Fox Marama: Oral Questions — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeFox Marama: Oral Questions — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 11 February 2016. Volume:711;Page:8920. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]3.MARAMA FOX (Co-Leader—Māori Party) to the Minister responsible for HNZC: What assurances can he give that the remediation work needed on the estimated 57500 non-compliant houses as identified in the 2014 Trial of Rental Housing Warrant of Fitness Scheme report will be carried out as a matter of priority?Hon BILL ENGLISH (Minister responsible for HNZC): I can give the member that assurance. I just want to point out though that the warrant of fitness trial covered 400 houses and included 49 criteria that set a very high threshold for quality. So for instance a house could be one of the projected 60000 non-compliant houses if it has one weak security latch on a window or if one light switch is not actually working. I am pleased to report that on each criterion the criterion was met in 95 percent of cases. With regard to any urgent risks Housing New Zealand properties are responded to within 4 hours. There is a 95 percent success rate on meeting the 4-hour criterion where there is an urgent need. From 1 July this year all Housing New Zealand properties receiving an income-related rent subsidy must have ceiling and underfloor insulation and all residential rental properties in the country must have smoke alarms. All State homes where practicable have already been insulated.Marama Fox: Given the answer that the Minister has provided with 60000 of those homes needing urgent repair will the upcoming Budget reflect the Government’s assurance that the remainder of those repairs will be completed?Hon BILL ENGLISH: That process is under way. The Government does not specifically budget the housing maintenance programme; that is done by Housing New Zealand in its capacity as an independent entity. So it is certainly dealing with the urgent cases within 4 hours. It will be making some trade-offs. It has put a high priority on warm healthy homes so it tends to be dealing as a highest priority not with the home with the broken window latch but with the home with the family in it where children are showing signs of ill health and where it can act urgently to upgrade that home. It is spending in excess of $100 billion this year on that project.Marama Fox: Given that we are still receiving reports of families who are living in substandard quality housing experiencing rats mould and other such issues can the Government assure those families that it will act with urgency as it has in upgrading the latest Ministry of Education building to the tune of $20 million?Hon BILL ENGLISH: As has been pointed out the upgrade to the Ministry of Education building is part of making very substantial savings in the costs of housing the Public Service. In fact I think the Ministry of Education as a result has reduced its footprint by 30 percent. That allows us then to take money that was wasted on excessive accommodation for public servants and turn it into real services for the families that the member mentions. Housing New Zealand is not doing a perfect job of meeting the needs of every single family but as I said it has allocated a large proportion of its budget to dealing with those families who have question marks over the health of the housing they are in.