10. Question No. 10—EducationNICOLA WILLIS (National) to the Associate Minister of EducationQuestion No. 10—Education10. NICOLA WILLIS (National) to the Associate Minister of Education: Does she accept responsibility for waiting times for early intervention support climbing from an average of 74 days in May 2018 to an average of 106 days now and by what date will she deliver a reduction in waiting times to fewer than 74 days?Hon TRACEY MARTIN (Associate Minister of Education): In answer to the first part of the question considering that less than $1.3 million was directly invested in early intervention specialist service providers between 2009 and Budget 2017 I will take responsibility for ensuring that the $21.5 million that this Government has invested in early intervention services combined with the roll-out of the learning support delivery model and the $217 million over four years for the first tranche of learning support coordinators will over the four-year period as pledged lower the wait times. In answer to the second part of the question I answered that yesterday. Nicola Willis: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. The Minister was asked to address the question. I am not aware that referring to an answer yesterday when the question was put on notice is acceptable. I would like to know the answer—SPEAKER: Order! Order! The member will resume her seat. The fact that the member is not aware of it is not a point of order. Nicola Willis: Will she confirm that the average waiting time for early intervention support had been trending down from 97 days in 2013-14 to 71 days in 2016-17 under National and is it just a coincidence that waiting times have skyrocketed under her watch? Hon TRACEY MARTIN: I would need to go and check the member's figures for the first part of her question but what I can tell her for the second part of the question is that between 2013 and 2017 we had a 21 percent increase in behavioural needs; between 2013 and 2017 we had a 15 percent increase in communication service needs; and between 2013 and 2017 we had a 15 percent increase in early intervention services. Unfortunately the workforce planning required to address the percentage increases and the specialists that we needed was not done during that same period of time. We have hired another 120 specialists in this area and we will continue to work on those times. Nicola Willis: Why did the Prime Minister make a promise in May 2018 to halve waiting lists for early intervention support if in fact it's all too hard and nothing will be delivered for another four years? SPEAKER: Well let's assume that the Minister has responsibility shall we? Hon TRACEY MARTIN: I'm assuming that the member is referring to the Prime Minister's speech in May 2018. If she goes and has a look at the speech—the Prime Minister did not put a date on the moment that the timing would be halved but she did address the question that the funding was over a four-year period. I would assume that a logical reasonable person would make a connection between four years' worth of funding and the period of time that funding would take effect. Nicola Willis: So do we take it that the Prime Minister's target is just aspirational; and if so can the Minister explain how that aspiration without a target will make any difference to a family of a three- or four-year-old child who is stuck on a waiting list today and hungry for help?Hon TRACEY MARTIN: One I find the tone of the questioning considering that this has been a problem created over a nine-year period somewhat disappointing—the fact that 120 more specialists have been employed since this Government has been in place; the fact that in some areas the waiting times have gone down in other areas they have gone up; the fact that it takes between five and seven years to train a workforce where there was no workforce planning done when we came into the seat. So we are constantly aspirational for the well-being of children which is more than can be said for that member and that party.Nicola Willis: Will she recalibrate the Prime Minister's target to halve waiting lists; and if so will she consider taking advice from her ministerial colleague Phil Twyford on how to go about this?SPEAKER: No. The member knows that's out of order. She's been around the building for a long time.Nicola Willis: By what date will the Government deliver any meaningful improvement for parents and children in Wellington who today are waiting an average of 178 days for early intervention support?Hon TRACEY MARTIN: In the last 10 months the average waiting time in Wellington has lowered by 22 days. What I can say to the member is that one needs to take account—and this is complicated so I'll go slowly—of the fact that if you take a case in Wellington where there were 432 days approximately for this particular family at the request of the parent the application for assistance was placed on pause. However the Ministry of Education does not stop the clock when the parent asks us to pause on that application. When the Ministry of Education went back to the parent at the end of that time period they said that the service was no longer required. I am aware that the member has put in 30 written questions around this particular topic. She might like to wait until she gets the answers before she asks more oral questions.