7. Question No. 7—Social Development and EmploymentHon LOUISE UPSTON (National—Taupō) to the Minister for Social Development and EmploymentQuestion No. 7—Social Development and Employment7. Hon LOUISE UPSTON (National—Taupō) to the Minister for Social Development and Employment: Does she have confidence the Government is doing all it can to make sure children in emergency housing are safe; if so why?Hon CARMEL SEPULONI (Minister for Social Development and Employment): We need to keep in mind that the emergency housing special needs grant was only introduced in 2016 by the then National Government in response to the number of New Zealanders who found themselves sleeping in cars or on the streets. At that point in time there was no thought given to wraparound support services or the suitability of accommodation options. We have spent the last 3½ years working to improve the system we inherited. In recent months that has meant taking a more localised approach like in Rotorua where we have begun a new way of working that will involve cohorting of families to improve wraparound support and safety. No Government can give absolute assurances that we can keep all New Zealanders safe in all places at all times. However the Government will always do everything it can to improve safety for New Zealanders; that includes those in emergency housing.Hon Louise Upston: Why is the Government relying on gangs to self-declare their membership rather than using the Gang Intelligence Centre information to prevent gangs being placed in the same motels as children?Hon CARMEL SEPULONI: I think that that member knows that gangs taking up emergency accommodation is not a huge issue in our regions and so it seems that it's just an attempt to demonise those that are in emergency accommodation. When people apply for emergency housing grants they are asked whether or not they have gang affiliation. You cannot force people to tick Yes" to that question. The Ministry of Social Development (MSD) and emergency housing is the last port of call for all New Zealanders when they find themselves homeless. At times that is also gang members. So I do want to remind the House though that none of my regional commissioners have highlighted a massive increase or any type of increase in gang members seeking emergency accommodation. Hon Louise Upston: Point of order Mr Speaker. Thank you Mr Speaker. I was quite careful in specifically using the words "the Gang Intelligence Centre information" and I don't recall the Minister addressing that question that I asked sir.SPEAKER: I think that's fair. It was a very full response to a different question. I'll get the member to ask the question again.Hon Louise Upston: Why is the Government relying on gangs to self-declare their membership rather than using the Gang Intelligence Centre information to prevent gangs being placed in the same motels as children?Hon CARMEL SEPULONI: We have not had it raised by our regional commissioners out in the regions that gang access to emergency accommodation is a concern or that it's heightened in any way. We have not sought out that information that the member is asking for. As I said we have a self-declare system in place and that is what we're using at this moment.Hon Louise Upston: Do the regional commissioners talk to the local police officers on a regular basis?Hon CARMEL SEPULONI: Yes they do and it's also important to note that where issues do arise in emergency accommodation—keeping in mind that they are seldom and far between and they are of course not always gang members—it is up to the police to then respond to those criminal matters. It's not up to MSD to respond to that.Hon Louise Upston: How can she have confidence children are safe when a May police briefing said there are reports of—and I quote—"violence intimidation public urination drug deals and gang involvement" at emergency housing that MSD is using?Hon CARMEL SEPULONI: There have been instances of all those things but we can't conflate them into just being with gang members. Family violence is an issue that we face inside emergency housing at some times and also in private households so we can't put this down to gang membership and gang members necessarily accessing emergency accommodation.Hon Louise Upston: How can this Government claim it's improving children's lives when over 4300 children have been placed into motels 3½ years after they came into Government and they're still not taking basic precautions like using gang intelligence information about keeping those children safe from harm?Hon CARMEL SEPULONI: We as a Government are taking far more precautions than what the previous National Government were taking when they set up the emergency special needs grant. As we have gone on we have continued to improve the system. The response to Rotorua which is highly localised is in response to our coordination with social services with council with iwi on the ground. We are moving in that particular area to a cohorted model so that we can ensure that children in families are located in the same place and as the Prime Minister said earlier that is a model that we are seeking to also roll out keeping in mind there was no system in place when the National Government implemented this no wraparound support systems in place and no regard for whether or not the accommodation was appropriate or suitable."