King Annette: Oral Questions — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeKing Annette: Oral Questions — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 28 May 2015. Volume:705;Page:4105. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]1.Hon ANNETTE KING (Deputy Leader—Labour) to the Minister for Social Development: Does she stand by her statement that “this Government is working with a number of service providers to make sure that those clients of Relationships Aotearoa are well looked after”?Hon ANNE TOLLEY (Minister for Social Development): Yes. I understand that a meeting has taken place today between the Ministry of Social Development Relationships Aotearoa Barnardos Family Works Stand Children’s Services and Lifeline Aotearoa to discuss the continuation of counselling services to those clients.Hon Annette King: Is she aware that Lifeline Aotearoa which was not deemed good enough by the Ministry of Health to provide a national telehealth line is now considered good enough by the Ministry of Social Development to provide Relationships Aotearoa’s clients with a service staffed by volunteers and is that the quality service that she promised?Hon ANNE TOLLEY: First of all the member is wrong. Although it is the Minister of Health who is handling it it is my understanding that those negotiations have not been completed. Secondly the member is correct: there is an 0800 number that the Ministry of Social Development has set up urgently with Lifeline Aotearoa. That number is: 0800 543 354. It would be more helpful if the member took account of the clients who are worried about these services and provided that emergency lifeline that has been made available to them because Relationships Aotearoa has closed its doors precipitately.Hon Annette King: Why did she say that there were five organisations that the Ministry of Social Development and the Government were working with to replace services provided by Relationships Aotearoa when in fact one of them Stand Children’s Services only heard that it was to provide a service on the news this week?Hon ANNE TOLLEY: There are a number of organisations that have offered their services. I provided only the names of organisations that I had been advised were being dealt with by the Ministry of Social Development. As I say there are a number of individuals and organisations throughout New Zealand who have offered to help.Hon Annette King: Well in light of the Minister’s confusion around who is providing what does she believe that the named providers who have no experience with very high-needs clients are capable of providing a competent and safe service as claimed by Mr Edridge yesterday?Hon ANNE TOLLEY: As I said in my answer to the substantive question I am very confident that the work that the Ministry of Social Development is doing with a large number of providers around the country will see some of those extremely vulnerable people successfully transitioned and well supported. But the member would be far better not to go scaremongering on radio while we are all working to make sure that those support services are put in place for them.Darroch Ball: How can the Minister guarantee that those clients of Relationships Aotearoa will be well looked after when one of the named replacement providers Stand Children’s Services is already resource-stretched being able to provide just 17 social workers for around 8000 students within the schools it provides services to?Hon ANNE TOLLEY: Well I am not taking part in the negotiations. As I said they met today and the Ministry of Social Development is determined to make sure that all of those clients are well supported into their new services. The difficulty that we have had is that Relationships Aotearoa demanded up to $2.4 million extra in order to transition the clients over the next 12 weeks and that does not address its $1.5 million deficit. That is the difficulty that we have had. When it was refused it closed its doors.Hon Annette King: Is she aware that among the 500 serious and urgent cases requiring service are 22 suicidal clients two homicidal clients 25 severe domestic violence victims and offenders and five sex offenders; and could she please name the organisations that are capable of handling these very complex cases right now?Mr SPEAKER: The Hon Anne Tolley—either of those two supplementary questions.Hon ANNE TOLLEY: That is why I have been at pains to make sure that we have some emergency capability and that is what that 0800 number for Lifeline Aotearoa is providing for them immediately so that there is emergency help for those people who need it. What that member needs to do is to stop playing politics with people’s lives and support us as we try to transition those very vulnerable clients.Hon Annette King: Why did she claim that services could be provided by other organisations when Abuse and Rape Crisis Support Manawatu and Family Works South Canterbury to name just two places have said that they are already at maximum capacity and would struggle to provide any extra services?Hon ANNE TOLLEY: Obviously around the country judging from the offers that have come in from many many organisations there are people who are willing to step up and provide these services. So the member can play politics and scaremonger all she likes; this Government is focused on making sure that we have those services available that those services transition those clients and that those clients are well supported.