More effective social services – draft report

Key Points Social services help New Zealanders to live healthy, safe and fulfilling lives. They provide access to health services and education opportunities, and protect and supp ort the most vulnerable. The quality of these services and access to them are crucial to the ongoing wellbeing of New Zealanders. The government funds social services with the aim of improving outcomes that people value, such as better health, less crime, and more and better jobs. Social services are only one influence among many that determine outcomes. Other important influences include family, friends and community, work and colleagues, early physical and social experiences, and economic deprivation. This inquiry is about finding ways to improve individual and social wellbeing through more effective social services. The inquiry has examined (among other things): -the strengths and weaknesses of current approaches to commissioning and purchasing social services; -the lessons learnt from recent initiatives and new approaches, in New Zealand and overseas; -how social services can best target and help those with high needs and at high risk of poor outcomes; -how to improve outcomes through better coordination of services, within and between government agencies and service providers; - how to take advantage of emerging opportunities offered by existing and new datasets, new information technologies and data analytics to learn about the effectiveness of different ser vices for different groups, and to spread this learning; and - the institutional arrangements that would support smarter commissioning, purchasing and contracting of social services. The Commission has been impressed with the hard work, perceptive thinking a nd commitment of the many people and organisations, outside and within government, who help deliver social services to those in need.   The role of this inquiry is not to critique the performance of government agencies and service providers. Rather, its role is to make recommendations that will improve the system.    In developing its draft findings and recommendations the Commission has drawn evidence from many sources, including research papers and extensive consultation. It received 134 submissions on its is sues paper and has held more than 100 face-to-face meetings.   The Commission has made 81 draft findings and 47 draft recommendations, and posed 8 questions. Recommendations range from modest ways to improve commissioning and contracting to bold suggestions for changes to roles and responsibilities. The Commission believes this draft report will generate plenty of interest and welcomes submissions

House price affordability, the global financial crisis and the (ir)relevance of mortgage rates

Although house prices and wages are both influenced by distinct factors that shape their own evolutions, they are also intrinsically connected through house price affordability. Standard theory suggests that macroeconomic policies centred around adjustments in the mortgage rate are of prime importance in ensuring that the housing market does not overheat. This study contributes to the understanding of the link between housing market affordability and mortgage rates by investigating this association across regions of New Zealand using quarterly data between 2000-2017. Applications of trajectory regression reveal that the global financial crisis affected regional house price affordability asymmetrically and there was no statistically significant correlation between house price affordability and mortgage rates

The status of women police officers: an international review

This paper reports on a survey of English-language police department websites, annual reports and other reports in order to identify key aspects of the status of women police internationally. Findings are reported for England and Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Eire, the United States, Canada, Australia (eight departments), New Zealand, South Africa, Ghana, Nigeria, India, Pakistan, Hong Kong, Papua New Guinea, and Fiji. Data on the proportion of female officers were available from 18 of 23 locations, with a range between 5.1% and 28.8%. Recruit numbers were available for six locations, and ranged between 26.6% and 37.0%. Limited data on rank and deployment indicated overall improvements. Available longer-term trend data suggested that growth in female officers was slowing or levelling out. Overall, the study showed an urgent need to improve gender-based statistics in order to better inform strategies aimed at maximising the participation of women in policing

Australian health policy and end of life care for people with chronic disease: An analysis

End of life care for people with advanced chronic disease is a growing international imperative, with the majority of deaths in the world now related to chronic disease. The provision of care that meets the needs of people with advanced chronic disease must be guided by appropriate policy. The key policy areas impacting directly on end of life care are related to chronic disease, palliative care and, increasingly, aged care. This paper describes the outcomes of an audit of Australian chronic disease and end of life/palliative care policies. We identified that chronic disease health policies/strategies demonstrate a focus on prevention, early intervention and management, with scant recognition of end of life care needs. The majority assume that a referral to palliative care will address end of life care needs for people with chronic disease. By contrast, palliative care policies recognise the need for the incorporation of a palliative approach into advanced chronic disease care, but there are few connections between these two policy areas. Whilst palliative care policies intersect with carer and advance care planning policies, chronic disease policy does not. Key concerns requiring consideration when developing policy in this area are discussed and possible policy options identified.Teresa Burgess, Annette Braunack-Mayer, Gregory B. Crawford, Justin Beilb