Ball Darroch: Oral Questions — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeBall Darroch: Oral Questions — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 27 May 2015. Volume:705;Page:4021. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]1.DARROCH BALL (NZ First) to the Minister for Social Development: Does she agree with the Minister of Finance when he said of the delivery of social services “There is no evidence at all that contracting out as the member calls it will reduce service provision.”?Hon ANNE TOLLEY (Minister for Social Development): Yes.Darroch Ball: In her Government’s statements indicating a shift in social service provision to a voucher system is the Minister aware that a 2009 evaluation on a voucher system in Australia the Netherlands and the USA found that quality and supply to rural and provincial communities were reduced significantly aligning with the concerns in the Productivity Commission’s recent report; if so how is she going to address this?Hon ANNE TOLLEY: I have made no such statement.Darroch Ball: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. The question was—Mr SPEAKER: Order! [Interruption] Order! I am going to ask the member to repeat the question. The question as I understood it was more whether the Minister was aware of something. It is difficult to hear; the mikes are not working. So I invite the member to ask his question again.Darroch Ball: In her Government’s statements indicating a shift in social service provision to a voucher system is the Minister aware that a 2009 evaluation on a voucher system in Australia the Netherlands and the USA found that quality and supply to rural and provincial communities was reduced significantly aligning with the concerns in the Productivity Commission’s recent report; if so how is she going to address this?Hon ANNE TOLLEY: The Government has made no such statements.Darroch Ball: Is the Minister aware that under her Government’s current investment approach for the delivery of social services a regular flow of regional closures has included services to Veterans Affairs New Zealand and to youth services provided by the Salvation Army which have shut down in Kaikohe Matamata Wairoa Waipukurau Cambridge Ngāruawāhia and Blenheim?Hon ANNE TOLLEY: This Government has made no decisions on an investment strategy.Darroch Ball: That is interesting. How can she justify letting Relationships Aotearoa close its doors on 7000 clients—operating under her Government’s failing investment approach to social services—and now leaving a huge gap in domestic violence expertise and expertise on working with Māori whānau with nothing to replace it?Hon ANNE TOLLEY: None of those assertions are correct. The Ministry of Social Development has worked very hard with Relationships Aotearoa over a number of years. In fact the figures I produced in this House last week showed that Ministry of Social Development funding had in fact increased by more than a Consumers Price Index adjustment. However no Government whatever the colour—whatever the colour—can underwrite with taxpayers’ money an organisation that is not financially viable. Unfortunately Relationships Aotearoa is not solvent. Moreover it was not delivering. It was not actually delivering the services it was paid for. It made the decision to close. This Government is working with a number of service providers to make sure that those clients of Relationships Aotearoa are well looked after.Darroch Ball: Can she reassure New Zealanders in our regions that social service provision will not continue to decrease with providers shutting down under her Government’s investment approach or be under threat of decreased supply and quality by the new voucher system; and how will she replace the vital services already lost?Hon ANNE TOLLEY: What I can say from this Government is that we are absolutely determined to make sure that every dollar of taxpayers’ money that is invested in our communities actually gets some results. That is what we want. We want to change people’s lives for the better and we want to use that $313 million that the Ministry of Social Development alone spends in our communities supporting the social sector to make a difference in people’s lives.