English’s firm keeps $500k fund
Manawanui Support, which former Prime Minister Sir Bill English bought in March last year, has a contingency fund that the company says it can’t use, because the Ministry of Health might want the money back.
But disability advocate Jane Carrigan is questioning why the company is sitting on the fund, when she is having to fight for every cent for those with disabilities.
Manawanui Support provides Ministry of Health services to 3588 disabled people, by managing the funding they receive to employ carers. The company gets $550 every time a new client signs up, as well as a monthly management fee of $75. Last year it made a surplus of $728,000.
When the scheme was first set up, some disabled people were paid upfront, but in the early 2000s the Ministry of Health moved to a system where people were instead reimbursed for their costs.
Carrigan said at the time, the ministry asked people to return any money they had not spent. ‘‘To say to ‘people you haven’t spent your money, you cannot roll it over, we’d like it back thank you very much’. So classic example of shifting the goal posts, once people think they’re getting a certain type of funding and then saying, ‘No, it’s not for that, we want the money back’.’’ Documents show in 2010 the ministry gave $650,000 of that money to Manawanui in Charge – the company which became Manawanui Support Ltd when it sold in March 2019. But the company didn’t spend the money and when it was sold to English, $526,434 was transferred over. Manawanui said the money was recorded on the new company’s books as potentially being repayable, rather than as an asset, because the ministry could ask for it back. Manawanui is investing the interest on that money, but the ministry said it was not spending those returns.
Carrigan said that was a slap in the face for families. ‘‘All we ever hear about at the bottom end of the disability spectrum is how the Ministry of Health doesn’t have any money, that it’s not a bottomless pit of money.’’
Manawanui also set up a new company to manage the Funded Family Care programme, which allows a disabled person to employ a parent on minimum wage.
Funding Advisory Support Services (FASS) is responsible for working with the disabled person to explain how the Funded Family Care works and ensure the money they receive is spent properly. It’s been paid $546,244 since Funded Family Care was set up. But Carrigan also questioned whether that was good use of public money.
Manawanui said FASS provided support to families to understand their obligations under Funded Family Care, and establishing arrangements, including follow-up support.
The ministry said the funding arrangements have been transparent at all times, including through the change of ownership. It said Manawanui had been audited eight times, the last in March 2017. – RNZ