10. Homelessness—Government Response and Community Housing ProvidersMARAMA DAVIDSON (Green) to the Minister for Social HousingHomelessness—Government Response and Community Housing Providers10. MARAMA DAVIDSON (Green) to the Minister for Social Housing: Ka tū a ia i runga i te mana o tōna whakaaetanga i tuhia kua hē kē atu te kore-whare i raro i ngā whakahaere o Te Kāwanatanga nei?[Does she stand by her reported admission that homelessness has got worse under this Government?]Hon PAULA BENNETT (Minister for Social Housing): Yes in the context that it was given.Marama Davidson: Exactly how many people have all of her proposals actually removed from their inadequate housing situation and put in a decent home?Hon PAULA BENNETT: Without that question on notice the best answer I can give the member is that we house about 150 people each week. Marama Davidson: Given that there are 42000 New Zealanders facing severe housing deprivation why did the Government wait for years while the homelessness crisis got this bad before doing anything?Hon PAULA BENNETT: I thank the member for acknowledging the huge work programme that is going on at the moment and has been for the last 2 or 3 years. As we have said we do have an increase in demand and we have had supply issues. What we have done is fast track all of that work. We are seeing more permanent housing through social houses and for the first time an emphasis on increasing emergency housing beds as well. Marama Davidson: What is her response to the community housing providers that told the Cross-Party Homelessness Inquiry that the Government's make it up as you go along" approach to housing policy was difficult to work with and that they needed secure stable funding over a period of up to 10 years?Hon PAULA BENNETT: I imagine that they were very pleased with the announcement that was made this week which showed that they could then get up to a 50 percent grant for building new premises and also leasing current ones and still get the income-related rent (IRR) which this Government introduced to community housing providers and which they were unable to get before. It gives them a certainty of income on a weekly basis and will help them provide services.Marama Davidson: How can she say that the Government is taking this problem seriously when the Ministry of Social Development's Household Incomes Report that came out today shows that 110000 children are living in overcrowded conditions including one in every five Māori children and two in every five Pasifika children?Hon PAULA BENNETT: That is why our focus is on getting more places more beds every single day. We are making progress in that area and it is a key focus for this Government.Marama Fox: Will the Minister consider allowing community housing providers to apply discretion to award income-related rents to current tenants so that they will avoid being evicted for not being able to pay the rent only to come back and then have the IRR applied?Hon PAULA BENNETT: There are two parts to that question. One answer is that we have now introduced that fund where we can help tenants who are getting into arrears instead of the arrears leading to eviction. We can then put an iwi or a community housing provider alongside them to actually help them get through that and not get evicted. The other answer is that there is discretion. Under certain circumstances it is quite tight for those who currently are not eligible for the IRR because they were in the place previous to it coming over."