7. Question No. 7—Social Development and EmploymentRICARDO MENÉNDEZ MARCH (Green) to the Minister for Social Development and EmploymentQuestion No. 7—Social Development and Employment7. RICARDO MENÉNDEZ MARCH (Green) to the Minister for Social Development and Employment: Does she stand by her statement Dental care is something that can be put off due to affordability difficulties especially for low-income households. We know that issues with dental health have a negative impact on people's general health financial health ability to work and quality of life"; if so does she have confidence people unable to afford dental care can access dental grants?Hon PEENI HENARE (Minister for ACC) on behalf of the Minister for Social Development and Employment: Yes and yes.Ricardo Menéndez March: Does she think Ministry of Social Development (MSD) dental grants are meeting the level of unmet need for dental care amongst low-income households; and if so why are 40 percent of adults and 50 percent of Māori still unable to afford dental care?Hon PEENI HENARE: We're proud of the work that we've done in this space. In fact lifting the cap from $300 to $1000 in the Budget of 2022 has seen a significant uptake of that particular service so that people can receive dental services. What I note too is the criteria that it wasn't only to be for emergency dental but also to allow people to access what would be considered normal dental appointments for fillings or for check-ups to make sure that they don't fall into the emergency dental criteria. We know that there's more work to do but we've done a heck of a lot of work to make sure that we can support those who are currently low-income households to access dental services.Ricardo Menéndez March: Are enough beneficiaries in low-income households able to access dental grants when emergency department staff have reported still regularly seeing patients who have attempted DIY extractions with a screwdriver?Hon PEENI HENARE: Of course we don't want to see DIY on dental work in households. What we want to do is make sure that we have the right settings to allow people to access that and we're confident that we have by lifting the cap and of course changing the criteria to make sure that those who do need it can access that support through MSD.Ricardo Menéndez March: Does the Minister support people having to get into debt to access expensive dental treatment which then impacts their ability to meet weekly costs?Hon PEENI HENARE: That's why we lifted the cap from $300 to $1000—to make sure that people don't fall into the emergency dental trap. We can ensure that they access services to get their kinds of appointments to make sure that they have regular oral health checks to make sure their teeth get the treatment that they need. We know that there's more to do but I am confident that by lifting the cap as well as changing the accessibility settings more people are accessing these services.Ricardo Menéndez March: Does the Minister think that only allowing low-income adults to access dental grants where they have an "immediate or essential need"—such as when they're in pain or when their teeth are decayed—rather than for cleaning check-ups and other broader prevention work is leading to good oral health outcomes for families?Hon PEENI HENARE: I've already explained that we've already changed the criteria to make this system a lot more flexible so that it isn't just for the emergency dental grant: it's to make sure that there's better oral health by ensuring that people can book appointments have regular check-ups even get a filling; and that it's not just a one-off—it is a cap of $1000; you can visit a dentist on multiple occasions to that cap of $1000. We're proud of the work that we've done in this space. We know that there's more we need to do to support low-income families and we've done that across multiple portfolios as a Government."