This is an HTML version of an attachment to the Official Information request 'School Building Projects'.




 
23/04/2024 
A Collins 
[email address]  
[FYI request #25713 email]  
[email address]  
 
Tēnā koe A Collins 
 
OIA: 1323952 – Information regarding proposed and planned major building projects at 
schools that have or are being considered to be paused or reprioritised  

Thank you for your requests via the FYI website of 12 February 2024 to the Ministry of Education 
(the Ministry) requesting information. As agreed to on 29 February 2024, the information requested 
is for the following:  
1.  Details of any proposed or planned major building projects at schools that are under 
consideration or are confirmed for reprioritisation, rescoping, pausing or delay and the 
dates that the decisions on these actions were made or are proposed to be finalised. 

 
2.  Copies of all advice, briefings, memos or any other documents provided by the Ministry to 
the Minister regarding the reprioritisation, rescoping, pausing, or delaying of proposed or 
planned major building projects at schools, since 20 November 2023. 

 
3.  Copies of all internal correspondence regarding the reprioritisation, rescoping, pausing, or 
delaying of major building projects at schools, since 20 November 2023. 
4.  Copies of all external correspondence sent or received by the Ministry regarding the 
reprioritisation, rescoping, pausing, or delaying of major building projects at schools, since 
20 November 2023.
  
On 29 February 2024, you also provided the following clarification of your request: 
Regarding the third part of the request, I will refine my request to internal correspondence 
with tier 1 and tier 2 staff. 

Regarding the fourth part of my request, I would like to define the scope as external 
correspondence with the Office of the Minister of Education, and schools. 

Your request has been considered under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act).  
 
8 Gilmer Terrace, Levels Ground floor, 1, 2, and 6-14, Wellington 
PO Box 1666, Wellington 6140 Phone: +64 4 463 8000  


41 documents have been identified as being in scope of the first, second, and fourth parts of 
your request. These comprise 25 primary documents and 16 associated attachments. 
I am releasing to you 19 of these documents in full and 14 in part as Appendix A, with the 
following information withheld: 
•  The names of former Ministry staff and the phone numbers of individuals which are not 
publicly available have been withheld under section 9(2)(a) of the Act, to protect the privacy 
of natural persons. 
•  Information which is Budget sensitive has been withheld under section 9(2)(f)(iv) of the Act, 
to maintain the constitutional conventions for the time being which protect the confidentiality 
of advice tendered by Ministers of the Crown and officials. 
•  Free and frank advice has been withheld under section 9(2)(g)(i) of the Act, to maintain the 
effective conduct of public affairs through the free and frank expression of opinions by or 
between or to Ministers of the Crown or organisation in the course of their duty. 
•  Information regarding ongoing negotiations has been withheld under section 9(2)(j) of the 
Act, to enable a Minister of the Crown or any organisation holding the information to carry 
on, without prejudice or disadvantage, negotiations (including commercial and industrial 
negotiations). 
Please note, Document 1 forms an initial briefing that was provided to Hon Erica Stanford as the 
incoming Minister of Education in December 2023, in response to questions raised by the Minister 
during a verbal briefing on the Marlborough Colleges project. Following this initial, high-level 
briefing note, the Minister requested further details from the Ministry around the history of the 
project, including in relation to the changing costs and previous Ministerial/Cabinet engagement on 
the matter. These additional details are set out in Documents 5 and 9, which should be read 
alongside Document 1.        
In the course of preparing this response, a point of potential confusion was raised relating to the 
content of Document 9. That Document refers at points 7 and 9 to the Ministry having been 
verbally instructed by the former Minister of Education to deliver on the “scope agreed by Cabinet”. 
For clarity, the word “scope” refers here to the broad project specifications (i.e. co-location of the 
two colleges) that had been agreed to by Cabinet, rather than referring to costs that had been 
approved by Cabinet.  
Additionally, please also note that through the Dec 2023 – Feb 2024 period where advice was 
provided to the Minister’s Office there are inconsistencies with the total projected cost of the 
project. These inconsistences primarily relate to using estimates with differing approaches to 
adopting cost reduction, risk allowances and value engineering opportunities while maintaining 
project scope. 
The estimate in Document 1 was informed by independent cost advice as well as cost advice 
received from the appointed construction contractors. This estimate did not include adoption of all 
available cost reduction and value engineering opportunities, and included significant allowances 
for risk. 
OIA: 1323952 


The estimate in Document 16B was primarily informed by the independent advice received, rather 
than the view of the appointed construction contractors. It took a more optimistic view of risk and 
the adoption of cost reduction and value engineering opportunities. 
I am withholding four documents in full under sections 9(2)(f)(iv) and 9(2)(g)(i) of the Act. 
I am refusing the remaining four documents under section 18(d) of the Act, as the information 
requested is currently and/or soon to be publicly available. 
One of these documents, the list of 352 property projects which are subject to review, can be found 
on the Ministry’s website at the following link: 
https://assets.education.govt.nz/public/Documents/Primary-Secondary/Property/Value-for-money-
list-for-website-250324.pdf 
 
Once published, you will be able to find the remaining information at the following link: 
https://www.education.govt.nz/our-work/information-releases/  
You can find further information regarding the documents I am releasing to you in the Document 
Table
 below this letter. 
As required under section 9(1) of the Act, I have considered the public interest in releasing the 
information withheld. I do not consider the public interest considerations favouring the release of 
this information are sufficient to outweigh the need to withhold it at this time. 
 
Additionally, regarding the fourth part of your request, we sought additional clarification from you 
on 5 March 2024, advising the following: 
 
You clarified that “Copies of all external correspondence sent or received by the Ministry 
regarding the reprioritisation, rescoping, pausing, or delaying of major building projects at 
schools, since 20 November 2023” included correspondence with schools. This requires 
additional clarification as a large number of schools are in scope of your request and it 
would require substantial collation to review and provide copies of all of the 
correspondence to these schools.  
 
Could you please specify it there are specific schools that you would like to receive 
regarding? This would allow the Ministry to ensure we can provide the specific information 
you require in a timely manner. Failure to clarify may mean that correspondence to schools 
may be refused under section 18(f) of the Act, as the information requested cannot be 
made available without substantial collation or research.
 
 
As we have not received a clarification from you, I am refusing your request for correspondence 
with schools under section 18(f) of the Act, as the information requested cannot be made available 
without substantial collation or research. 
 
 
OIA: 1323952 



Three email chains have been identified as in scope of the third part of your request. I am 
releasing these to you in part as Appendix B, with the following information withheld: 
•  The names and contact details of non-Ministry staff, and all cellphone numbers, have been 
withheld under section 9(2)(a) of the Act, to protect the privacy of natural persons. 
•  Free and frank advice has been withheld under section 9(2)(g)(i) of the Act, to maintain the 
effective conduct of public affairs through the free and frank expression of opinions by or 
between or to Ministers of the Crown or organisation in the course of their duty. 
•  Information that is out of scope of the request has also been redacted. 
You may also be interested in the following page and its associated links on the Ministry website. 
Here you can find information regarding the value-for-money reviews, standard property solutions 
for schools, and answers to frequently asked questions:  
https://www.education.govt.nz/our-work/changes-in-education/value-for-money-reviews/  
Please note, we may publish this response on our website. Your name and contact details will be 
removed. 
Thank you again for your email. You have the right to ask an Ombudsman to review my decision 
on your request, in accordance with section 28 of the Act. You can do this by writing to 
[email address] or to Office of the Ombudsman, PO Box 10152, Wellington 6143. 
Nāku noa, nā 
 
Scott Evans 
Hautū | Deputy Secretary 
Te Pou Hanganga, Matihiko | Infrastructure and Digital
 
 
 
 
OIA: 1323952 


Appendix A Document Table 

Date 
 
METIS #  Title 
 
Decision on release 

5 Dec 2023  1319807  Briefing Note: Marlborough Schools 
Release in part. Some 
Co-location Project 
information has been 
withheld under section 
9(2)(f)(iv) of the Act. 

6 Dec 2023  1319934  Information Update 
Release in part. Information 
has been withheld under 
section 9(2)(j) of the Act. 

7 Dec 2023  1319368  Briefing Note: Briefing to the Incoming 
Refused in full. Information 
Minister | Infrastructure and Digital 
has been refused under 
section 18(d) of the Act. 
3A 
 
 
Infrastructure & Digital | Te Pou 
Refused in full. Information 
Hanganga, Matihiko Slides 
has been refused under 
section 18(d) of the Act. 

14 Dec 
1320375  Information Update 
Release in full
2023 

19 Dec 
1320514  Briefing Note: A summary of 
Release in part. Information 
2023 
Marlborough Colleges Co-location 
has been withheld under 
Project advice and decisions 
sections 9(2)(a) and 
9(2)(f)(iv) of the Act. 

19 Dec 
1320562  Information Update 
Release in full. 
2023 

9 Jan 2024 
1320917  Rapid Response 
Release in full

15 Jan 
1322810  Rapid Response 
Release in part. Information 
2024 
has been withheld under 
section 9(2)(j) of the Act. 

16 Jan 
1320919  Rapid Response 
Release in part. Information 
2024 
has been withheld under 
section 9(2)(f)(iv) of the Act. 
10 
17 Jan 
1320859  Information Update 
Release in part. Information 
2024 
has been withheld under 
section 9(2)(j) of the Act. 
11 
25 Jan 
 
Agenda – Deep Dive: Property 
Release in full
2024 
Funding 
11A   
 
Understanding Property Investment 
Withhold in full. Information 
has been withheld under 
section 9(2)(f)(iv) of the Act. 
11B   
 
Property Capital Injection Funding 
Withhold in full. Information 
View 
has been withheld under 
section 9(2)(f)(iv) of the Act. 
OIA: 1323952 



Date 
 
METIS #  Title 
 
Decision on release 
11C   
 
Redevelopment Dashboard 
Release in part. Information 
has been withheld under 
section 9(2)(j) of the Act. 
11D   
 
Growth Fund Dashboard 
Release in full
11E   
 
Property: Focus on a sustainable and 
Release in full
affordable future 
12 
5 Feb 2024 
1322168  Information Update 
Release in part. Information 
has been withheld under 
section 9(2)(j) of the Act. 
13 
7 Feb 2024 
1322389  Information Update 
Release in part. Information 
has been withheld under 
section 9(2)(f)(iv) of the Act. 
14 
9 Feb 2024 
1322286  Information Update 
Release in full
15 
12 Feb 
1322411  Information Update 
Release in part. Information 
2024 
has been withheld under 
section 9(2)(f)(iv) of the Act. 
16 
14 Feb 
1322740  Information Update 
Release in part. Information 
2024 
has been withheld under 
section 9(2)(a) of the Act. 
16A   
 
Marlborough Project Summary 
Withhold in full. Information 
has been withheld under 
section 9(2)(f)(iv) of the Act. 
16B   
 
2024 Project Review Communications 
Release in part. Information 
Plan 
has been withheld under 
sections 9(2)(f)(iv) and 9(2)(j) 
of the Act. 
16C   
 
School visit briefing and profiles 
Release in part. Information 
has been withheld under 
section 9(2)(a) of the Act. 
17 
14 Feb 
1322809  Information Update 
Release in full
2024 
18 
16 Feb 
1322947  Information Update 
Release in full
2024 
18A   
 
Ngā iti Kahurangi Dashboard 
Release in full
19 
16 Feb 
1322938  Information Update 
Release in full
2024 
19A   
 
Transforming School Building: A 
Release in full
sustainable and affordable future 
OIA: 1323952 



Date 
 
METIS #  Title 
 
Decision on release 
19B   
 
Property: Focus on an affordable and 
Release in full
sustainable future 
19C   
 
National sector associations 
Release in full
19D   
 
Phases of delivery rate 
Release in part. Information 
has been refused under 
section 18(d) of the Act and 
withheld under section 9(2)(j) 
of the Act. 
20 
16 Feb 
1322983  Rapid Response 
Release in full
2024 
21 
16 Feb 
1323007  Rapid Response 
Withhold in full. Information 
2024 
has been withheld under 
section 9(2)(g)(i) of the Act. 
22 
20 Feb 
1322984  Information Update 
Release in part. Information 
2024 
has been withheld under 
section 9(2)(j) of the Act. 
23 
28 Feb 
1323670  Briefing Note: Meeting with the 
Refused in full. Information 
2024 
Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Poverty Bay 
has been refused under 
Intermediate and Middle School 
section 18(d) of the Act. 
Principal Association 10-12pm, 
Thursday 29 February at Mount 
Maunganui 
24 
28 Feb 
1323728  Rapid Response 
Release in full
2024 
24A   
 
Review Project List 
Release in full. 
24B   
 
List of Projects 
Refused in full. Information 
has been refused under 
section 18(d) of the Act. 
25 
28 Feb 
1323801  Rapid Response 
Release in full
2024 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
OIA: 1323952