Election 2017 – Responses from Political Parties
Heading into the election, we at Carers NZ have put questions to the major political parties on how they might make life better for you if they are part of the next government. We know carers face a number of challenges, but we have focused on two crunch issues:
- Funded Family Care
- Respite and time out
From your feedback, we believe these are two areas where changes made at government level could make a huge difference to you.
For Funded Family Care, we asked how they might lessen the hoops you have to jump through so it’s easier to access, and iron out some of the kinks.
When it comes to respite and time out, we asked how they might help you get the breaks you so badly need – and deserve.
A few parties, disappointingly, simply didn’t respond. However, we’ve had a range of responses from others.
A few parties agree the system currently isn’t working and needs to be reviewed completely. Others say things are improving. And a new player seems open to listening.
You’re at the heart of everything we do, so we’ve also asked you to have your say. We will be sharing blogs, comments and even some poetry on what you want politicians to know in 2017 as part of our campaign.
Carers count. And your vote counts. So here’s your full guide to what each political party is offering carers this election.
No response from ACT
“Respite care needs a complete overhaul,” – Catherine Delahunty
Responses from MP Catherine Delahunty, on behalf of the Green Party:
Funded Family Care
Will your government promote, simplify, and improve Funded Family Care and make it available to more family carers?
Will your government introduce choice to the FFC, allowing disabled people to decide whether they want to act as their family carer’s employer, or whether this role could be undertaken by a preferred third party (a service provider for example)?
Will your government allow spouses to receive the FFC?
Yes, this policy is an abusive mess. The Green Party have long advocated for family members caring for adult children with disabilities to be paid for their work. We need to meet with the sector and work on a genuine family care payment package which would include funding for hours worked (almost always more than 40 hours), hours spent coordinating carers who also give cover to a family member, a commitment to the minimum wage and a plan for increases to the living wage, flexibility regarding who is the employer of the family carer, a reinstatement of the human rights of appeal regarding remuneration which was taken under urgency in the Family Carers Bill. We would start a whole new conversation with disabled people and their family carers about funding and conditions and we would repeal the FFC provisions in the Health and Disability Act. The Government needs to ensure that carers are getting access to the money. The Green Party supports a flexible policy that meets people’s needs. For some this will be acting as their family carer’s employer, and for others this may be done by a third party such as a trust or an organisation. In regards to spouse funding, yes this is discriminatory. There needs to be a recognition of what spouse carers do and if it is the same work as other family carers, they should be paid.
Respite and time out
Will your government commit to a systemic cross-government review of respite and resource any resulting recommendations to simplify our system, and ensure carers have regular time out in ways that best work for them and their loved ones?
Yes. Clearly there needs to be a better system that works for everyone. Respite care needs a complete overhaul. Respite care is inadequate and inappropriate with young disabled people have to be housed in elder care homes when they need age appropriate facilities and with carers terribly stressed. We would support a Government led review and sector advice on how to make this work because it’s not working now.
Summary:
The Green Party believes Funded Family Care is an “abusive mess” and say the respite system isn’t working, and needs a Government-led review.
“We believe the current system is too onerous and bureaucratic for families,” – David Clark, on Funded Family Care.
Responses from David Clark – Labour’s spokesperson for health
Funded Family Care
Will your Government promote, simplify, and improve Funded Family Care and make it available to more family carers?
Yes, we believe the current system is too onerous and bureaucratic for families and a barrier to accessing services and funding. We will review the programme in Government and look at ways we can reduce any administrative burden and make it more flexible for families.
Will your Government introduce choice to FFC, allowing disabled people to decide whether they want to act as their Family Carer’s employer, or whether this role could be undertaken by a preferred third party (a service provider for example)?
Yes. That is one of the outcomes we expect from a review of the programme.
Will your Government allow spouses to receive the FFC?
We would look at this as part of the review.
Respite and time out
Will your government commit to a systemic cross-government review of respite and resource any resulting recommendations to simplify our system, and ensure carers have regular time out in ways that best work for them and their loved ones?
Yes, this would inform part of the terms of reference of the review – flexibility and simplification of the system. Labour recently announced in our fiscal plan that invests in housing, health, and education. We will invest an additional $8 billion in funding for health over four years instead of supporting the National Government’s election year tax cut package focused on giving the biggest cuts to the wealthiest, including $400 million a year in tax cuts for the top 10% of earners.
Summary:
Labour is promising to review Funded Family Care and the respite system, saying both need to be more flexible.
“We support calls for greater awareness among whānau about support options available to them.”
Responses from the Maori Party
Family Funded Care
Will your government promote, simplify and improve Funded Family Care and make it available to more family carers?
The Māori Party understand that whānau find accessing information about support options challenging. While Needs Assessment Service Coordinators (NASC) provide a one stop shop, we support calls for greater awareness among whānau about support options available to them.
Will your government introduce choice to FFC allowing disabled people to decide whether they want to act as their family care employer, or whether this role could be taken on by a third party (e.g. a service provider)
Currently disabled people act as employers of the whānau member they nominate to provide funded care. However we understand that acting as an employer for whānau can sometimes be a difficult task, therefore we would support the option for an external party to manage this arrangement where elected.
Respite Care
Will your government commit to a systematic review of respite and resource any resulting recommendations to simplify our system and ensure carers have regular time out in ways that work best for them and their loved ones?
The Ministry of Health has recently reviewed the respite system and has made a number of recommendations, which included a more flexible system that suits whānau needs, and gives whānau greater control over the support they are offered. The Māori Party welcomes these efforts to ensure whānau receive support that is tailored to their needs.
Summary:
The Māori Party supports recommendations from a recent review of the respite system, which called for more flexibility.
“The new disability strategy ‘Transforming Respite’ is designed to give disabled people and their family member’s greater choice, control and flexibility,” – Health Minister Jonathan Coleman
Responses from Health Minister Jonathan Coleman, on behalf of the National Party
Funded Family Care
Will your government promote, simplify and improve Funded Family Care and make it available to more family carers?
In response to an independent evaluation of FFC and the additional information collected, the Ministry of Health has taken action to improve the uptake of FFC and how it communicates with eligible carers, this includes clarifying the processes and requirements. In the evaluation, nearly 9/10 of respondents said FFC funding had a positive impact, almost 2/3 said their household was on a better financial footing and almost all would recommend FFC to others in similar circumstances. The high-level design of the new disability support system, based on the Enabling Good Lives approach, is now complete. The system, co-designed by disabled people for disabled people, will make a real and meaningful difference for disabled people and their families with more choice, more control and more opportunities.
Will your Government introduce choice to the FFC, allowing disabled people to decide whether they want to act as their family carer’s employer, or whether this role could be undertaken by a preferred third party?
The Ministry of Health has changed the FFC policy to enable those with an assessed allocation of personal care and household management above 40 hours per week to employ more than one family carer, if there is capacity, capability and desire within the family, and as long as any one carer is not employed (through FFC and other employment) more than 40 hours a week. This change allows additional flexibility to ensure the disabled person and their family have as much choice and control over their care/carer arrangements as possible.
Will your Government allow spouses to receive the FFC?
The Government is not currently considering this.
Respite and time out
Will your Government commit to a systemic cross-government review of respite and resource any resulting recommendations to simplify our system, and ensure carers have regular time out in ways that work best for them and their loved ones?
Respite is an investment in protecting the health and wellbeing of families and sustaining the family unit. The new disability strategy ‘Transforming Respite’ is designed to give disabled people and their family member’s greater choice, control and flexibility when accessing and using respite services.
We have received some really positive feedback from disabled people and their families about the changes, which include more flexible personal budgets with fewer restrictions, easier administration and payment methods, better access to information about the options available and support to find and use those options. The Ministry of Health spends about $61 million on disability respite annually. Through Budget 2017, the Government is investing an extra $205 million in disability support services, including $27 million for the Enabling Good Lives programme.
Summary:
The National Party says action has already been taken to improve the uptake of Funded Family Care, but it’s not considering changing the rules to allow spouses to receive it.
No response from New Zealand First
“Evidence shows that draconian requirements to access social support payments makes them less effective.’
Responses from The Opportunities Party
Funded Family Care
Will your government promote, simplify, and improve Funded Family Care and make it available to more carers?
As a new party The Opportunities Party (TOP) does not yet have specific policies in many areas and the disability sector is one of those. However, some of our other policies can signal our approach to this question.
Evidence shows that draconian requirements to access social support payments makes them less effective and can be stigmatising. It is our objective to remove as many of the hoops that prevent Kiwis accessing the support they need and are entitled to.
It is TOP’s long term plan to provide an Unconditional Basic Income of $200/week to every New Zealander. This recognises the importance of many kinds of unpaid caring work that keeps our society afloat. This will be rolled out to high needs groups first. The first priority group will be families with children under 3 (top.org.nz/top7), followed by young people aged 18-23. There would still be additional targeted welfare for those groups who need extra assistance, such as those with disabilities.
TOP’s health policy has not been announced at the time of writing, but it will focus on investing in prevention and primary care. This will include increased community care – anything that will help people stay healthy and supported in their own homes rather than in hospital. This will benefit anyone with a disability who is making frequent use of the health system.
Will your government introduce choice to the FFC, allowing disabled people to decide whether they want to act as their family carer’s employer, or whether this role could be undertaken by a preferred third party (a service provider for example)?
We do not have a specific policy in this area yet, but we generally agree that giving people control of their own circumstances is desirable. We would be guided by any available evidence in this area.
Will your government allow spouses to receive the FFC?
We do not have a specific policy in this area yet. We would be guided by any available evidence in this area.
Respite and time out
Will your government commit to a systemic cross-government review of respite and resource any resulting recommendations to simplify our system, and ensure carers have regular time out in ways that work best for them and their loved ones?
We do not have a specific policy in this area yet. We support collecting high-quality evidence to inform policy decisions in all areas of government. Generally, we believe that there needs to be more funding invested in care rather than treatment within the health system.
Summary:
New kid on the block The Opportunities Party is light on specific policies for carers at the moment, but would look at removing the hoops for accessing Funded Family Care.
