12491 (2023). Chlöe Swarbrick to the Minister of Health

12491 (2023). Chlöe Swarbrick to the Minister of Health: How much has the Government spent annually for the past 5 years operating the Psychoactive Substances Regulatory Authority?

Hon Dr Ayesha Verrall: I am advised that the requested information is not available in an easily reportable format. The Psychoactive Substances Regulatory Authority sits within the Regulatory Practice and Analysis branch of Medsafe. This is one of a number of functions the branch administers, and the transactions/costings around this work are not detailed separately from a number of the other functions undertaken by the branch. Accordingly, I am advised that providing the information requested for the past five years would require Medsafe to undertake a substantial manual collation exercise and divert staff from their core duties. In accordance with Speaker’s Ruling 185-6, I consider that the time, and hence the expense, of answering the Member’s question is not in the public interest. Medsafe estimates that it would take 40 hours to collate this information.