OIA24-0227
3 May 2024
J. Bythell
[FYI request #26341 email]
Dear J. Bythel
Thank you for your email of 6 April 2024 requesting information relating to the Ministry for
Primary Industries’ (MPI) Financial Spending. Your request has been considered under the
Of icial Information Act 1982 (OIA).
You requested the following:
Is your department at risk of overspending its financial appropriation this year?
If it is, please supply
•
all correspondence with and information supplied to Treasury about this
•
all correspondence with and information supplied to your Minister and your Minister’s
office about this
•
all correspondence with and information supplied to the Public Services Commission
about this
•
all correspondence with and information supplied to the Auditor-General or his office
about this
•
all papers to or considered by your leadership team about this
•
all papers to or considered by your risk and audit committee about this
•
all papers to or considered by any other of your governance groups about this
MPI is currently forecasting to operate within its overall financial appropriation for the 2023/24
financial year. This is the expectation for every financial year.
Have you set aside an allowance in this financial year for redundancies or other costs of
restructuring?
If so, how much is that allowance?
If not, do you anticipate any costs for these in this financial year?
As part of the Budget 2024/25 programme, MPI was asked by the Government to find savings of
7.5 percent for the financial year starting 1 July 2024. MPI’s cost savings work wil include a mix of
programme reductions and the staffing change proposals. MPI is not proposing any reductions to
frontline services and statutory roles, such as veterinarians, animal welfare, fishery and food
compliance officers, or biosecurity teams at the border. MPI is currently considering feedback and
no final decisions have been made.
Any costs associated with proposed changes once finalised, including proposed redundancies, are
expected to be managed within the financial appropriations for the 2023/24 financial year.
Charles Fergusson Building, 34-38 Bowen Street
PO Box 2526
Wellington 6140, New Zealand
mpi.govt.nz
Should you have any concerns with this response, I would encourage you to raise these
with the Ministry for Primary Industries
at [email address]. Alternatively,
you are advised of your right to also raise any concerns with the Office of the Ombudsman.
Contact details are: Office of the Ombudsman, PO Box 10152, Wellington 6143 or at
[email address].
Yours sincerely
Brent Healy
Chief Financial Officer
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