Wellington, Feb 11 NZPA - A report on a new way of delivering welfare to dysfunctional families was presented to Government today.

However details of what is in The Whanau Ora Taskforce's report are not being made public yet.

Whanau Ora is being championed by the Maori Party and co-leaders Tariana Turia and Pita Sharples have been discussing it with ministers.

Social Development Minister Paula Bennett previously said the concept was about bringing together the different welfare agencies, as well as the justice and housing authorities, to help families that were in difficulty. It would be for all groups, not just Maori.

The Government hopes the policy would get better value for money for the tens of millions the Government already spent each year providing services to needy and dysfunctional families.

In speech notes from the handover of the report today, which media were not invited to, Mrs Turia said the report called for integrated and coherent delivery systems.

The policy would require government agencies to be innovative and more flexible, she said.

"And perhaps for the first time, accountability for public spending will be for outcomes, rather than activity. This is about people being accountable for the difference they make."

The New Zealand Herald today reported details it said were in the report including; that the policy would start in July, that an independent trust would be set up to oversee it and monitor contracting providers, that the trust would set up regional panels to assess if the policy was working, and that the trust would have its own appropriation of public funds.

In Parliament, Labour's Parekura Horomia put a question to Dr Sharples as Maori Affairs Minister about the report but as the minister was not there National's Georgina te Heuheu answered.

"What advice did he receive from Te Puni Kokiri on the definition of the Whanau Ora programme and the proposal to have a separate Whanau Ora Minister and a Whanau Ora trust, which is to hold the $1 billion worth of funding it has been promised, with minimal accountability for what it spends the $1 billion on?" Mr Horomia asked.

Ms te Heuheu said the MP was speculating.

"The report from the Whanau Ora task force was handed over today. Te Puni Kokiri has advised the Minister that it is a constructive and useful report.

"The minister continues to be very enthusiastic about the movement that is occurring to develop Whanau Ora as a new approach to the delivery of social services-something that that member did not do when he was a minister in Government.

"Discussions among ministers continue, the outcome of which will form part of Budget 2010, at which time that member will know, along with everybody else."

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