5. Question No. 5—EducationJO LUXTON (Labour) to the Associate Minister of EducationQuestion No. 5—Education5. JO LUXTON (Labour) to the Associate Minister of Education: What work has she done to deliver on the recommendations of the Education and Science Committee in relation to dyslexia dyspraxia and children on the autism spectrum?Hon TRACEY MARTIN (Associate Minister of Education): Recommendation 33 from the Education and Science Committee report into dyslexia dyspraxia and children on the autism spectrum in 2016 recommended that the Government task the Ministry of Education with assessing the feasibility of funding full-time trained Special Education Needs Coordinators for schools with more than 200 students. The previous Government did not accept this recommendation. This Government has gone further and is committed to providing $217 million for a first tranche of 600 learning support coordinators based in schools in 2020. This new fully funded stand-alone role will address a number of the other recommendations from the inquiry around strengthening professional development and support for schools to identify and respond to young people with dyslexia dyspraxia children on the autism spectrum and other neurodiverse conditions including giftedness.Jo Luxton: When will the first 600 learning support coordinators be in place in our schools?Hon TRACEY MARTIN: The first tranche will provide 600 learning support coordinators in 2020. We are changing the way learning support is delivered in this country and there are a number of steps to do this. Step one is the roll-out of the new learning support delivery model which has been piloted in a number of regions over the last year. We intend to have the new delivery model in place across the country by the end of 2019. Step two of this change is getting learning support coordinators in place. They are critical as a part of the new support delivery model. Consultation on the learning support coordinator role closed this week. We are now analysing feedback which will determine the final shape of the role the ratios and how it will be implemented in both urban and rural settings. I will also continue to move on the other complementary steps such as screening tools for learning challenges and the development of tool kits to support students once those challenges have been acknowledged.Jo Luxton: What other actions is the Minister considering as part of the draft disability and learning support action plan that reflect the recommendations from the select committee?Hon TRACEY MARTIN: This Government wants to ensure children and young people with neurodiverse learning support needs are identified so that they can receive the support they need as early as possible. I will be reporting back to Cabinet in December on how I intend to address this and other priorities and the draft disability learning support action plan.Nicola Willis: Does she agree with the Prime Minister who in a May announcement about children's early intervention services stated that appointment waiting times of 74 days were too long and if so does the Minister think it's acceptable that since then waiting times for early intervention services have increased from 74 to 98 days?Hon TRACEY MARTIN: Yes I do agree with the Prime Minister. I do not accept that that is an appropriate amount of time. That is why this Government has modelled and piloted a delivery support action plan across New Zealand—it's now being rolled out right now; why learning support coordinators the first 600 will actually roll out into schools in 2020; and why in the Taupō pilot of this model we managed to cut down those waiting times. This Government's actually taking action after nine years of inaction.Hon Chris Hipkins: Can the Minister confirm that the current funding for early intervention is the funding allocated in the 2017 Budget and that the increase in funding that was allocated in the 2018 Budget starts at the beginning of next year in order to reduce the waiting times that are now being complained about?Hon TRACEY MARTIN: I can confirm exactly that. This Government is on a roll and we're going to keep it going.