4 October 2023
Sam Malik
[FYI request #23767 email]
Ref: OIA-2023/24-0169
Dear Sam Malik
Official Information Act request relating to establishment of Te Whatu Ora
Thank you for your Official Information Act 1982 (the Act) request transferred to the
Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (DPMC) on 6 September 2023. You
requested:
Can I please ask how much has been spent on the change of new health system
including extraction of Te Whatu Ora from Ministry of Health as well as combining 30
entities into one massive organisation while they still work differently from each other
and are still called DHBs at many places.
Please provide data:
From 1 Jan to 31 Dec 2022
From 1 Jan to 31 July 2023
What Advise did the former PM Ardern got regarding risks involved and what was done
done to mitigate those risks from your office.
I don’t need the full briefings but relevant extracts and emails should be suffice.
I understand your request has also been transferred to the Ministry of Health and you will
receive a response from them in accordance with the statutory timeframes.
For clarity, I will respond to your questions in turn.
Can I please ask how much has been spent on the change of new health system
including extraction of Te Whatu Ora from Ministry of Health as well as combining
30 entities into one massive organisation while they still work differently from each
other and are still called DHBs at many places.
Please provide data:
From 1 Jan to 31 Dec 2022
From 1 Jan to 31 July 2023
The Health and Disability System Review Transition Unit (the Unit) was established within
DPMC in 2020 and led the response to the Health and Disability System review. The
responsibilities of the Unit included developing the policy response and design of the system
operating model and providing advice on the establishment of new entities and legislative
change.
DPMC is only able to provide information in relation to the Unit, who were not responsible for
the majority of the funding of the Health and Disability System Reform. The Ministry of Health
4792224
Executive Wing, Parliament Buildings, Wellington, New Zealand 6011
64 4 817 9698 www.dpmc.govt.nz
will be able to provide more information in regard to expenditure that fell under Vote Health
(Vote Health | Ministry of Health NZ).
Expenditure relating to the Vote Prime Minister and Cabinet, Health and Disability System
Reform appropriation which funded the Unit, by financial year, can be found in the DPMC
Annual Reports for the years 2020/21 and 2021/22 found on the DPMC website
https://www.dpmc.govt.nz/publications Note that the Health and Disability System Review Transition Unit was disestablished on 30
September 2022.
The Estimates of Expenditure for 2023/24 provide information on estimated expenditure for
the period of 1 July 2022 to 30 June 2023, available online within the Vote Prime Minister
and Cabinet table of Annual Appropriations and Forecast Permanent Appropriations:
https://www.treasury.govt.nz/sites/default/files/2023-06/est23-v4-pmcab.pdf
Information regarding actual expenditure for the period 1 July 2022 to 30 June 2023 will be
published in the upcoming DPMC Annual Report 2022/23. Therefore, this information is
currently not available and is withheld under section 18(d) of the Act, on the basis that it will
soon be publicly available.
As there was no appropriation for the Unit for the period of 1 July 2023 to 31 July 2023 this
aspect of the request is refused under section 18(g) as that information does not exist.
What Advise did the former PM Ardern got regarding risks involved and what was
done done to mitigate those risks from your office.
I don’t need the full briefings but relevant extracts and emails should be suffice
We have interpreted the time period for this aspect of your request as the same time period
for the requested expenditure, 1 January 2022 to 31 July 2023. As Rt Hon Dame Jacinda
Ardern’s tenure as Prime Minister ended on 25 January 2023, we have searched our records
for the period of 1 January 2022 to 25 January 2023.
Following our search, identified as relevant to this aspect of your request are some briefings
provided by the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet Policy Advisory Group to the
former Prime Minister, Rt Hon Dame Jacinda Ardern. These briefings were provided to the
Prime Minister in confidence to support her in her role as leader of the Government and chair
of Cabinet. The dates and titles of these briefings are withheld in their entirety under the
following sections of the Act:
• section 9(2)(f)(ii), to maintain collective and individual ministerial responsibility
• section 9(2)(f)(iv), to maintain the confidentiality of advice tendered by or to Ministers
and officials
• section 9(2)(g)(i), to maintain the effective conduct of public affairs through the free and
frank expression of opinion.
Where section 9 of the Act applies, in making my decision, I have considered the public
interest considerations in section 9(1) of the Act. No public interest has been identified that
would be sufficient to override the reasons for withholding that information.
No other documentation was identified as in scope.
You have the right to ask the Ombudsman to investigate and review my decision under
section 28(3) of the Act.
4792224
2
This response wil be published on the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet’s
website during our regular publication cycle. Typically, information is released monthly, or as
otherwise determined. Your personal information including name and contact details will be
removed for publication.
Yours sincerely
Janine Smith
Deputy Chief Executive
Policy Advisory Group
4792224
3
