9. Question No. 9—HealthMATT DOOCEY (National—Waimakariri) to the Minister of HealthQuestion No. 9—Health9. MATT DOOCEY (National—Waimakariri) to the Minister of Health: Does he stand by all of his statements and actions with regards to mental health?Hon ANDREW LITTLE (Minister of Health): Yes.Matt Doocey: Why in the year to March 2020 did more than 1200 children under the age of 12 have to wait more than eight weeks for mental health treatment?Hon ANDREW LITTLE: As a consequence of the years of underfunding by the previous Government this Government has made a significant investment in mental health and we are in catch-up mode. I am pleased to report however that in relation to the ring-fenced funding that DHBs get for mental health since this Government has come into power $318 million has been added to that ring-fenced funding. This year alone DHBs will receive an additional $168 million more than they received in 2017 for their mental health services.Matt Doocey: So why then has the proportion of children under 12 who are waiting longer than eight weeks almost doubled from 12.7 percent to 23.6 percent in the last three years under his watch?Hon ANDREW LITTLE: I have been the Minister of Health for about eight months so we'll get that correct. But it is very clear that mental health services are under pretty significant pressure at the moment. We know that. There's been ongoing pressure for some time and that is why when this Government took office it took mental health seriously. It didn't turn its back on the emerging crisis that has been going for some years now and it has made the additional investments continues to make those investments and is determined to put right what the last Government left wrong.Matt Doocey: Why then when he was health Minister did he allow in the last Budget with so much unmet need $4 million to be taken out of mental health and redirected to the Crown due to lower-than-forecast demand for services?Hon ANDREW LITTLE: If the member is referring to money from the COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund it is different to the money that this Government has committed to mental health services and continues to commit to mental health services. There has been an ongoing year-by-year significant increase in the ring-fenced funding for DHBs to provide their mental health services. Some DHBs of course fund their mental health services more than just what they receive from that ring-fenced funding but that funding has been increased and this Government has investments ongoing to improve mental health services. The priority has been to fund the primary end of mental health care and addiction—that is to say the front line for people suffering mild to moderate mental health conditions. That was what was identified as the big gap. That is the gap we're seeking to fill. By doing that properly—and we are less than halfway through the programme to fill that gap—that alleviates pressure on the more acute end of the services. That is the strategy that we are following.Matt Doocey: Why does the Minister appear not to know about from the National Mental Health Services appropriation $4 million of forecast savings … returned to the Crown largely driven by lower than forecast demand for services"?Hon ANDREW LITTLE: What I do know is that this is a Government that has put in significant additional resources into mental health services because the previous Government just turned their back on those people during an emerging mental health crisis for this country and I am very proud of what we're achieving so far.Matt Doocey: So why are services seeing ballooning waiting times in the last three years yet the Minister is claiming more money is being put in but the Budget has $4 million being taken out of mental health?Hon ANDREW LITTLE: I can say that in this year alone an additional nearly $67 million went into the DHB ring-fenced mental health funding. That is just a small fraction of the commitment that this Government makes to improving mental health care and addiction in this country. It was neglected by the previous Government. They presided over an emerging health crisis and did absolutely nothing about it. This is a Government that takes it seriously and is doing everything we can about it and we are less than halfway through a reform programme that is even now starting to make a significant difference."