8. Question No. 8—Education (Partnership Schools)Dr LAWRENCE XU-NAN (Green) to the Associate Minister of Education (Partnership Schools)Question No. 8—Education (Partnership Schools)8. Dr LAWRENCE XU-NAN (Green) to the Associate Minister of Education (Partnership Schools): Does he agree with the Public Health Communication Centre Aotearoa report on Ka Ora Ka Ako that the evidence is clear: Ka Ora Ka Ako alleviates hunger and less hunger improves school achievement"; if not why not?Hon BROOKE VAN VELDEN (Minister of Internal Affairs): on behalf of the Associate Minister of Education (Partnership Schools): I haven't reviewed the report in detail but I can say that there are some benefits to the taxpayer-funded school lunch programme and that we will be funding for a revised programme something that the Labour Government failed to fund—SPEAKER: No need to reference any other party in regard to Government policy.Dr Lawrence Xu-Nan: Can he guarantee that the quality nutritional value and the number of students receiving free lunches will not decline because of these cost-cutting measures?Hon BROOKE VAN VELDEN: On behalf of the Minister the Government is committed to looking at the evidence and improving the cost-effectiveness of the taxpayer-funded school lunch programme after the previous Government left it unfunded from 2024.Dr Lawrence Xu-Nan: Point of order Mr Speaker. SPEAKER: Stay on your feet. Dr Lawrence Xu-Nan.Dr Lawrence Xu-Nan: Sorry you just mentioned before that the Minister should not be attacking the previous Government.SPEAKER: Yeah but you would have listened to me in the last few days. It's not unreasonable for a Minister to talk about a situation that has been inherited and the Minister did not step outside that requirement.Hon BROOKE VAN VELDEN: To the second point of the member's question I think a lot of people see Ka Ora Ka Ako as a way of achieving other social goals like improving nutrition. That may well be the case but we don't fund the Ministry of Education for health reasons just like we don't fund health for education reasons. This Government is committed to ensuring that we are putting the policy with cost-effectiveness into place.SPEAKER: Dr Lawrence Xu-Nan—you get three.Dr Lawrence Xu-Nan: Does he agree then that we have a collective responsibility to ensure that no child goes hungry in Aotearoa?Hon BROOKE VAN VELDEN: I think it's common sense and multiple international evaluations tell us that students benefit from receiving food at school. But for the Ka Ora Ka Ako programme itself we have limited evidence of its impact on attendance and achievement and it's very important for us as a Government that we are focusing on attendance and achievement at the heart of our education policies.Laura Trask: What correspondence has he received on the programme?Hon BROOKE VAN VELDEN: On behalf of the Minister one teacher has told my office that—Hon Jan Tinetti: Oh one teacher.Hon BROOKE VAN VELDEN: —"Only about 40 percent of the students take up the offer of a free lunch."SPEAKER: Just stop for a minute. Just stop. Let them—Hon Carmel Sepuloni: This is what an evidence-based decision-making Government looks like.SPEAKER: Yeah good. Well it only takes one person to walk out of here too so please answer the question.Hon BROOKE VAN VELDEN: Once again on behalf of the Minister one teacher has told my office that "Only about 40 percent of the students take up the offer of a free lunch depending on what is on offer. The majority of what is taken ends up in the garbage. The college then gives away the remainder to local churches and the iwi. I agree that this needs to be targeted." Another correspondent has written that so much food is left over from one local school that some of it ends up as pig food.Hon Dr Duncan Webb: Point of order Mr Speaker. I happen to have Parliamentary Practice in New Zealand with me—SPEAKER: Sorry you're going to have to speak into your microphone. I didn't hear any of that. Sorry look points of order are heard in silence.Hon Dr Duncan Webb: The member quoted from a piece of correspondence to the Minister and at paragraph 50.6.2 it makes clear that that correspondence is an official document and even if she doesn't have it with her in the House I would ask that she table it.SPEAKER: Well you can ask all you like but the House won't be doing that. So we'll move now to—Hon Dr Duncan Webb: Speaking to the point of order.SPEAKER: Are you speaking to your own point of order? I've ruled on it. I have ruled on it—well a few times I have.Ricardo Menéndez March: Point of order. I seek leave for the Minister to table the correspondence—SPEAKER: Wait a minute. Wait on. Just a little bit of order. I know you get excited about these things. What do you want to do now? You say "Point of order."Ricardo Menéndez March: Point of order.SPEAKER: And I say "Point of order Ricardo Menéndez March" and you say—Ricardo Menéndez March: Thank you very much Mr Speaker. Thank you for recognising my eagerness. I seek leave for the Minister to table the correspondence she just quoted in the previous answer.SPEAKER: Well are you seeking leave on behalf of another member? I don't think you are. So you're seeking leave on your own behalf?Ricardo Menéndez March: I'm just seeking leave myself. I didn't believe that it needed to be the person asking the question who needs to—SPEAKER: I don't think that's quite how we can progress this one.Dr Lawrence Xu-Nan: If we're taking—SPEAKER: Sorry—wait. Dr please wait till we get a bit of quiet in the House. OK. Away you go.Dr Lawrence Xu-Nan: If we're taking individual correspondence what would the Minister say to student Malachi Iafeta who said the school lunches mean "Students are a bit more active during class they're healthier. I know some students who didn't come to school because they didn't want to and the food has really given them a reason and has actually made them study"?Hon BROOKE VAN VELDEN: I thank the member for his question. We can also respond with equal evidence and correspondence from another relief teacher who said and I quote "I'm a relief teacher at a low-decile school in West Auckland and I can assure you that less than half of the free Government lunches are eaten by the children. They are regularly eaten by only about a quarter of most of the classes and the rest are binned."Dr Lawrence Xu-Nan: Then what does the Minister say to the whānau of ākonga at Tikipunga kura who said that if their tamariki could not access school lunches they would feel "disheartened as not all student whānau have the ability to provide lunches for their tamariki" and "devastated because money is tight"?Hon BROOKE VAN VELDEN: On behalf of the Minister what I would say to those people who have corresponded with that member is that this Government is committed to the Ka Ora Ka Ako programme however what we're committed to is cost-effectiveness of the programme. We shouldn't be looking at extending how much money we are spending but we should be looking at making sure it's going to the right places."