IN-CONFIDENCE
11 October 2023
Amin
[FYI request #24127 email]
Tēnā koe Amin
On 13 September 2023
, you emailed the Ministry of Social Development (the
Ministry) requesting, under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act), the
following information:
•
I am writing to you under the provisions of the Official Information Act
1982 to request specific information regarding the following matters:
•
Please provide me with the total amount of funding allocated for the
development of Te Reo in your ministry and affiliated organizations
since the beginning of the new government in 2020, along with a
breakdown of how this allocated funding has been utilized or
distributed.
The Ministry supports te reo Māori development for our staff members in a
number of ways. This includes training and capability, such as online training
or localised te reo sessions paid for by budget holders, communications,
Māori Employee Led Networks, and celebrations of cultural days.
Te Pae Tata – our Māori Strategy and Action Plan – sets out how the Ministry
will work to achieve better outcomes for Māori. You can read more about Te
Pae Tata on our website, here:
www.msd.govt.nz/about-msd-and-our-
work/about-msd/strategies/te-pae-tata/index.html.
The Ministry also provides a proficiency allowance to recognise an employee’s
competence in te reo Māori. While the proficiency allowance is not within
scope of your request, I have provided you with a link to a Written
Parliamentary Question answered by the Minister of Social Development
which outlines the amount paid in the allowance between 30 June 2021 to 30
June
2023:
www.parliament.nz/en/pb/order-paper-questions/written-
questions/document/WQ_22287_2023/22287-2023-toni-severin-to-the-
minister-for-social-development.
Funding is allocated to staff development by budget holders, in discussion
with employees. This information is not centrally recorded.
IN-CONFIDENCE
In order to provide you with this information, the Ministry would need to
divert personnel from their core duties and allocate extra time to complete
this task. The diversion of these resources would impair the Ministry’s ability
to continue standard operations and would be an inefficient use of the
Ministry’s resources. As such, your request is refused under section 18(f) of
the Act, requires substantial collation. 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
requests 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 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. The Ministry
therefore intends to make the information contained in this letter and any
attached documents available to the wider public. The Ministry will do this by
publishing this letter on the Ministry’s website. Your personal details will be
deleted, and the Ministry will not publish any information that would identify
you as the person who requested the information.
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 regarding te reo Māori
development for Ministry employees, you have the right to seek an
investigation and review by the Ombudsman. Information about how to make
a complaint is available a
t www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or 0800 802 602.
Ngā mihi nui
Tony Stenhouse
Director
Organisational Development and Learning
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