Printed from https://fyi.org.nz/request/27143-flexible-funding?unfold=1 on December 04, 2024 21:25

Flexible Funding

Anna Wilson made this Official Information request to Ministry for Disabled People

The request was partially successful.

From: Anna Wilson

Dear Ministry for Disabled People,

Kia ora,

Under the Official Information Act 1982 I am requesting the following information. I have numbered my requests for ease and have provided background information where applicable.

1) The number of Flexible Funding applications that Whaikaha has approved for overseas travel, massages, hairdressers, pedicures, tobacco, alcohol, and lotto tickets.

Following the announced changes to the Flexible Funding criteria, it has been stated that carers were accessing Flexible Funding to purchase overseas travel, massages, haircuts, pedicures, tobacco, alcohol, and lotto tickets.

When asked about the source of this information, it has been stated [in answer to Written Parliamentary Questions 4339 (2024), 4334 (2024), 4337 (2024), 4338 (2024)] that Whaikaha has examples of this expenditure.

The Briefing REP-WHK-24-02-018: Changes to Equipment and Modification Services and flexible funding to manage Whaikaha expenditure was proactively released by Whaikaha also confirmed that Flexible Funding had been used for some of these purposes (referenced on Page 6).

Therefore, I am requesting the number of flexible funding applications that Whaikaha has approved for overseas travel, massages, hairdressers, pedicures, tobacco, alcohol, and lotto tickets. I request that the number be broken down into these sub-categories.

2) The examples of Flexible Funding applications for the above categories that Whaikaha provided to the then-Minister for Disability Issues Hon Penny Simmonds.

In response to Written Parliamentary Questions 4339 (2024), 4334 (2024), 4337 (2024), 4338 (2024) Minister Simmonds has stated that she was “provided with examples of this kind of expenditure”.

Therefore, I am requesting the examples that Whaikaha provided to Hon Penny Simmonds of flexible funding being used for overseas travel, massages, hairdressers, pedicures, tobacco, alcohol, and lotto tickets.

I note that the Official Information Act 1982 does not just apply to written information but also captures verbal information. If verbal examples were provided in lieu of written information, I ask that a recollection of these verbal examples is provided and then any written information that the Whaikaha employee was basing these examples off.

3) Any examples of Flexible Funding applications for the aforementioned categories that Whaikaha has provided to the new Minister for Disability Issues Hon Louise Upston

4) All correspondence between Whaikaha and Minister Simmonds’ office, including the Minister herself and all her Ministerial and departmental staff, relating to Flexible Funding

Kind regards,

Anna Wilson

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From: Anna Wilson

Dear Ministry for Disabled People,

Can you please acknowledge receipt of this request and confirm that it is being processed under the Official Information Act 1982?

Thank you,

Anna Wilson

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From: OIA_requests (WHAIKAHA)
Ministry for Disabled People

IN-CONFIDENCE

Hi Anna, I am glad you followed up.

I can't find any record of your original request coming through to our mailbox, but I can see it on the FYI.org.nz website.

I have logged it in our system now (reference number OIA2914), and we will begin working on it. I will also reach out to the FYI.org.nz team to see if they know why your original request never made it to our inbox.

Kind regards
Sophie
Ministerial and Executive Services
Ministry of Disabled People - Whaikaha

-----Original Message-----
From: Anna Wilson <[FOI #27143 email]>
Sent: Wednesday, June 19, 2024 10:50 AM
To: OIA_requests (WHAIKAHA) <[Ministry for Disabled People request email]>
Subject: Re: Official Information request - Flexible Funding

Dear Ministry for Disabled People,

Can you please acknowledge receipt of this request and confirm that it is being processed under the Official Information Act 1982?

Thank you,

Anna Wilson

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From: OIA_requests (WHAIKAHA)
Ministry for Disabled People

Attachment OIA2914 response.pdf
387K Download View as HTML

Attachment Attachment for OIA2914.pdf
439K Download View as HTML

IN-CONFIDENCE

Kia ora Anna

 

Please find our response attached.

 

Ngā mihi

Sophie
Ministerial and Executive Services
Ministry of Disabled People - Whaikaha 

 

This email is confidential and may contain information that is subject to
legal privilege. If it is not intended for you please do not read,
distribute or copy it or any attachments. Please notify the sender by
return email and delete the original message and any attachments. Any
views expressed in this email may be those of the individual sender and
may not necessarily reflect the views of the Ministry.

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From: Anna Wilson

Good afternoon,

Thank you for this response to my official information act request.

In follow up, can I please request the below information:

1) All correspondence between Brian Coffey and Minister Simmonds' office (including Minister Simmonds, political staff, and seconded private secretaries) for the time period 01 February to 01 May

2) All correspondence between Emma Williams and Minister Simmonds' office (including Minister Simmonds, political staff, and seconded private secretaries), for the time period 01 February to 01 May

Kind regards,

Anna Wilson

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From: OIA_requests (WHAIKAHA)
Ministry for Disabled People

IN-CONFIDENCE

Hi Anna

As it stands currently, your new request would require going through a large volume of material. Would you mind please narrowing it down, perhaps to emails on a specific topic?

Ngā mihi
Sophie
Ministerial and Executive Services
Ministry of Disabled People - Whaikaha

-----Original Message-----
From: Anna Wilson <[FOI #27143 email]>
Sent: Tuesday, June 25, 2024 2:11 PM
To: OIA_requests (WHAIKAHA) <[Ministry for Disabled People request email]>
Subject: Re: OIA2914 response

Good afternoon,

Thank you for this response to my official information act request.

In follow up, can I please request the below information:

1) All correspondence between Brian Coffey and Minister Simmonds' office (including Minister Simmonds, political staff, and seconded private secretaries) for the time period 01 February to 01 May

2) All correspondence between Emma Williams and Minister Simmonds' office (including Minister Simmonds, political staff, and seconded private secretaries), for the time period 01 February to 01 May

Kind regards,

Anna Wilson

-----Original Message-----

IN-CONFIDENCE

Kia ora Anna

Please find our response attached.

Ngā mihi

Sophie
Ministerial and Executive Services
Ministry of Disabled People - Whaikaha

This email is confidential and may contain information that is subject to legal privilege. If it is not intended for you please do not read, distribute or copy it or any attachments. Please notify the sender by return email and delete the original message and any attachments. Any views expressed in this email may be those of the individual sender and may not necessarily reflect the views of the Ministry.

-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #27143 email]

Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
https://fyi.org.nz/help/officers

If you find this service useful as an Official Information officer, please ask your web manager to link to us from your organisation's OIA or LGOIMA page.

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This email is confidential and may contain information that is subject to legal privilege. If it is not intended for you please do not read, distribute or copy it or any attachments. Please notify the sender by return email and delete the original message and any attachments. Any views expressed in this email may be those of the individual sender and may not necessarily reflect the views of the Ministry.

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From: Anna Wilson

Good morning Sophie,

Thank you for your email. I am interested in all correspondence, but in the interest of not having my request declined I am willing to narrow it further to correspondence about Assessments and Funding. As per the header on your website, this appears to be the umbrella term that covers individualised funding, flexible funding, purchasing guildelines, and so forth.

Kind regards,

Anna Wilson

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From: OIA_requests (WHAIKAHA)
Ministry for Disabled People

IN-CONFIDENCE

Thank you,

I'll run a search of Emma and Brian's inboxes for all the key terms you listed: individualised funding, flexible funding, purchasing guidelines, Assessments and Funding.

In relation to the other part of your request:
"1) All correspondence between Brian Coffey and Minister Simmonds' office (including Minister Simmonds, political staff, and seconded private secretaries) for the time period 01 February to 01 May"

I note Brian is a Private Secretary and has been since 5 February. While normally I would look to partially transfer your request to Hon Simmonds office, I can see you have made a request to Hon Simmonds for "All correspondence between Hon Penny Simmonds and her seconded Private Secretaries regarding Flexible Funding", which should cover the majority of this part of your request. I will run a search of Brian's Whaikaha emails 1 - 4 Feb.

Ngā mihi
Sophie

-----Original Message-----
From: Anna Wilson <[FOI #27143 email]>
Sent: Wednesday, June 26, 2024 10:07 AM
To: OIA_requests (WHAIKAHA) <[Ministry for Disabled People request email]>
Subject: RE: OIA2914 response

Good morning Sophie,

Thank you for your email. I am interested in all correspondence, but in the interest of not having my request declined I am willing to narrow it further to correspondence about Assessments and Funding. As per the header on your website, this appears to be the umbrella term that covers individualised funding, flexible funding, purchasing guildelines, and so forth.

Kind regards,

Anna Wilson

-----Original Message-----

IN-CONFIDENCE

Hi Anna

As it stands currently, your new request would require going through a large volume of material. Would you mind please narrowing it down, perhaps to emails on a specific topic?

Ngā mihi
Sophie
Ministerial and Executive Services
Ministry of Disabled People - Whaikaha

-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #27143 email]

Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
https://fyi.org.nz/help/officers

If you find this service useful as an Official Information officer, please ask your web manager to link to us from your organisation's OIA or LGOIMA page.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

This email is confidential and may contain information that is subject to legal privilege. If it is not intended for you please do not read, distribute or copy it or any attachments. Please notify the sender by return email and delete the original message and any attachments. Any views expressed in this email may be those of the individual sender and may not necessarily reflect the views of the Ministry.

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From: Anna Wilson

Kia ora Sophie,

Thank you for your email. Can I please clarify that it was not my intention to prescribe the search terms to be limited to the key words I just suggested. I was merely trying to illustrate what I meant by Assessments and Funding.

I would instead ask that Whaikaha establish which search terms are best suited to capture all content that sits underneath the umbrella of Assessments and Funding. Assessments and Funding is the header on your website that flexible funding sits under and so that was my point of reference when asked to narrow the scope of my request but my official information request is intended to be wider than that.

As I don't know the ins and outs of your organisation, I do not wish to prescribe the search terms as I think this will narrow the scope too far. Instead, I would request that you and your OIA team decide how best to action my request.

However, I do agree with the approach that you have suggested for handling Brian Coffey's emails.

Kind regards,

Anna Wilson

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From: OIA_requests (WHAIKAHA)
Ministry for Disabled People

IN-CONFIDENCE

Yes, I think I have a good understanding of the type of material you're after, so if there are other relevant keywords, we will use them too ---it won't be a matter of us excluding anything that doesn't contain the keywords listed below, but I think they will be a great starting point.

Ngā mihi
Sophie

-----Original Message-----
From: Anna Wilson <[FYI request #27143 email]>
Sent: Wednesday, June 26, 2024 10:54 AM
To: OIA_requests (WHAIKAHA) <[Ministry for Disabled People request email]>
Subject: RE: OIA2914 response

Kia ora Sophie,

Thank you for your email. Can I please clarify that it was not my intention to prescribe the search terms to be limited to the key words I just suggested. I was merely trying to illustrate what I meant by Assessments and Funding.

I would instead ask that Whaikaha establish which search terms are best suited to capture all content that sits underneath the umbrella of Assessments and Funding. Assessments and Funding is the header on your website that flexible funding sits under and so that was my point of reference when asked to narrow the scope of my request but my official information request is intended to be wider than that.

As I don't know the ins and outs of your organisation, I do not wish to prescribe the search terms as I think this will narrow the scope too far. Instead, I would request that you and your OIA team decide how best to action my request.

However, I do agree with the approach that you have suggested for handling Brian Coffey's emails.

Kind regards,

Anna Wilson

-----Original Message-----

IN-CONFIDENCE

Thank you,

I'll run a search of Emma and Brian's inboxes for all the key terms you listed: individualised funding, flexible funding, purchasing guidelines, Assessments and Funding.

In relation to the other part of your request:
"1) All correspondence between Brian Coffey and Minister Simmonds' office (including Minister Simmonds, political staff, and seconded private secretaries) for the time period 01 February to 01 May"

I note Brian is a Private Secretary and has been since 5 February. While normally I would look to partially transfer your request to Hon Simmonds office, I can see you have made a request to Hon Simmonds for "All correspondence between Hon Penny Simmonds and her seconded Private Secretaries regarding Flexible Funding", which should cover the majority of this part of your request. I will run a search of Brian's Whaikaha emails 1 - 4 Feb.

Ngā mihi
Sophie

-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FYI request #27143 email]

Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
https://fyi.org.nz/help/officers

If you find this service useful as an Official Information officer, please ask your web manager to link to us from your organisation's OIA or LGOIMA page.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

This email is confidential and may contain information that is subject to legal privilege. If it is not intended for you please do not read, distribute or copy it or any attachments. Please notify the sender by return email and delete the original message and any attachments. Any views expressed in this email may be those of the individual sender and may not necessarily reflect the views of the Ministry.

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From: Anna Wilson

Hi Sophie,

Thank you for coming back to me, that approach sounds good.

Kind regards,

Anna Wilson

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From: OIA_requests (WHAIKAHA)
Ministry for Disabled People

IN-CONFIDENCE

Good afternoon Anna

I am writing in regards to your OIA request, our reference OIA2914.

I have been working to collate all the relevant emails from Emma and Brian's inboxes.

The OIA requires that we advise you of our decision on your request no later than 20 working days after the day we received your request. Unfortunately, it will not be possible to meet that time limit and I am therefore writing to notify you of an extension of the time to make our decision, to 12 August 2024.

This extension is necessary because your request necessitates a search through a large quantity of information and meeting the original time limit would unreasonably interfere with our operations, and consultations necessary to make a decision on your request are such that a proper response cannot reasonably be made within the original time limit.

As a lot of the correspondence in scope contains advice from other people, or relate to correspondence from other organisations, once I have finished packaging up all the relevant emails, I will need to consult others on the release of the material (including the Minister's office).

Please know that we will endeavour to get this information to you as soon as we can.

You have the right to seek an investigation and review by the Ombudsman of this decision. Information about how to make a complaint is available at http://www.ombudsman.parliament.nz/ or freephone 0800 802 602.

Ngā mihi

Sophie
Ministerial and Executive Services team
Ministry of Disabled People - Whaikaha
-----Original Message-----
From: Anna Wilson <[FOI #27143 email]>
Sent: Wednesday, June 26, 2024 11:10 AM
To: OIA_requests (WHAIKAHA) <[Ministry for Disabled People request email]>
Subject: RE: OIA2914 response

Hi Sophie,

Thank you for coming back to me, that approach sounds good.

Kind regards,

Anna Wilson

-----Original Message-----

IN-CONFIDENCE

Yes, I think I have a good understanding of the type of material you're after, so if there are other relevant keywords, we will use them too ---it won't be a matter of us excluding anything that doesn't contain the keywords listed below, but I think they will be a great starting point.

Ngā mihi
Sophie

-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #27143 email]

Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
https://fyi.org.nz/help/officers

If you find this service useful as an Official Information officer, please ask your web manager to link to us from your organisation's OIA or LGOIMA page.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

This email is confidential and may contain information that is subject to legal privilege. If it is not intended for you please do not read, distribute or copy it or any attachments. Please notify the sender by return email and delete the original message and any attachments. Any views expressed in this email may be those of the individual sender and may not necessarily reflect the views of the Ministry.

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From: OIA_requests (WHAIKAHA)
Ministry for Disabled People

Attachment OIA2943 response.pdf
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Attachment Appendix Redacted.pdf
1.2M Download View as HTML

IN-CONFIDENCE

Kia ora Anna

Please find our response attached.

Ngā mihi
Sophie
Whaikaha - Ministry of Disabled People

-----Original Message-----
From: Anna Wilson <[FOI #27143 email]>
Sent: Tuesday, June 25, 2024 2:11 PM
To: OIA_requests (WHAIKAHA) <[Ministry for Disabled People request email]>
Subject: Re: OIA2914 response

Good afternoon,

Thank you for this response to my official information act request.

In follow up, can I please request the below information:

1) All correspondence between Brian Coffey and Minister Simmonds' office (including Minister Simmonds, political staff, and seconded private secretaries) for the time period 01 February to 01 May

2) All correspondence between Emma Williams and Minister Simmonds' office (including Minister Simmonds, political staff, and seconded private secretaries), for the time period 01 February to 01 May

Kind regards,

Anna Wilson

-----Original Message-----

IN-CONFIDENCE

Kia ora Anna

Please find our response attached.

Ngā mihi

Sophie
Ministerial and Executive Services
Ministry of Disabled People - Whaikaha

This email is confidential and may contain information that is subject to legal privilege. If it is not intended for you please do not read, distribute or copy it or any attachments. Please notify the sender by return email and delete the original message and any attachments. Any views expressed in this email may be those of the individual sender and may not necessarily reflect the views of the Ministry.

-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #27143 email]

Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
https://fyi.org.nz/help/officers

If you find this service useful as an Official Information officer, please ask your web manager to link to us from your organisation's OIA or LGOIMA page.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

This email is confidential and may contain information that is subject to legal privilege. If it is not intended for you please do not read, distribute or copy it or any attachments. Please notify the sender by return email and delete the original message and any attachments. Any views expressed in this email may be those of the individual sender and may not necessarily reflect the views of the Ministry.

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