11. Question No. 11—HealthMATT DOOCEY (National—Waimakariri) to the Minister of HealthQuestion No. 11—Health11. MATT DOOCEY (National—Waimakariri) to the Minister of Health: Had only $67.4 million been spent by 28 February 2021 of the $145.3 million allocated in 2019 for years 1 and 2 for the new Expanding Access and Choice of Primary Mental Health and Addiction Support service and for the same period had only $8.4 million of $20.1 million been spent on the Preventing Suicide and Supporting People Bereaved by Suicide initiative?Hon ANDREW LITTLE (Minister of Health): I can't confirm that those figures for that period are correct. What I can confirm is that in relation to the access and choice programme as at 31 March this year $102 million has been committed in contract down to 30 June this year and in relation to suicide prevention activities roughly $10 million has been committed in contract. I've been advised that there are a number of procurement processes that are either under way or recently completed which will see additional funding committed and spent this financial year.Matt Doocey: Why can't the Minister confirm those numbers are correct when they were his answers to written parliamentary questions to me?Hon ANDREW LITTLE: The member is confusing I think when the Ministry of Health enters into a contract that they're legally obliged to follow through down to the 30 June period and somehow thinking that its obligation to continue to pay for example monthly payments invoiced to it for the access and choice programme somehow doesn't exist or is not an obligation on them. If he is going to use the $145 million 30 June figure then the correct comparison to make is the commitments the Ministry of Health has actually entered into which as at this point are $102 million down to that period. Matt Doocey: Why has the promoting wellbeing in primary and intermediate schools programme announced in Budget 2019 that was to have spent $1.4 million in its first two years spent no money 21 months after the announcement was made?Hon ANDREW LITTLE: That figure is correct but as the member will see out of a total programme of $455 million over four years that is a small amount of spending. Other spending and commitments have been made in our schools and for young people and those announcements have been made over the last few months.Matt Doocey: Why has the Government across 15 mental health initiatives announced in Budget 2019 as of March this year only spent $126.7 million of the allocated spend—after two years—of $247.7 million?Hon ANDREW LITTLE: I can't confirm the accuracy of those figures. What I can say is that this is a Government that inherited a mental health service across this country that had been neglected for nine years had been run down and had left people desperate. This Government had the gumption to step up take a stocktake and in 2019 committed $1.9 billion an unprecedented amount of money into an area that desperately needed it. I stand here proud along with former colleagues former Ministers of Health of this Government of the commitment that we have made to seriously address the gaps in mental health that have been left by that previous Government.Matt Doocey: How can New Zealanders have confidence in this Government when promised mental health funding is underspent while reported wait times are increasing?Hon ANDREW LITTLE: The member will know that this programme of reform a four- to five-year programme of reform started in July 2019. It was heavily disrupted last year because of COVID to the point where we had service providers who had entered into contracts ask for the implementation dates or the start dates of their services to be delayed because they couldn't recruit people and they couldn't commence their services. So it is not surprising that there has been some delay in getting the full volume of services expected to be in place by now. But that's what happens when you inherit nine years of neglect in a service and you have to step up and do something really serious about it. Matt Doocey: Supplementary?SPEAKER: Sorry—no no the member's run out. I think the member knows that doesn't he? Question No. 12—Steph Lewis. Nice try.