Have any disability allowance recipients had their winter energy payments stopped without a request to do so by the recipient; if so, how many and why has this occurred?

Answer

The law requires the Ministry of Social Development (the Ministry) to suspend certain supplementary payments if a client does not meet their mandatory review requirements. I am advised that the Ministry recently identified that some reviews were not processed before they expired because of high volumes. This meant some payments were suspended even though the client had provided the required information. The Ministry has worked through these cases and restored payments where appropriate. I am further advised that the Ministry is unable to provide the information sought by the Member within a written parliamentary question timeframe as it would take substantial effort and require the Ministry to divert personnel from their core duties. In accordance with Speaker’s Ruling 210/6, I consider that the time, and hence the expense, of answering these questions within this timeframe is not in the public interest.