Ball Darroch: Oral Questions — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeBall Darroch: Oral Questions — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 29 March 2016. Volume:712;Page:9928. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]10.DARROCH BALL (NZ First) to the Prime Minister: Does he have confidence in all his Ministers?Hon BILL ENGLISH (Acting Prime Minister): Yes.Darroch Ball: How can he have confidence in his Ministers when in this term alone so far there have been more than 100 answers to written questions from just Ministry of Social Development and Housing New Zealand Ministers stating that they do not centrally collate the data asked for when in those cases responsible ministerial management would clearly be impossible without doing so?Hon BILL ENGLISH: The Ministers answer the questions asked. In my experience the quality of those questions is variable although I must say that the New Zealand First questions are much better than the Labour Party questions.Darroch Ball: How can he have confidence in the Minister responsible forHNZC when his replies to written questions revealed for example that Housing New Zealand does not centrally collate data on areas such as the number of State homes needing insulation or the number of police checks requested by Housing New Zealand?Hon BILL ENGLISH: The Prime Minister maintains his confidence in the Minister in charge of Housing New Zealand which is me. I am not surprised that there are some things the member has asked from Housing New Zealand that it does not have. It has been a longstanding Government monopoly which did not really have to do anything in particular that well. As we found as we have come to sell some of those State houses to other buyers they are slightly surprised at how little the Government knows about the state of its own assets.Darroch Ball: How can he have confidence in the Minister for Social Housing when her replies to multiple written questions revealed for example that Housing New Zealand does not centrally record data on areas such as the availability of emergency housing or how many expensive tests have been conducted on State houses?Hon BILL ENGLISH: The member can address his question to the Minister for Social Housing but emergency housing is a much broader issue than the obligation of Housing New Zealand these days. The Ministry of Social Development has fundamentally had responsibility for it. It is for the first time in decades having a comprehensive discussion with all the players in emergency housing with a view to sharply lifting performance in dealing with those with the most serious housing needs.Darroch Ball: How can he have confidence in the Minister for Social Development when her replies to multiple written questions revealed for example that the Ministry of Social Development does not centrally record data on areas such as Work and Income New Zealand office closures the number of fraud investigations on employment programmes outcomes of employment programmes back payments made to beneficiaries the amount of success fees paid to providers or even the number of beneficiaries securing employment facilitated by Work and Income New Zealand?Hon BILL ENGLISH: The Minister for Social Development is doing an excellent job of filling the gaps some of which the member has accurately pointed to. That is when Government agencies provide a service we now expect them to know whom they provided that service to and what impact it had on the life of the recipient of the service. I would have to say that it is still regarded as a relatively novel concept in public services but the Minister for Social Development and the Minister for Social Housing are doing an excellent job of filling in these longstanding gaps.Darroch Ball: I seek leave to table a document prepared by the Parliamentary Library that lists just a few—or a small proportion—of those questions that are answered with “We do not centrally collate that data.”Mr SPEAKER: Order! For all written questions the answers are then published if the members want them.Darroch Ball: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. This is a document that is collated by the library; it is not those answers—Mr SPEAKER: Order! I have pointed out to the House on numerous occasions that the point of tabling a document is to give further information to members; it is not about making political—[Interruption] Order! Darroch Ball has a very bad habit when anybody is giving an answer to the member—and now when I am on my feet—of continuing to interject. The point of putting leave is to further inform members. If members want to go and look up that information it is fully published and available.