Hipkins Chris: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers Questions to MembersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeHipkins Chris: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers Questions to Members[Sitting date: 12 February 2014. Volume:696;Page:15838. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]9.CHRIS HIPKINS (Labour—Rimutaka) to theMinister of Education: Is she satisfied that all of the funding allocated to Partnership Schools will be spent on educating students; if not why not?Hon HEKIA PARATA (Minister of Education): I am satisfied that all the contract funding to partnership schools will be spent on meeting the contracted outcome for each school which is to deliver educational achievement. In exchange for that partnershipschools get greater flexibility to raise student achievement are subject to a higher degree of scrutiny—as the member has demonstrated—and have greater accountabilities than schools in the mainstream system.Chris Hipkins: Is she satisfied that the taxpayer is getting good value for money from the $1.8 million given to He Puna Marama Trust for its establishment costs given that it has leased facilities at a cost of just $58000 a year and is asking the existing State schools in the area to deliver teaching on its behalf?Hon HEKIA PARATA: Different choices are made between leasing owning and servicing over the life of a property. As I have said these schools are contracted for the term of their contract to deliver educational outcomes. They are free to make those choices but they must deliver the educational outcomes expected of them.Chris Hipkins: If a partnership school were to close before the end of its contract is there any provision in those contracts for the Crown to recover any of the establishment costs that the school has been funded for; if not why not?Hon HEKIA PARATA: As I have answered in response to that question in the House before we will use the usual commercial instruments available to us to recover costs invested by the Government.Chris Hipkins: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. That was actually a very specific question as to whether there was any provision in the contract allowing the Government to recoup money if a school closed before the end of its contract. She has not actually answered that question.Mr SPEAKER: No I think that on this occasion the Minister has. She said they would use the normal provisions under the contract.Chris Hipkins: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. She talked about the normal provisions under the contract but she has not actually indicated what they are.Mr SPEAKER: Would the member resume his seat. I have accepted that the question has been addressed. The member has further supplementary questions. That is the way it works.Rt Hon Winston Peters: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. With the greatest respect one has to understand what “usual commercial instruments” might be. That member is asking the question as to whether that commercial instrument is in existence and is a term of the original arrangement. He is not asking what they might do in its absence. That is a subtle difference but it is very important.Mr SPEAKER: I think that the member is raising a point that gives a very good lead to the member to ask his next supplementary question.Chris Hipkins: Are you going to give me an extra supplementary question Mr Speaker?Mr SPEAKER: No I am not at this stage.Chris Hipkins: Oh well! We will move on then. Will partnership schools asking any existing State schools to deliver programmes on their behalf be required to reimburse that school for the full cost of their students’ participation in those programmes; if not what will they have to pay the State school for?Hon HEKIA PARATA: It is completely usual within the education sector for sharing and collaboration of resources. In the case of partnership schools arrangements have been made between them and their local community. In addition they are as other schools are doing using provision from Te Aho o Te Kura Pounamu—The Correspondence School—and having relationships in some cases with NorthTec and other tertiary institutions. All of these things which our Government is actively encouraging occur.Chris Hipkins: Point of order Mr Speaker.Mr SPEAKER: No I can anticipate the point of order so I am going to ask the member to repeat his question.Chris Hipkins: Will partnership schools asking any existing State schools to deliver programmes on their behalf be required to reimburse that school for the full cost of their students’ participation in those programmes; if not what will they have to pay to the State school?Hon HEKIA PARATA: None of the partnership schools are asking mainstream schools to deliver programmes on their behalf. They do partner around particular parts of the curriculum. They have done that prior to partnership schools being established.Hon Annette King: What does that mean?Hon HEKIA PARATA: It means for those who are not aware of it that when a school provides a particular curriculum subject—say in forestry science—then other students might use that. That is a very normal regular and highly desirable practice in the New Zealand education system.Chris Hipkins: If a student from a charter school is participating in a subject offered by a State school what will the partnership school or charter school have to pay the State school for that programme’s delivery?Hon HEKIA PARATA: That is entirely between those two entities. Our schools are governed by boards of trustees who make those decisions every day.