Written questions

Asked by

Ayesha Verrall

List MP · Labour Party

• Will any further Crown capital be required for the New Dunedin Hospital beyond this appropriation, and what advice has the Minister received on that risk?

Asked by

Ayesha Verrall

List MP · Labour Party

• Has the Minister requested any advice on whether Budget 2026’s Vote Health capital-to-operating pattern is sustainable or masks an operating shortfall?

Asked by

Ayesha Verrall

List MP · Labour Party

• Which priority projects does the $300 million equity withdrawal for the Health Digital Investment Plan fund, and what is the allocation to each?

Asked by

Ayesha Verrall

List MP · Labour Party

• Why is the $300 million for the Health Digital Investment Plan funded outside the Budget operating allowance via an equity withdrawal rather than through new appropriations?

Asked by

Ayesha Verrall

List MP · Labour Party

• What is the effect of the $300 million equity withdrawal for the Health Digital Investment Plan on Health New Zealand’s balance sheet, cash position and capital headroom?

Asked by

Ayesha Verrall

List MP · Labour Party

• What specific safeguards, audits or oversight of third-party primary-care IT vendors will the cyber-security funding deliver in 2026/27, if any?

Asked by

Ayesha Verrall

List MP · Labour Party

• What happens to Health New Zealand’s cyber protections after 2029/30?

Asked by

Ayesha Verrall

List MP · Labour Party

• Is the $39.8 million per year for the Digital Services Cyber Security initiative in Budget 2026 ongoing baseline funding or time-limited?

Asked by

Ayesha Verrall

List MP · Labour Party

• How many cyber security incidents has Health New Zealand experienced in each year of the past five financial years, and what data, if any, was compromised?

Asked by

Ayesha Verrall

List MP · Labour Party

• How much of the $153.6 million Digital Services Cyber Security initiative in Budget 2026 is one-off remediation, and how much is ongoing operational security?

Asked by

Ayesha Verrall

List MP · Labour Party

• How many additional cyber-security FTE will be funded through the $153.6 million Digital Services Cyber Security initiative in Budget 2026, if any?

Asked by

Ayesha Verrall

List MP · Labour Party

• Will the Minister itemise the funding across 24/7 monitoring and response, specialist cyber workforce, critical system upgrades, and primary-care oversight for the $153.6 million Digital Services Cyber Security initiative in Budget 2026?

Asked by

Ayesha Verrall

List MP · Labour Party

• How does Budget 2026’s funding uplift compare with the Pharmac operating increases in Budgets 2024 and 2025?

Asked by

Ayesha Verrall

List MP · Labour Party

• What funding amount did Pharmac itself request or identify as needed for Budget 2026, and how does $13.5 million per year compare with it?

Asked by

Ayesha Verrall

List MP · Labour Party

• 27053

  Will the entitlement to a three-day postnatal stay be available in every birthing facility from commencement, and if not, where will women be unable to access it?

• 27055

  When will the three-day postnatal stay come into effect?

• 27056

  Will the legal entitlement to a three-day postnatal stay come into force before, at the same time as, or after the funded increase in maternity bed and workforce capacity is in place, and what is the risk it cannot be met in the interim?

Asked by

Ayesha Verrall

List MP · Labour Party

• How many additional medicines does Budget 2026’s $13.5 million per year fund, and how many additional patients does this allow Pharmac to reach?

Asked by

Ayesha Verrall

List MP · Labour Party

• What is the average postnatal inpatient stay, by district over the past five years?

Asked by

Ayesha Verrall

List MP · Labour Party

• 27058

  How many additional maternity beds does the Minister expect the $34.4 million over four years for the three-day postnatal stay to fund, and in which facilities, broken down by year?

• 27059

  How many additional midwifery FTE does the Minister expect the $34.4 million over four years for the three-day postnatal stay to fund, and in which facilities, broken down by year?

• 27060

  How many additional maternity inpatient beds are required to guarantee a 72-hour postnatal stay to every woman?

Asked by

Ayesha Verrall

List MP · Labour Party

• What is the total number of people on the national colonoscopy waiting list, the median wait time, and how many are waiting longer than the recommended timeframe, broken down by district over the past five financial years?

Asked by

Ayesha Verrall

List MP · Labour Party

• How many additional cancers and pre-cancerous lesions are expected to be detected per year from lowering the bowel screening age to 56?

Asked by

Ayesha Verrall

List MP · Labour Party

• How many additional people become eligible by lowering the bowel screening age from 58 to 56?

Asked by

Ayesha Verrall

List MP · Labour Party

• What is the expected ongoing annual cost of screening the population aged 56 to 59 once the programme is fully rolled out, and is the $6.766 million per year provided from 2028/29 sufficient to meet it?

Asked by

Ayesha Verrall

List MP · Labour Party

• Is the Southern Health System Digital Transformation Programme within its approved budget, and if not, what is the overrun and how is it being funded?

Asked by

Ayesha Verrall

List MP · Labour Party

• How many abuse in care survivors are expected to receive redress payments in each of 2025/26 and 2026/27?

Asked by

Ayesha Verrall

List MP · Labour Party

• What is the revised delivery timeline for the Primary Care Tactical Action Plan, broken down by initiative?

Asked by

Ayesha Verrall

List MP · Labour Party

• Will the $19.167 million of funding for the Primary Care Tactical Action Plan being returned as a 2025/26 underspend be re-appropriated to primary care in a future year, or is it a permanent saving to the Crown?

Asked by

Ayesha Verrall

List MP · Labour Party

• What specific conditions must be met before funding is drawn down for each tagged contingency in Vote Health, and which Ministers authorise each drawdown?

Asked by

Ayesha Verrall

List MP · Labour Party

• What constraints, if any, apply to how Health New Zealand and the Ministry must find required savings, and can savings be drawn from frontline services if back-office savings prove insufficient?

Asked by

Ayesha Verrall

List MP · Labour Party

• What is the total operating savings figure booked against Vote Health in Budget 2026, and what is it made up of, itemising every programme, service or activity from which those savings are drawn?

Asked by

Ayesha Verrall

List MP · Labour Party

• What was the total capitation funding paid by Health New Zealand to primary health organisations in each district in each financial year since 2022/23, broken down by district, and what was the average capitation payment per enrolled…

Asked by

Ayesha Verrall

List MP · Labour Party

• How many people were enrolled in a primary health organisation in each Health New Zealand district at the last day of each calendar month since 1 July 2022, broken down by district?

Asked by

Ayesha Verrall

List MP · Labour Party

• How many clinical staff were recruited from overseas by each Health New Zealand district in each calendar month since 1 July 2022, broken down by district and by role category (nurses, doctors, allied health, or other)?

Asked by

Ayesha Verrall

List MP · Labour Party

• How many funding applications did PHARMAC receive in each financial year since 2022/23, and of those, how many were approved, how many were declined, and how many remain pending?

Asked by

Ayesha Verrall

List MP · Labour Party

• How much has been allocated to PHARMAC in each Vote Health budget since 2022/23, and what amount did PHARMAC request in each of those years?

Asked by

Ayesha Verrall

List MP · Labour Party

• How many patients were in active review in each Health New Zealand district at the last day of each calendar month since 1 July 2022, broken down by district and by the number of months they had been waiting (less than 3 months, 3 to 6…

Asked by

Ayesha Verrall

List MP · Labour Party

• How much has Health New Zealand spent on redundancy payments in each calendar month since 1 July 2022, broken down by district?

Asked by

Ayesha Verrall

List MP · Labour Party

• How many roles have been disestablished by Health New Zealand in each calendar month since 1 July 2022, broken down by district and by role category?

Asked by

Ayesha Verrall

List MP · Labour Party

• 27082

  How much has been allocated to and spent from Vote Health for each Health New Zealand district in each financial year since 2022/23, broken down by district and by appropriation?

• 27102

  What was the year-to-date surplus or deficit for each Health New Zealand district at the last day of each calendar month since 1 July 2022, broken down by district?

• 27103

  How much was the actual expenditure and budgeted expenditure for each Health New Zealand district in each calendar month since 1 July 2022, broken down by district and by expenditure category?

Asked by

Ayesha Verrall

List MP · Labour Party

• How many people were waiting for community mental health and addiction services in each Health New Zealand district at the last day of each calendar month since 1 July 2022, broken down by district and by the length of time they had been…

Asked by

Ayesha Verrall

List MP · Labour Party

• How many mental health inpatient beds were available in each Health New Zealand district at the last day of each calendar month since 1 July 2022, broken down by district, and how many of those beds were occupied?

Asked by

Ayesha Verrall

List MP · Labour Party

• What was the average length of stay for inpatients in each Health New Zealand district in each calendar month since 1 July 2022, broken down by district and by admission type?

Asked by

Ayesha Verrall

List MP · Labour Party

• How many staff in each Health New Zealand district were on sick leave, ACC leave, or other unplanned leave in each calendar month since 1 July 2022, expressed as a percentage of total funded FTE, broken down by district?

Asked by

Ayesha Verrall

List MP · Labour Party

• How much has Health New Zealand spent on management consultants and external advisory services in each calendar month since 1 July 2022, broken down by district and by the name of the firm engaged?

Asked by

Ayesha Verrall

List MP · Labour Party

• How many serious adverse events were reported by each Health New Zealand district in each calendar month since 1 July 2022, broken down by district and by event category as used in Health New Zealand's own reporting?

Asked by

Ayesha Verrall

List MP · Labour Party

• 27089

  How many complaints received by Health New Zealand were unresolved at the last day of each calendar month since 1 July 2022, broken down by district?

• 27090

  How many complaints were received by Health New Zealand from patients or their families in each calendar month since 1 July 2022, broken down by district and by complaint category?

Asked by

Ayesha Verrall

List MP · Labour Party

• How many inpatient beds in each Health New Zealand district were closed or taken out of service at the last day of each calendar month since 1 July 2022, broken down by district and by the reason for closure?

Asked by

Ayesha Verrall

List MP · Labour Party

• How many inpatient beds were available in each Health New Zealand district at the last day of each calendar month since 1 July 2022, broken down by district and by ward type?

Asked by

Ayesha Verrall

List MP · Labour Party

• How many hospital wards in each Health New Zealand district were operating below their minimum safe staffing levels at any point in each calendar month since 1 July 2022, broken down by district?

Asked by

Ayesha Verrall

List MP · Labour Party

• How many elective surgeries were cancelled or postponed by each Health New Zealand district in each calendar month since 1 July 2022, broken down by district and by the reason for cancellation or postponement?

Asked by

Ayesha Verrall

List MP · Labour Party

• How many people had been waiting more than 4 months for elective treatment in each Health New Zealand district at the last day of each calendar month since 1 July 2022, broken down by district?