Special Needs Grants ... National and regional trends
Here in the Wellington region, we are back in level 2 with another COVID-19 lockdown behind us. We hear frequently in the news about the ongoing social and economic impacts on our communities of the pandemic and Planalytics was curious to see if this is reflected in SNG data.
This week Data Visualisation Manager, Tiff North, and I put our heads together to identify Special Needs Grant (SNG) trends in Aotearoa New Zealand and Wellington in an attempt to contextualise the challenges facing our communities. And we found some juicy stuff! Tiff compiled data sourced from the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) and the Ministry of Urban Development (MHUD), into digestible graphics to begin to tell this story.
NZ AS COMPARED TO WELLINGTON
The graphic below identifies the number of SNGs and corresponding dollar amount issued across Aotearoa compared to Wellington, from 2019 to the year to June 2021. It begins to identify some interesting trends.
*Note that these figures relate to SNGs only. They do not include Recoverable Assistance Payments or Advance Payments of Benefits, which are other mechanisms available to assist people in need.
Nationally, Aotearoa saw a leap in both the number of SNGs issued and the amount granted in 2020 compared to the previous year. It would be reasonable to assume that this increase was due to the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent national lockdown. However, it should be noted that the 2019 figures are a 60% increase on 2018’s number of SNGs issued and a 90% increase on 2018’s dollar amount granted.
What we also found fascinating is that, regionally, Wellington experienced a decrease in the number of SNGs issued in 2020 whilst the dollar amount more than doubled. What does this tell us about the effect of the pandemic on emergency need in Wellington, and why might the capital buck the national trend?
We pondered whether the continued decrease in SNGs indicated that people are experiencing less emergency need in the region, or whether the character of need is changing. In addition, we wondered if needs are being met in different ways, for example, is food insecurity being addressed through NGOs such as food banks or Kaibosh? Or is it simply because the amount granted has increased to levels where people’s needs are being met for longer?
To get a clearer picture we broke down 2019 and 2020 data further, to see what was happening each quarter.
The graphic above clearly identifies a national spike in number and dollar amount of SNGs during the quarter ending June 2020 (‘the lockdown quarter’). Wellington paints a different picture with the number of SNGs issued decreasing at the start of 2020 and continuing to do so through the lockdown quarter. We can see that following that period, national figures fell and stabilised whilst, in Wellington, the number issued continued to fall and the dollar amount continued to rise.
In an OIA response from MSD, it explained that due to the COVID-19 lockdown, many service centres were not open to the public for face-to-face appointments. At the same time, more SNGs were processed through MSD’s Central Processing Unit as these grants were made electronically or over the phone. This could explain the increase in national figures and decrease in regional figures, but how does it explain the increased dollar amount for Wellington?
MOST COMMON SNGs NATIONALLY & REGIONALLY
When looking at the type of SNGs issued, we found comparing data was challenging as MSD appears to break data down differently at a national and regional level. For example, categories of SNGs are described differently in some instances. In addition, reasons for hardship assistance tables only breakdown to include Emergency Housing SNG figures at a national level, not regionally. For the purposes of this article, we have included Emergency Housing SNG data from MHUD's regional factsheets for Wellington.
Looking at the latest quarter ending June 2021, the most common grants issued across the motu and in Wellington, included food, emergency housing, medical costs, reestablishment grants and drivers’ licences. As highlighted in our previous instalment of this SNG series, food and emergency housing grants are the two most commonly issued SNGs.
Just look at what’s happening in respect of those two SNGs when shown over time. It is not unreasonable to expect that regional data would mirror national trends, however not so in the Wellington region. They present quite different stories.
In Wellington, the need for food and housing support has converged since September last year, however nationally food need has continued to outstrip emergency housing by some margin. Nationally, there was a spike in food SNGs during the ‘lockdown quarter’ but Wellington saw a decrease. Will this latest lockdown have a similar impact on SNGs issued?
What we’re seeing in the above graphic raises lots of questions. What’s your take on why the regional picture is so different to the national picture? Are you seeing anything locally that could provide some insight? With the national and regional trends in mind, we wonder what this means for Wairarapa? More on that next week!
Me mahi tahi tātou mo te oranga o te katoa - We should work together for the wellbeing of everyone