10. Question No. 10—EducationSIMEON BROWN (National—Pakuranga) to the Minister of EducationQuestion No. 10—Education10. SIMEON BROWN (National—Pakuranga) to the Minister of Education: Does he stand by his statement the Government has been very clear that our cash reserves that have been accumulated by Institutes of Technology and Polytechnics (ITPs) will be ring-fenced for spending in the region that has accumulated those. That is the policy decision of the Government. That's recorded in the Cabinet papers and in the Cabinet minute. That is very clear."?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS (Minister of Education): Yes.Simeon Brown: Does he support the New Zealand Institute of Skills and Technology's (NZIST's) policy which removes control of the cash reserves from ITPs puts them in a central balance sheet rather than leaving the money for use in the region which has earned it and which NZIST's chief executive Stephen Town has said does not reflect Cabinet's intention to the extent expected?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: The NZIST are reviewing their cash reserves policy. I think Stephen Town is correct that the policy that they had drafted—and it was only a draft policy—didn't reflect Cabinet's intention and they are going back and having a look at that. It did mean that some of the ITPs were not seeing the level of reserves ring-fenced that they expected to.Simeon Brown: Then can the Minister assure each ITP that every dollar from an ITP's cash reserves will be spent in the region that has accumulated them and that the policy will reflect Cabinet's expectations?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: Yes that's the Government's intention. I do want to however make it clear though: cash in the bank doesn't necessarily mean cash reserves. At different times of the year institutions will have a much healthier level of cash in the bank but they spend it down during the course of the year. So one of the issues that NZIST have to work through is what actually are reserves versus cash in the bank that's already committed. Some ITPs have already committed to significant capital projects that they've committed their reserves to. So if they've already committed their reserves they don't get to have them twice.Hon Dr Nick Smith: Why would Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology (NMIT) chief executive Liam Sloan publicly say that he felt "misled" and "disappointed" at the New Zealand Institute of Skills and Technology policy that would allow the loss of $23 million of reserves not being spent in the region?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: I did follow that matter up and the chair of the board has stated—and I'll quote from that—"While there are concerns at NMIT about the proposed policy from NZIST around the use of reserves we're working closely with NZIST to develop a shared understanding and resolution around this policy. Discussions are very productive and we feel confident in reaching a mutually agreed solution. It is regrettable that this work is not clearly articulated in the article. The board of NMIT is committed to ensuring a positive relationship with the NZIST and it is not helpful dealing with media misrepresentations and material delivered out of context."Hon Dr Nick Smith: Will he give a categorical guarantee that all of the $23.4 million in cash reserves at the Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology on 31 March when the new institute was created will be retained for our region?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: The member didn't listen to the answer to the question before the last which is: cash in the bank doesn't mean cash reserves. Some of that money has already been committed by NMIT."