Ball Darroch: Oral Questions — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeBall Darroch: Oral Questions — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 22 October 2015. Volume:709;Page:7499. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]1.DARROCH BALL (NZ First) to the Minister for Social Development: Does she stand by all her statements?Hon ANNE TOLLEY (Minister for Social Development): Yes when taken in context.Darroch Ball: Does she stand by her statement in relation to the army-run Limited Service Volunteer programme that “as the total number of young people on benefits drops so too does the number of suitable clients who are likely to benefit from attending the LSV programme.”?Hon ANNE TOLLEY: In relation to where it is an accurate quote from me yes I have said in this House that as we have seen the number of young people on benefits drop we have refined the numbers of young people who are suitable to go into that course.Darroch Ball: How can she guarantee that demand for Limited Service Volunteer programme places has actually reduced when she has admitted that the Ministry of Social Development does not even report on the number of applications for the course and she is just relying on the fact that “the likely number of young people at long-term risk of unemployment has reduced.”Hon ANNE TOLLEY: I rely on advice from officials who are working with these young peopleevery day. If the need arises and the demand increases then we will have a look at it again.Darroch Ball: If she honestly believes in a direct evidence-based approach then how can she prove that only 800 out of 25000 unemployed youth are suitable for this course?Hon ANNE TOLLEY: As I said I rely on advice from the officials and also from those who are working with young peopleon a daily basis. We are conducting those courses we are paying for those courses and they are having a great effect on the young people involved.Darroch Ball: Will she admit that the Wellington Limited Service Volunteer course was not shut down because of a supposed reduction in demand but because the 5-year lease on its facility ended on 1 January this year it was put up for sale in April then coincidently there was a cut to the Limited Service Volunteer programme in April and the building was sold in June?Hon ANNE TOLLEY: All I can say is that all of that is news to me.Darroch Ball: It should not be. Does she have any immediate plans to further reduce the number of places in the Limited Service Volunteer programme; if so why?Mr SPEAKER: The Hon Anne Tolley—either of those two supplementary questions.Hon ANNE TOLLEY: No. We have allocated 800 places and we are prepared to pay for 800 places but we continue to look at whether we have the right young people going into that course whether it will help and whether that will then help them to get employment when they have completed the course.Darroch Ball: How can the answer possibly be “No.” and how can she explain the reason the Auckland-based programme is now being moved to a temporary site—a scout hall—and plans are currently under way to shut it down completely at the end of 2017?Hon ANNE TOLLEY: I do not know where this member gets his information from but what I can say is that the Ministry of Social Development is working in partnership with the Defence Force to provide this course and to support young people who are suitable for undertaking the Limited Service Volunteer course—and not all are—in order to help them to gain motivation to gain some physical skills and to prepare them for employment. We will continue to do that and the funding is in the 4-year plan out beyond 2017.Darroch Ball: There are a number of documents I am seeking leave to table.Mr SPEAKER: Order! Are they documents that—[Interruption] Order! Before I put the leave are they documents that are freely available to members?Darroch Ball: No.Mr SPEAKER: With assurance that they are not then I will listen very briefly to the documents. If there are too many I will deem that you are trying only to make a political point and I will then—[Interruption] Order! I am speaking. If there are too many I will then decide not to put the leave. So I will invite the member to list the documents and I will make a judgment.Darroch Ball: The first is the Official Information Act document from the headquarters of the New Zealand Defence Force titled Downsizing the Youth Development Unitdated 14 June 2015. The second is an Official Information Act document from the headquarters of the New Zealand Defence Force titled Limited Service Volunteer Validation dated 2014. I have six Limited Service Volunteer operational group meeting minutes dated from 15 April to 19 August 2015 which state the move of the Limited Service Volunteer Auckland programme to a temporary scout hall and that considerations are under way to shut it down completely. Also the last is the lease agreement between the New Zealand Defence Force and the Ministry of Education dated 26 June 2010 showing the expiry date of that lease being 1 January.Mr SPEAKER: I will put the leave. Leave is sought to table that quantity of documents. Is there any objection? There is objection.