8. Question No. 8—EducationNICOLA WILLIS (National) to the Associate Minister of EducationQuestion No. 8—Education8. NICOLA WILLIS (National) to the Associate Minister of Education: Does she agree with the Prime Minister who said in May 2018 that the average wait-time for a child seeking an early intervention appointment was 74 days and in the life of a little 3- or 4-year-old child who's hungry to learn that's 74 days too long"; if so what is the average waiting-time for a child seeking early intervention support today?Hon TRACEY MARTIN (Associate Minister of Education): To answer the first part of the question yes. In answer to the second part of the question it depends on which region you reside in. For example in Tai Tokerau the wait time is 34.35 days down from 61.16; in Auckland it is 108.96 days up from 101.02; in the Waikato it is 82.25 days down from 100.88; in the Bay of Plenty and Waiariki it is 128.18 days up from 123.04; in the Hawke's Bay and Tai Rāwhiti it is 95.4 days down from 97.79; in Taranaki Whanganui Manawatū it is 144.33 days up from 130.18 days; in Wellington it is 118.1 days down from 170.7 days; in Nelson Marlborough West Coast it is 86.3 days up from 55.53 days; in Canterbury it is 87.31 days down from 88.41 days; and in Otago Southland it is 88.84 days compared to 83.6. That's between 30 June 2020 and what were the numbers on 30 June 2019. This variation predominantly reflects the access to specialists and number of children requiring attention.Nicola Willis: What is the national average waiting time for early intervention support today?Hon TRACEY MARTIN: Across the country when you average out the national average across the country with those increases and decreases we have 104.21 days.Nicola Willis: Can she confirm that at the end of this term waiting times for early intervention will be longer than they were when the Prime Minister promised to reduce them?Hon TRACEY MARTIN: I can't confirm that actually depending on where you live inside New Zealand.Chris Bishop: You can!SPEAKER: Order!Hon TRACEY MARTIN: And of course we haven't finished yet—that's the other thing. I would say to the member though that part of the reason why there are some long wait times—sometimes it is because of certain circumstances of family. An example would be where a request for support was received from the child's paediatrician in October 2018 a lead worker was allocated within four weeks however repeated attempts to contact the whānau via phone text and letter elicited no response. The lead worker sent a letter to the whānau advising that the request for support would be closed and inviting the whānau to make contact if they still required support. In October 2019 successful contact was made with the whānau and an interim assessment of the child's need was made via phone discussion. A visit was scheduled for late November 2019 but was cancelled by the family. The field worker and family agreed to touch base at the beginning of January 2020 to reschedule the visit. You cannot do things to people's children without them allowing you to do so but we don't take those children off the books which therefore creates a waiting time.Nicola Willis: Why did the proportion of children waiting more than 60 days for early intervention support increase between Budget 2018 and Budget 2019?Hon TRACEY MARTIN: I don't have the exact figures for Budget 2018 to Budget 2019 but what I can tell the member is that in the last financial year the numbers of actual children that have been waiting on the waiting list has gone down. In the Bay of Plenty for example the number of children waiting over 150 days has decreased from 110 children to eight children. So while we certainly have some more children waiting for attention from specialists because the National Government never did any workforce training which means that we don't have the specialists that we require—even though we have hired more specialists—the actual numbers of children waiting are reducing.Nicola Willis: Why has she been unable to translate $47.5 million in additional funding into any improvement in waiting times for children needing early intervention support?Hon TRACEY MARTIN: I reject the premise of the member's question from the perspective that I outlined where in certain regions there was an incredible decrease in the wait times for some children. Arguably because of the lack of specialists that had been planned for by the previous Government there is a delay in us being able to put specialists on to the ground. We have hired 42 more specialists and that started in October last year. We have 29 current vacancies and 16 new graduate speech learning therapists were employed. However when they are a new graduate you cannot give them a full workload and they must be managed by—Hon Dr Nick Smith: So why'd you promise it?SPEAKER: Order! The member will withdraw and apologise.Hon Dr Nick Smith: I withdraw and apologise.SPEAKER: And I'm warning the member if he does that in a facetious manner once more he'll be gone.Hon TRACEY MARTIN: So to finish inexperienced or new graduates cannot take on a full workload. They must be mentored by more experienced—but I have to say that the regional offices are doing an amazing job and people shouldn't think that while children are waiting for a specialist nothing is happening for them. Teachers resource teachers: learning and behaviour special educational needs coordinators and learning support coordinators are all still working with that child with their families to assist them.Nicola Willis: Why on her watch did one child have to wait 544 days for early intervention support and is that good enough in the life of a child who's hungry to learn?Hon TRACEY MARTIN: I just outlined a circumstance and I don't know which area the child that the member is referring to has come from but I just outlined a situation from a particular area where it was around about three years between when a paediatrician actually highlighted that child for attention of a specialist and when the family finally agreed to allow for an intervention. You cannot do things to other people's children without their permission.Rt Hon Winston Peters: Can I ask the Minister: how long does it take to train an intervention support specialist in this case?Hon TRACEY MARTIN: It can take between three and seven years to train a specialist in this area."