604 (2026). Hon Kieran McAnulty to the Associate Minister of Housing

604 (2026). Hon Kieran McAnulty to the Associate Minister of Housing: How many Emergency Housing Special Needs Grants did the Ministry of Social Development decline per month, if any, broken down by MSD office between 1 October 2025 and 31 December 2025?

Hon Tama Potaka: I refer the member to the attached table which shows the number of grants and declines for Emergency Housing from 1 October 2025 to 30 November 2025, by work and income office and month. I am advised by the Ministry of Social Development (the Ministry) that unfortunately, because of system issues, data for December 2025 is not available. The Ministry is currently working to resolve these issues. I am further advised that when assessing a client’s housing needs, MSD staff will understand wider needs and look at alternative housing options. Although not all applications are successful, MSD has other supports which clients can be provided, including Housing support products which covers a group of financial and non-financial supports including Bond, moving costs, rent in advance, or Rent Arrears Grant. For the quarter ending September 2025, there were 2,374 declines to emergency housing. Of those: • approximately 40.7% were referred to Transitional Housing. • 51.1% were supported through either Accommodation Supplement, Housing Support Product or another hardship grant. This is also my response to WPQ 605 & 606 (2026).