29 September 2022

Khan Mohammed
[FYI request #20494 email]

Tēnā koe Khan Mohammed

On 9 September 2022, you emailed the Ministry of Social Development (the
Ministry) requesting, under the Official Information Act 1982  (the Act), the
following information:
  •  I am requesting information held by Corrections [MSD] about the areas
to which released prisoners have been sent under the emergency
housing agreement between MSD and Corrections.

Assuming it is available back that far, I would prefer to receive this for
the past five years (to provide sufficient temporal context), and for the
highest spatial resolution possible, but a spatial resolution to the local
or regional council level is fine. Temporal resolution of a year would be
fine, though I can summarize the data myself if it is held in a more
detailed form. Electronic format as a spreadsheet/CSV is preferred, a
scanned report is fine if not available.

Regarding your request, I am unable to provide you with this information as it
is held in notes on individual case files. In order to provide you with this
information, Ministry staff would have to manually review a substantial number
of files.

As such, I refuse your request under section 18(f) of the Act. The greater public
interest is in the effective and efficient administration of the public service.

I have considered whether the Ministry would be able to respond to your
request given extra time, or the ability to charge for the information requested.
I  have  concluded  that,  in  either  case,  the  Ministry’s  ability  to  undertake  its
work would still be prejudiced.

The Department of Corrections received this request through the FYI website
and will respond to your request in due course.

The principles and purposes of the Official Information Act 1982 under which
you made your request are:

•  to create greater openness and transparency about the plans, work and
activities of the Government,
•  to increase the ability of the public to  participate  in  the  making  and
administration of our laws and policies and
•  to lead to greater accountability in the conduct of public affairs.

This Ministry fully supports those principles and purposes.

If you wish to discuss this response with us, please feel free to contact
[MSD request email].

If  you  are  not  satisfied  with  this  response,  you  have  the  right  to  seek  an
investigation and review by the Ombudsman. Information about how to make
a complaint is available at www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or 0800 802 602.

Ngā mihi nui

Magnus O’Neill
General Manager
Ministerial and Executive Services
Page 2 of 2

Document Outline