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is to confirm that we have received your correspondence.

 

If your request is for information under the Official Information Act
(OIA) we will respond to it within 20 working days.  You can check the
maximum time limit within which Commerce Commission click here to access
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If we need to clarify, or transfer your request, or extend the timeframe
for response, we will contact you shortly.

 

If your enquiry is not a request for information under the OIA, please
contact our Contact Centre, on 0800 943 600 or [1][email address]

 

 

OIA Co-ordinator

Information Systems | Organisational Performance

Commerce Commission l Te Komihana Tauhokohoko

44 The Terrace l PO Box 2351 l Wellington 6140 l New Zealand

E: [2][Commerce Commission request email]

 

 

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Kia ora Annie

 

The Commerce Commission (the Commission) acknowledges receipt of your
request under the Official Information Act 1982 (OIA) for information
about the change proposal at the Commission. You requested the following:

 

1.            “In January it was reported that the government has
instructed government entities to cut 6.5% or 7.5% of annual costs. This
followed election campaigns by government parties on the basis of cutting
public sector bloat, cutting back office spend and reducing the number of
public sector 'spin-doctors'.

 

2.            The Commission has grown from 222 (previous reported as 184)
in 2018 to 428 in 2023. What is the current number of staff at the
Commission?

 

3.            From 2019 onwards, the Commission's annual reports describe
restructures called 'Fit for the Future' to accommodate additional
statutory functions. In 2021, the Commission established new branches for
Competition, Fair Trading, and Consumer Credit for the purpose of
achieving "end to end delivery of regulatory outcomes". In addition, the
Commission established the Strategy, Governance and Engagement branch "to
support the Board, organisational management, strategy setting, and
performance reporting." and "support the Commission to partner with Māori
and bring a greater te ao Māori perspective to our work" and the Legal
Services Branch to centralise the legal functions of the Commission into a
standalone branch.

 

4.            On 2 May 2024, the Commission announced a restructure
proposal that reverses or modifies many aspects of the 'fit for the
future' restructures and results in approximately 70 disestablished roles.
This includes merging the Competition, Consumer Credit and Fair Trading
branches once again, maintains or grows the Strategy, Governance and
Engagement branch, and establishes new roles including a Deputy Chief
Executive who would head up the Strategy Governance and Engagement branch.

 

Can you please confirm the details of the proposal and provide the
proposal documents?

 

Can you confirm the number of staff who will work at the Commission under
the proposal?

 

Can you please break down the percentages of occupations of those staff
under the proposal in a manner consistent with your previous annual
reports? E.g. legal, management, economists, advisor...

 

5.            Has there been any assessment of the performance of the 'Fit
for the Future' restructures in terms of delivery of real outcomes for NZ
consumers? If so, please provide this information.

6.            Please provide a summary of the Chief Executive's knowledge
about the extent to which this restructure will affect the Commission's
performance of its statutory functions.

7.            Please advise why the decision was made to propose a change
away from the recent 'fit for the future' restructure, instead of a
simpler alternative such as requiring all existing branches to cut a
percentage of total spend?

 

8.            The change proposal appears to be a move away from the 'end
to end delivery of regulatory functions'. Does the proposal indicate that
you have you decided that this model is no longer fit for purpose?

 

9.            Is it correct that staff will no longer be organised
according to regulatory function? If so, can you foresee any difficulties
with staff working across the various regulatory functions, such as Fair
Trading and Competition e.g. a lack of specialist knowledge? Is the work
under the 3 separate branches similar enough that staff can work across
them all with no loss of performance?

 

10.         Please provide an estimate of the cost involved in
preparation, proposing, consulting and implementing the change proposal.
Please include information relating to any external spend on consultants
and the costs estimated for staff and managers to understand and implement
new operating structures and responsibilities.

 

11.         The annual reports disclose a declining trend in the
percentage of lawyers and economists employed by the Commission since
2021. Please advise what the percentage of lawyers and economists would be
under the change proposal. Please advise if this decline has negatively
impacted the Commission's ability to take enforcement action against
regulated parties or whether any further decrease is expected to
negatively impact the Commission's ability to take enforcement action.

 

12.         Do you expect the result of the proposed change to result in a
greater spend on external consultants, including economists and lawyers?

 

13.         How does the proposal affect the other branches of the
Commission? Organisation performance and the Economic Regulation branch
(restructured into infrastructure and market regulation as part of the Fit
for the Future restructures in 2021). Do these branches remain fit for
purpose or have they also been re-merged?

 

14.         I understand the proposal includes external recruitment for
new/retained roles. Is this correct? If so, does this proposal indicate
concerns with staff performance - instead of being a cost cutting measure?

 

15.         I understand the legal team that manages Official Information
and Privacy requests has been disestablished. Is this correct? If so
please advise how the proposal will address these statutory obligations.”

We confirm the request has been logged as OIA 23.249.

 

Under the statutory deadline, we need to respond to your request within 20
working days, being on or before 4 June 2024 (taking into account the
public holiday 3 June 2024).

  

We may publish our response to your request in the OIA register on our
website. Your personal information will be removed before publication.

If we need to clarify your request further, we will be in touch with you
shortly.

Please do not hesitate to contact [1][Commerce Commission request email] if you have any
queries in the meantime.

 

Ngā mihi

 

 

OIA and Information Coordinator

Commerce Commission | Te Komihana Tauhokohoko

44 The Terrace | PO Box 2351 | Wellington 6140 | New Zealand

[2][Commerce Commission request email] | [3]www.comcom.govt.nz

 

 

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