1. Question No. 1—HealthDEBBIE NGAREWA-PACKER (Co-Leader—Te Paati Māori) to the Minister of HealthORAL QUESTIONSQUESTIONS TO MINISTERSQuestion No. 1—Health1. DEBBIE NGAREWA-PACKER (Co-Leader—Te Paati Māori) to the Minister of Health: Does he stand by his statement on expanding access to affordable dental care It's an area we need to give attention to at some point"; if so when will he give it his attention?Hon ANDREW LITTLE (Minister of Health): Yes. How we provide equitable access to dental care is a longstanding issue in this country. Like most issues in health most equity problems disproportionately affect Māori. The policy right now is that free dental care should be available to children and adolescents up to the age of 18 years. Notwithstanding this I'm aware that some families experience difficulty in accessing this entitlement and more work is required to address this. However this Government is committed to increasing New Zealanders' access to dental care. In this year's Budget we allocated $125.8 million over four years to increasing dental grants and making them available for more people and in more situations. This means that from 1 December the grant more than triples from $300 to $1000 and will also be available for preventative dental care and not just for emergencies and it will be available to working people on low incomes as well as beneficiaries. These changes are expected to help some 50000 people a year get the dental care they need. In November last year we passed the Health (Fluoridation of Drinking Water) Amendment Act giving the Director-General of Health the power to direct local authorities to fluoridate their water supplies to protect people's teeth against decay. This new power was used in July this year with notices being issued to 14 local authorities. Finally the oral health promotion initiative is under way. Since December 2021 it has provided nearly 500000 toothbrush and toothpaste packs to low-income families.Debbie Ngarewa-Packer: What is his response to the 83.7 percent of people in the recent Newshub - Reid Research poll who said that Government should subsidise dental care to make it cheaper for adults to go to the dentist?Hon ANDREW LITTLE: As I indicated in the answer to the primary question there is an initiative funded in this year's Budget about to take effect from 1 December that will benefit about 50000 people. But in terms of a claim to fully fund all adult dental healthcare the cost of that would literally run into billions of dollars and at the moment the health budget which we've added to by about 45 percent in five years is fully committed but we will continue to look for ways that we can improve support for dental healthcare.Debbie Ngarewa-Packer: Is he concerned by findings of the new report Tooth be told that 40 percent of New Zealanders and more than half of Māori and Pasifika people can't afford dental care meaning that Aotearoa recorded the highest unmet need for adult dental care amongst 11 comparable countries?Hon ANDREW LITTLE: I've read that report and obviously those figures are a concern but I don't think they take into account the impact of this year's Budget policy initiative which I think will make a difference. But that said I think the member raises an important point—and indeed that discussion document from the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists. We do need to stay alert to the unmet need for dental healthcare and continue to do what we can to improve that.Debbie Ngarewa-Packer: Does he accept research from Treasury which found the Government could fund as much as $900 million worth of subsidies each year for universal dental care and still break even with a $1.60 return on each dollar spent?Hon ANDREW LITTLE: I'm not aware of that work from Treasury. Treasury seldom comes to Ministers with the demand that they spend more money but as I said before we do need to keep abreast of the challenges that go with unmet adult dental health needs. I think this year's Budget policy will go some way to addressing that but we will keep a close eye on how that unfolds.Debbie Ngarewa-Packer: Does he agree with the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists and the Auckland City Mission that universal dental care is critical to the good health of everyone in Aotearoa and if so will he commit to funding free dental care for all?Hon ANDREW LITTLE: As I've indicated on that latter point that the member raises no. I'm not in a position to make that commitment but that is why we do look for opportunities to improve the level of Government support we provide for access to dental healthcare. I agree with the member in terms of the tenet of the first part of her question: good dental care good oral healthcare is very important for a good life."