3 November 2023
Erika Whittome
[FYI request #24095 email]
Tēnā koe Erika
Official information request HNZ00029810
Thank you for your email on 11 September 2023, asking for information under the Of icial
Information Act 1982 (the Act). Please see outlined below a response to each part of your
request.
1. What budget was allocated for Covid 19 health and safety activities at DHBs for
the 2021/2022 financial year? For example, Covid advisors, Covid risk specialist
roles, website info pages etc.
This is not information held or collated centrally by Te Whatu Ora or hospitals. Any
information in scope that may exist regarding allocations wil generally reflect the evolving
situation at the time and the necessary reprioritisation of roles and responsibilities. This
aspect of your request for information is difficult to assess, and substantial manual collation
would be required to locate and prepare all documents within scope of your request. As
such, I refuse your request under section 18(f) of the Act as the information requested cannot
be made available without substantial collation or research.
I have considered whether fixing a charge for the supply of the information or extending the
timeframe for response would enable Te Whatu Ora to respond. I do not consider that either
option would remove the impact that supplying the information would have on our other
operations.
2. What designations did the DHBs receive under section 191 of the Health and
Safety at Work Act 2015 (HSW Act) in order to act as a regulator for health and safety
matters?
We are not aware that DHBs received any designation to act as a regulator for health and
safety purposes. We ask that you note that this would have the potential to conflict with their
responsibilities as a PCBU (Persons Conducting a Business or Undertaking) under the HSW
Act, for the delivery of health services (including hospitals).
We ask you note that any designations made by the Prime Minister under section 191, of the
Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 are published in the Gazette which is available here
www.gazette.govt.nz.
How to get in touch
I am sorry that we didn’t confirm this with you sooner. This is something we are working hard
to improve on, but we acknowledge the frustration this is likely to cause. If you have any
questions, you can contact us at
[Health New Zealand request email].
If you are not happy with this response, you have the right to make a complaint to the
Ombudsman. Information about how to do this is available at
www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or by phoning 0800 802 602.
As this information may be of interest to other members of the public, Te Whatu Ora may
proactively release a copy of this response on our website. Al requester data, including your
name and contact details, wil be removed prior to release.
Nāku iti noa, nā
Michael Cleary
Acting OIA Manager
Government Services
TeWhatuOra.govt.nz
Te Whatu Ora, PO Box
793, Wel ington 6140,
