30313 (2026). Hon Kieran McAnulty to the Associate Minister of Housing

30313 (2026). Hon Kieran McAnulty to the Associate Minister of Housing: What obligation, if any, do officials have to establish where a child goes on leaving emergency housing when the exit is not a Priority One placement?

Hon Tama Potaka: The Child and Youth Strategy 2024–27 sets out the Government’s vision and desired outcomes for children and young people in New Zealand and recognises that improving child wellbeing is a shared responsibility across government. The Strategy identifies three priorities: supporting children and their families and whānau in the first 2,000 days, reducing child material hardship, and preventing harm against children. The Ministry of Social Development (The Ministry) contributes to these priorities through a range of functions and services, including income support, and housing assistance. The Ministry does not maintain a system that tracks individual children after they leave emergency housing, nor does it routinely monitor the ongoing circumstances of children living in social housing tenancies. The Ministry’s housing support is principally designed to administer assistance to applicants and households, rather than to track individual children over time. When assessing eligibility for emergency housing assistance, the Ministry records information required for the administration of the grant, including the number of adults and children expected to be staying in the accommodation.