2. Question No. 2—Disability IssuesHon PRIYANCA RADHAKRISHNAN (Labour) to the Minister for Disability IssuesQuestion No. 2—Disability Issues2. Hon PRIYANCA RADHAKRISHNAN (Labour) to the Minister for Disability Issues: Did the reports she received from Whaikaha that she referred to in her answer to question No. 4 yesterday contain figures of those who used disability support funding for pedicures and massages or did they just contain anecdotal evidence?Hon PENNY SIMMONDS (Minister for Disability Issues): The report contained advice from the ministry which outlined that the uses of flexible funding that Whaikaha would pause are for a range of services including self-care services such as massages hairdressers pedicures and other appearance or therapeutic services that some carers have accessed as part of carer support or individualised funding." I have received further advice from officials that the evidence Whaikaha relied on in making the decisions to clarify what funding could be spent on came from a range of sources including analysis of spending data concerns raised directly with Whaikaha by providers including individualised funding and choice in community living hosts and needs assessment service coordination organisers on what funding was actually being spent on and feedback directly from the community. I have also been advised by officials that expenditure information from providers indicates that in a number of instances individualised funding has been used to purchase Lotto tickets alcohol and tobacco. Clearly the system set up under the previous Government did not have appropriate settings in place.Hon Dr Duncan Webb: Point of order. If I heard the Minister correctly in response to a written question she expressly quoted from a document and I would request that she table that document.SPEAKER: Is the Minister quoting from a document she has in the House?Hon PENNY SIMMONDS: I don't have it in the House with me Mr Speaker.SPEAKER: Thank you.Hon Priyanca Radhakrishnan: Can she confirm that at least 26000 carers currently accessing carer support through Whaikaha will be impacted by the changes announced on 18 March?Hon PENNY SIMMONDS: Yes I can confirm that carers that were accessing the funding for care services such as massages hairdressers pedicures and other appearance or therapeutic services or for purchasing Lotto tickets alcohol or tobacco will be impacted.Hon Priyanca Radhakrishnan: What advice—SPEAKER: Just wait. Hon Priyanca Radhakrishnan: —did the Minister receive prior—SPEAKER: Excuse me; just wait. Your own team seem a little unsettled. Carry on.Hon Priyanca Radhakrishnan: What advice did the Minister receive prior to 18 March on the number of people in total who would be impacted by the changes that were announced on 18 March?Hon PENNY SIMMONDS: As I said I received a range of information and the numbers certainly were not fully explained that would be impacted but that is because the vast majority of carers use their support for assisting in their care of their disabled loved ones. Those carers do an absolutely amazing job and they should not be being impacted by a very small number of people who are using it for the purposes that I've outlined.Hon Priyanca Radhakrishnan: Did the Minister or her office sign out as part of this report or any other report wording that was used in Whaikaha's announcement of the 18 March changes?Hon PENNY SIMMONDS: Whaikaha advised me that they had a comprehensive engagement and communication plan in place. Clearly that did not happen. I have apologised that that did not happen as did the chief executive (CE) of Whaikaha.Hon Kieran McAnulty: Point of order. That question was very specific about whether the Minister had signed out a briefing that then appeared on the website. That answer did not address that specific question.SPEAKER: Well I think it did address it because it talked about a process that the Minister was aware of in relation to the question. Well members can shake their heads all they like. I'm sitting here listening to it. I listen to the questions; I listen to the answers. I think we'll move on.Hon Priyanca Radhakrishnan: Can I ask it again?SPEAKER: As part of whatever your allocation is. Use it up as much as you like.Hon Priyanca Radhakrishnan: Did the Minister or her office sign out as part of this report or any other report wording that was used in Whaikaha's announcement of the 18 March changes?Hon PENNY SIMMONDS: Whaikaha advised me that they had a comprehensive engagement and communication plan in place. Clearly that did not happen. That is why I have apologised and that is why the CE of Whaikaha apologised.Hon Priyanca Radhakrishnan: Point of order Mr Speaker. Last week when I asked a question about whether the Minister signed out a report and she didn't answer it your ruling was that her answer didn't get close to—[Interruption]SPEAKER: Start again. Sorry there was noise here.Hon Priyanca Radhakrishnan: I'm just seeking your guidance because last week I asked a very similar question about whether she signed out a particular report. The Minister didn't get close to answering or addressing that question and when I put that to you you did request that she have another go at answering that question.SPEAKER: Well I might have. That was last week. This week I just heard the Minister say what she was advised of. It may not satisfy the member who's asking the question but it does address the question. Is there another supplementary on this? Hon Kieran McAnulty: Point of order. Mr Speaker I know that you go to great lengths to ensure consistency in the approach to question time. The difficulty we have there is that on one occasion you saw fit to ensure the Minister responded specifically to the question about whether she signed a briefing. This time the question is pretty much the same. If the question was "Has she received advice?" of course that would have been addressing it—no question—but on two occasions she was asked whether she had signed a briefing which of course is different to receiving advice and on both occasions she simply said she received advice.SPEAKER: I would have thought the inference in that was enough but if you also look at 207/2 you'll see that it's not my role to judge the performance of a Minister. It's to simply ask the question "Has the question been addressed?" And my judgment is that it has."