Services and Payments to Veterans
Description
To purchase the assessment of entitlements and benefits and the provision of appropriate services. This includes the assessment and review of entitlements and benefits - War Disablement Pension, Veterans' Pension and burial in Services Cemeteries, the provision and installation of ex-service memorials for eligible veterans and the provision of case management for veterans and their families.
Overview
Most performance targets were met.
A staffing issue meant the target for review and re-openings of pensions by the War Pensions Claims Panel was not achieved. This issue has now been resolved.
Due to the increase in the number of claims to the War Pensions Appeal Board, only 4% of appeals were heard within three months. Action has now been taken to have the Appeal Board meet more frequently.
There have been some difficulties with completion rates for the manufacture and installation of ex-Service memorials. This issue is being addressed.
Because of restructuring, the case management survey was not completed during the reporting period.
| Performance Standards and Measures |
Performance Achieved |
|
Assess and Review Entitlements to War Disablement Pension and Veterans Pension |
|
| Assessments and Reviews will be conducted against extant policy. |
Assessments and Reviews were conducted against extant policy. |
| 95% of assessments will be completed within 10 working days of receipt by the War Pensions Claims Panel. |
The War Pensions Claims Panels made decisions on 20,314 applications for disabilities for war disablement pensions.
100% of assessments were completed within 10 working days of receipt by the War Pensions Claims Panel. |
| 95% of reviews and re-openings will be completed within three months of receipt by the National Review Officer. |
The National Review Officer undertook 255 reviews of the decisions of the War Pensions Claims Panel and considered the re-opening of 218 claims for re-consideration by the War Pensions Claims Panel at the request of the veteran concerned.
18% of reviews and re-openings were completed within three months of receipt.
A staffing issue meant that there was no fulltime National Review Officer for five months. This has now been resolved. |
| 95% of reviews will be completed within three months of receipt by the Secretary for War Pensions. |
The Secretary for War Pensions undertook 772 administrative reviews of war disablement pension claims.
Due to an increase in the number of complex retrospective reviews that took longer to resolve, 77% of reviews were completed within three months of receipt. |
| 95% of appeals will be heard within three months of receipt by the War Pensions Appeal Board. |
The War Pensions Appeal Board considered 46 appeals.
4% of appeals were heard within three months of receipt.
The number of claims placed before the Appeal Board has increased. Action has been taken to have the Appeal Board sit more frequently to clear the claims. |
| Provide Ex-Service Memorial Plaques and Headstones for Eligible Veterans |
|
| 99.5% of ex-service memorials will be factually correct, meet technical specifications as contracted and be correctly installed. |
A total of 1,932 orders for ex-service memorial plaques and headstones were assessed for eligibility, ordered from the manufacturer and installation arranged.
100% were factually correct, technically correct and correctly installed. |
| Decisions on eligibility for ex-service memorials will be made within legislative parameters. |
Decisions were made on eligibility for ex-service memorials within legislative parameters. |
| Where correct documentation has been supplied with the application, 75% of ex-Service memorials will be manufactured and installed within four months of receipt of the order. |
When correct documentation was supplied, 61% of all ex-service memorials were manufactured and installed within four months of receipt. There have been difficulties with turn around times. Work is being undertaken with the manufacturer to address this. |
| Provide Case Management |
|
| 95% of new referrals to case management will be assigned a case manager within 5 working days. |
100% of all new referrals to case management were assigned a case manager within five working days.
(Team Leaders Case Management assign all new cases within five working days of referral into Veterans' Affairs New Zealand. An online register is maintained to record all new referrals and the date recorded in terms of when a case manager is assigned.) |
| 100% of active cases will be contacted every 4 months (in the range 1 to 4 months) to monitor progress and the effectiveness of the interventions put in place. |
A total of 6,314 veterans and their family members were case managed.
100% of all active cases were contacted, with the exception of the first and second quarters, to monitor the progress and the effectiveness of the interventions put in place. Call backs did not meet the required standard in the first and second quarters due to the increase in the number of cases being managed and the fact that the service was not fully staffed. |
| 85% of veterans and their families that are part of the case management service will be satisfied that the service delivered is appropriate to meet their needs. |
Due to the case management service being restructured as part of the review of VANZ, the case management satisfaction survey was not undertaken. |
Conditions
| Reference |
Conditions |
| Extant Policy. |
Policy complies with the War Pensions Act 1954. |
| Technical specifications for ex-service memorials. |
Ex-service memorial must meet specified size, material composition and finish as per the relevant contract specifications. |
| Eligibility for ex-service memorials. |
Decision on eligibility for ex-service memorials will be made on the basis of Section 15 of the Burial and Cremation Act 1964. |
Costs of Output Expense D2: Services and Payments to Veterans (GST Exclusive)
Actual
2007/08
($ million) |
Category |
Main
Estimates
($ million) |
Supplementary
Estimates
($ million) |
Actual
2008/09
($ million) |
| |
Expenditure |
|
|
|
| 1.238 |
Personnel |
0.977 |
3.334 |
3.389 |
| 1.161 |
Operating |
1.295 |
2.179 |
1.663 |
| 2.399 |
Total Expenses |
2.272 |
5.513 |
5.052 |
| |
Income |
|
|
|
| 2.153 |
Revenue Crown |
1.795 |
5.036 |
5.036 |
| 0.381 |
Revenue Other |
0.477 |
0.477 |
0.386 |
| 2.534 |
Total Income |
2.272 |
5.513 |
5.422 |
| 0.135 |
Net Surplus (Deficit) |
- |
- |
0.370 |
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