the survey average, 2007-2009

Performance against the drivers of satisfaction

The Social Assistance group improved against five of the six drivers of satisfaction. However, the scores for all of the drivers are still below the survey average. The biggest improvement was on Your individual circumstances were taken into account, increasing seven points to 58. The only decline was on It's an example of good value for tax dollars spent, which fell from 54 in 2007 to 51 in 2009.

Fig 4: Performance against the drivers of satisfaction for Social Assistance services, 2007-2009

Other interesting facts

New Zealand superannuation scored 80 among females, compared to 70 for males.

How can these results be improved?

It's an example of good value for tax dollars spent was the worst performing driver for the Social Assistance group, and also had a decline in 2009. Positive improvements were made on The service experience met your expectations. This driver contributes the most to overall satisfaction so further improvements here should have the biggest effect on service quality. To improve the scores for these drivers in the next Kiwis Count survey, the following could be considered:

• Improve public awareness of the services an agency provides.
• Provide better information to the public concerning expenditure of public monies. This information should be accessible and easy to understand.
• Set and monitor service standards so that staff know what is expected of them and the public are aware of the standards they can expect to receive.

For more information

Visit the SSC website:

www.ssc.govt.nz/nzers-experience

or email:

newzealanders.experience@ssc.govt.nz

¹ Some of the services included in the Citizens First surveys do not completely align with the services in Kiwis Count