The Salvation Army’s State of the Nation is a hugely important report detailing the progress made by the Government across our social sectors in the year.

1 NEWS Columnist Dita DeBoni Source: 1 NEWS

It’s not just hugely important though – it’s also bloody long – over 60 pages of fine print, statistics and analysis.

I decided this year it might be easier to read Deputy Prime Minister Bill English’s take on the SOTN report. I thought not only does he know of what he speaks, but at just a few lines long, his thoughts would be highly snackable.

But there were some sharp differences between Mr English’s interpretation and the report itself, and the main point made by the Sallies – that Government departments are fudging figures to make themselves look better, was barely even acknowledged by the minister.

I thought I would do a bit of cross-referencing, starting with Mr English’s opening gambit that “overall, the Salvation Army’s State of the Nation shows the Government is making good progress in key areas”.

That is, shall we say, a rather rosy gloss to put on the substance of this report.

Under the section called ‘Our Children’, we read that while teen pregnancy and infant mortality rates are down, which is good, the data around child poverty, at-risk kids, children and violence and educational achievement are not good enough to point to a definite move in the right direction.

In ‘Crime and Punishment’, overall and violent crime are down, although again, changes on how statistics are reported make comparisons difficult. On the flipside, a record high number of prisoners and a “sharp deterioration” in 12-month recidivism rates point to less reason for optimism.

In ‘Work and Income’, “modest if unspectacular job growth has continued”, income inequality hasn’t improved or worsened, and small real increases in incomes were recorded.

Yay us.

But there’s been no change in either unemployment or ‘living costs and food’ poverty, which affect those at the lower end of the socio-economic spectrum much more keenly.

In terms of ‘Social Hazards’, results show the overall consumption of alcohol is dropping – considered a positive. Meanwhile, there were mixed results on illicit drug taking and no change in gambling.

In ‘Housing’, the results were definitely lukewarm, with an acknowledgement that more house building was happening, but housing affordability and household and housing-related debt were in decline.

There are some areas where undeniable achievements have been made, but there again, the top-line boasts don’t tell the whole story.

For example, Mr English says “the number of children living on benefits has fallen to the lowest level since at least 1998”. But as child poverty hasn’t improved, and we know the benefit regime is changing and constricting, this statistic may not mean much for ‘Our Children’.

Mr English says more young people are getting NCEA level 2, which is another good thing. But the gap in University Entrance achievement has widened, and “consequently, fewer students gained UE and entry into highly ranked university courses… in this sense, UE can be seen as a passport to social mobility”.

Mr English also says more consents for new dwellings were issued in Auckland in 2015 than in the previous 10 years. But regardless, the overall deficit in the supply of housing has continued to widen. Meanwhile, household debt is now almost reached a level last seen just before the GFC of 2008, according to report authors.

So, a more honest appraisal would be that in certain key areas that the government itself, at one stage, considered important, such as child poverty, there’s been little change if not a worsening of conditions.

The Report actually says “our children’s social progress has stalled”, which doesn’t sound like too much of a congratulatory slap on the back to me.