9. State and Social Housing—Availability and Accommodation SupplementPHIL TWYFORD (Labour—Te Atatū) to the Minister for Social HousingState and Social Housing—Availability and Accommodation Supplement9. PHIL TWYFORD (Labour—Te Atatū) to the Minister for Social Housing: How many social housing places are receiving an income-related rent subsidy now; and by how much has this changed since the Prime Minister's 2015 State of the Nation speech?Hon AMY ADAMS (Minister for Social Housing): At the end of the most recent quarter there were 61777 social housing places receiving an income-related rent subsidy (IRRS) which is an increase of 860 places since January 2015. This however is not the same thing as the total number of social housing places which sits at around 66000. Nor is it the same thing as what the then Prime Minister was referring to which was the number of IRRS places the Budget appropriation provides for which is currently 64000.Phil Twyford: Why will she not admit that the number of tenants getting an income-related rent subsidy the number of social housing places is only 61000 despite 2 years ago the Prime Minister promising to lift that number from 62000 to 65000?Hon AMY ADAMS: I am not sure which part of the answer the member did not hear but I made a number of comments. First of all the number is currently 61777. Second of all the commitment was to raise the Budget appropriation to provide for up to 65000 which was to be by the end of June 2018 and we are currently at 64000. Thirdly the total number of social housing places available for those in need of social housing under the eligibility criteria and on the register is currently sitting at around 66000. For the member's benefit we have actually indicated an intention to take it out to around 72000.Phil Twyford: Empty houses that are boarded up.Hon AMY ADAMS: Not at all.Phil Twyford: Does she agree with Treasury when it says that her Government's promise of 65000 social housing places was made up to announce in a speech that it was not based on any official advice that there is no robust plan to achieve it and that the likelihood of achieving it is low?Hon AMY ADAMS: What I do agree with is that the Government has made a commitment that we want to head towards 65000 budgeted IRRS. We are on track for that. But even more than that we have gone further actually—we have gone further—because last year in December we put out our purchasing intentions which have replaced that first statement and said that actually by 2020 we want to have 72000 social housing places.Phil Twyford: You promised 65000.Hon AMY ADAMS: Well we are now aiming for 72000. The point is Mr Twyford that our goal is to have social housing places for those who need it and we are well on track to do that.Phil Twyford: Is it not true that the promise of 65000 social housing places was just a sweetener for a deeply unpopular State house sell-off policy that there is no chance of achieving the Prime Minister's promise and that there was never any intention of achieving it?Hon AMY ADAMS: No none of that is true. What I would say is that there are more people today receiving income-related rent subsidies than there were in 2008 when we took over even though the waiting list was considerably bigger under a Labour Government than it is now.