27 February 2024
T Murray
[FYI request #25496 email]
Dear T Murray
Thank you for your Official Information Act (OIA) request, received on 23 January
2024. You requested:
any letters or instructions sent from you on reducing costs or the use of
contractors for the fol owing agencies:
Ministry of Health and Health New Zealand MBIE Treasury Ministry for Social
Development Oranga Tamariki
In December I wrote to Ministers asking that their agencies find savings ahead of
Budget 2024, with individual agency targets informed by headcount growth since 2017.
Al savings proposals are subject to confirmation by Cabinet as a part of the Budget
2024 process.
The contents of the requested material accordingly remain under active consideration
by Ministers, as part of the Budget 2024 process. Consistent with practices in past
years, key material relating to Budget decisions wil be proactively released after the
Budget is announced later this year.
Therefore, I have decided to withhold in ful the information requested under section
9(2)(f)(iv) of the OIA, to maintain the constitutional conventions protecting the
confidentiality of advice tendered by Ministers and officials.
In making my decision, I have considered the public interest considerations in section
9(1) of the OIA.
This reply addresses the information you requested. You have the right to ask the
Ombudsman to investigate and review my decision.
Yours sincerely
Hon Nicola Wil is
Minister of Finance