Ardern Jacinda: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers Questions to MembersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeArdern Jacinda: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers Questions to Members[Sitting date: 30 May 2013. Volume:690;Page:10572. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]2.JACINDA ARDERN (Labour) to theMinister for Social Development: Do the same needs in the community continue to exist now as they did in 2011 when she extended the life of the Community Response Fund stating “we listened to community organisations who were concerned the fund was ending while pressures remained so we kept it going”; if not why not?Hon BILL ENGLISH (Minister of Finance) on behalf of theMinister for Social Development: Of course some of the needs have not changed but the context for families has changed. In 2009 when this fund was set up the economy was contracting the world was facing a systemic financial crisis and New Zealand was looking at a decade of deficits and ever-rising debt. Those circumstances have all changed. The funding was announced as and was always intended to be a one-off fund. The member makes the mistake of thinking that the only way to get results is to spend more money. In fact the Government is working intensively with the NGO sector to focus more on outcomes and use the money we have much more successfully. I have to say that the NGO sector is playing a very responsible and long-term role in those discussions.Jacinda Ardern: Is the Minister aware that the south Wairarapa will lose its food bank coordinator as a result of the Community Response Fund coming to an end a rolethat has seen more demand in the last 2 years than when she first introduced the fund; if so what led her to decide that this organisation was no longer in need of support?Hon BILL ENGLISH: No I am not aware of that. Of course I would need to check up on the facts of that matter. We are engaging with NGOs on better ways of ensuring that the significant amounts of money that go into a community such as Wairarapa are used to achieve better outcomes. Too much of the money that goes in is dedicated to administration and fund-raising through large numbers of groups some of which do not have the capacity they need for the problems they are trying to solve. Those discussions are ongoing. In fact the total amount of money being paid out to these groups has risen from $280 million in 2009 to $320 million this year and that is excluding the Community Response Fund.Jacinda Ardern: Is the Minister aware that Rainbow Umbrella Charitable Trust which provides after-school programmes for children and young people with disabilities will close its doors today because of the end of the Community Response Fund leaving up to 35 disabled children without specialised care; if so what led her to decide that this organisation was no longer in need of support?Hon BILL ENGLISH: Yes I am aware of that one because it has been I think broadcast in the media. The fact is that the Community Response Fund was always very clearly specified as a fund put there in response to the very difficult pressures of recession. Despite the fact that the Community Response Fund has come to an end overall funding has increased but more important we are working with the NGO sector to get better value for the hundreds of millions that goes into that sector too much of which is spent on administration and fund-raising. I invite the member to visit some of the projects around the country such as the social sector trials for youth the child health teams in Whangarei and the education initiative in Rotorua which are focused precisely on getting better use of the extensive resources available.Jacinda Ardern: Is he aware that Age Concern which provides professional help each year to 1500 older people who are abused physically emotionally or financially will lose services in Kaitāia Rodney Rotorua Wairoa and Marlborough due to the Community Response Fund coming to an end; or is he saying that they spent too much on administration and fund-raising?Hon BILL ENGLISH: No I am not aware of those particular changes. I can only reiterate the points I have made. Firstly excluding the Community Response Fund funding through these programmes has increased from $280 million to $320 million over the last 4 years. Secondly the Community Response Fund was always a short-term fund and no one was misled about that. Thirdly we are working with the NGO sector to make more effective use of the fragmented funding streams of which there can be hundreds into any individual community.Jacinda Ardern: Does he have any plans to intervene for these organisations and the more than 290 others that will lose funding as a result of the Community Response Fund coming to an end many of which will close their doors as a result or is he content to simply blame fund-raising and administration for the fact that core services will be lost as of tomorrow?Hon BILL ENGLISH: Of course if there are very significant needs here I am sure the Minister for Social Development would pay some attention to it. But we need to be very clear that the Community Response Fund was always set up as a one-off fund. It was extended in the face of the extended recession. At the same time we have spent several years working and negotiating with the NGO sector to ensure that we have better public services available to New Zealanders who are in need.Jacinda Ardern: How much money was cancelled as a result of this Government putting an end to the Pathways to Partnership programme and how much of that is nowno longer going to the community sector as a result of the supposed Community Response Fund being cancelled?Hon BILL ENGLISH: I cannot answer the question as to how much money was funded from Pathways to Partnership except to say that the Labour Party Opposition’s thinking about social services is clearly anchored very deeply in 2005 when that was first set up. The world has changed. The NGO sector has moved on. There is a much more gritty and responsible discussion going on about how to use our resources more effectively. Far too often more money is a signal of failure not success.