Yesterday's Budget will leave CYFS under increasing pressure to care for children with inadequate resources, National's Social Services spokesperson Bob Simcock said today.

"The extra $37million allocated to CYFS in the Budget may be welcome but it is simply insufficient to do the job demanded by Judge Mick Brown's report. After this budget CYFS will still not be able to deliver the standard of service expected by the community.

"In the first two budgets under this Labour Government CYFS income increased by $18million and now $37million. That amounts to a 16% increase over two years.

"In the same period the demand for CYFS services has gone up by over 20%. Allowing for the fact that inflation will have eroded about 5% of the increase, CYFS is being given an 11% increase in cash to deal with an over 20% increase in demand.

"By contrast, in the last two years of the National Government CYFS received an increase of $121million or 53%.

"Judge Mick Brown recommended that funding for CYFS should reflect the level of demand. In this budget it doesn't.

"Today many social workers will be encouraged to hear that there is extra money for CYFS, but in coming months they will find that their workload doesn't get any easier. That means children will continue to miss out on the services they need," said Mr Simcock.

Ends

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Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

Yet now with (a) President Barack Obama weighing in on the side of artistic freedom and calling for the US to make a ‘proportionate response’quickly followed by (b) North Korea’s entire Internet service going down, and with both these events being followed by (c) Sony deciding to backtrack and release The Interview film that had made it a target for the dastardly North Koreans in the first place, then ay caramba…the whole world will now be watching how this affair pans out. More>>