Grants surge

The lack of cheap accommodation is being blamed for a sharp rise in hardship assistance grants. The latest Ministry of Social Development figures for the September 2018 quarter show that the number of people on a main benefit is steady from a year ago at 284,315 people. But there was an increase in those on hardship assistance payments, with 344,731 being

granted in the quarter at a cost of $100.5 million. This was a 19 per cent increase from the 2017 September quarter, and a 72 per cent rise from the 200,455 hardship assistance grants that were given in the 2013 September quarter.