8. JUDITH COLLINS (National—Clevedon) Link to this
to the Minister of Health
Is he satisfied that all district health board funding for Family Start programmes is being correctly applied; if so, why?
Hon PETE HODGSONIs the Minister satisfied that Family Start contracts awarded through district health boards have been contracted in a manner untainted by personal considerations and benefits?
The member may be aware that one such contract involving the Southland District Health Board is now currently under investigation, and has been for a matter of weeks.
Georgina BeyerBecause Family Start works. Last year the Government funded a $10 million expansion of Family Start to 11 new sites, bringing the total to 27 programmes around the country. Family Start is about building strong families and enabling them to work towards bright futures for our children.
In what way were the best interests of the most vulnerable children in Invercargill put first when the Southland District Health Board rejected Barnardos’ proposal and awarded the $3.6 million Family Start contract to a trust reported to consist of three family members, two of whom hold senior positions with that very same Southland District Health Board?
The two people who hold senior positions with the Southland District Health Board have both stepped aside pending the results of a financial audit. The transfer of the Family Start programme to a new trust has already been effected, and the children and families of Invercargill have noticed seamlessness.
When did the Southland District Health Board first become aware of potential corruption within Murihiku Whānau Services and its administration of Family Start Invercargill, and how much of the $3.6 million contract has been paid to Murihiku Whānau Services so far?
The Southland District Health Board carefully does not use the words “potential corruption”, and neither do I. There are, however, certainly more questions than answers around that contract at the moment. I am not sure when the board first became aware of the issue, and I cannot remember when I first became aware of it, either, but it was about 3 or 4 weeks ago.
Is the Minister satisfied that no other district health boards are awarding Family Start and other contracts to trusts run by board members and senior management staff; if not, will he now ask all district health board members and senior staff to disclose their personal interests in the millions of dollars that should be going to our most vulnerable families?
I am advised that the other four Family Start programmes funded through district health boards—that is, the Waitematā District Health Board, the Wairarapa District Health Board, the Nelson Marlborough District Health Board, and the Otago District Health Board—continue appropriately and to a high standard.