Kia ora Charles

 

Thank you for the information request below.  The Ministry will consider
and respond to your request in accordance with the Official Information
Act 1982 the Act).

 

Under section 15(1) of the Act, we are required to make and inform you of
our decision on your request as soon as reasonably practicable and in any
case not later than 20 working days after the day on which your request is
received. You can therefore expect to receive our decision on your request
on or before 30 April 2025. If more than 20 working days are needed due to
the potential workload and/or consultations involved in answering your
request, we will notify you accordingly.

 

The Ministry may publicly release on our website the response to your
request five days after you have received it. Any personal information
will be removed.

 

In the interim, if you have any questions about your request, please email
[1][email address]

 

Ngā mihi

 

Enquiries National Team | Te Tāhuhu o te Mātauranga | Ministry of
Education | TW

[2]education.govt.nz

We shape an education system that delivers equitable and excellent
outcomes
He mea tārai e mātou te mātauranga kia rangatira ai, kia mana taurite ai
ōna huanga
[3]Te TD huhu o te MD tauranga

 

 

 

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Tēnā koe Charles

 

Please find attached a letter regarding your request under the Official
Information Act.

  

Nāku noa, nā,

Official and Parliamentary Information | Ministry of Education | AM

[1]education.govt.nz

He mea tārai e mātou te mātauranga kia rangatira ai, kia mana taurite ai
ōna huanga
We shape an education system that delivers equitable and excellent
outcomes
[2][IMG]

 

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[UNCLASSIFIED]

Tēnā koe Charles

 

Thank you for your interest in the school lunches programme. Our focus is
to provide the 242,000 students in need with a nutritious meal, every
school day, to support learning and help students to thrive.

Our website includes more information about the school lunches programme
that may be of interest to you, including proactively released information
that can be found here:
[1]https://www.education.govt.nz/our-work/i....

The School Lunch Collective (SLC) has delivered over 8 million meals since
the beginning of term one, 2025. You can find out more about the SLC on
their website at [2]https://www.schoollunchcollective.co.nz/, where you
can view the menu and daily photographs of meals, and information on
delivery timeliness and surplus waste.

Your email of 29 March 2025 to the Ministry of Education (the Ministry)
requested the following information:

 1. What investigations have been undertaken specifically in relation to
the quality of the procurement for the school lunches debacle?
 2. Please share any internal, formal, or informal information gathered
about how the procurement was run, specifically how recommendation
were made.

Your request has been considered under the Official Information Act 1982
(the Act).

Regarding part one of your request, the Ministry commissioned Audit New
Zealand (Audit NZ) in July 2024 to provide independent assurance over its
procurement of suppliers for the Ka Ora, Ka Ako | Healthy School Lunches
Programme. Audit NZ reviewed the Ministry’s procurement process in real
time as it was conducted, and issued a report with findings and
conclusions on 22 October 2024.

We are refusing to provide a copy of the Audit NZ report under section
18(d) of the Act, as it is publicly available at the following link:

o Independent assurance over the procurement of providers for the Ka
Ora, Ka Ako | Healthy School Lunches Alternative Provision Model:
[3]https://web-assets.education.govt.nz/s3f....

The Ministry has proactively released documentation related to the
procurement process. We are therefore refusing part two of your request
under section 18(d) of the Act, as the information is publicly available
at the following links:

o Procurement Plan: Healthy School Lunches Alternative Provision Model:
[4]https://web-assets.education.govt.nz/s3f....
o Tender Evaluation Plan: Healthy School Lunches Alternative Provision
Model:
[5]https://web-assets.education.govt.nz/s3f....
o Negotiation Plan: Healthy School Lunches Alternative Provision Model:
[6]https://web-assets.education.govt.nz/s3f....
o Recommendation to Proceed to Negotiation: Healthy School Lunches
Alternative Provision Model:
[7]https://web-assets.education.govt.nz/s3f....
o Recommendation to Proceed to Contract: Healthy School Lunches
Alternative Provision Model:
[8]https://web-assets.education.govt.nz/s3f....
o Healthy School Lunches - Alternative Provision Model: Memo:
[9]https://web-assets.education.govt.nz/s3f....
o Services Agreement Ka Ora, Ka Ako | Healthy School Lunches Programme -
Integrated Supply Solution: Ministry of Education - Compass Group New
Zealand Limited:
[10]https://web-assets.education.govt.nz/s3f....

Please note, we may publish this response on our website after five
working days. Your name and contact details will be removed.

Thank you again for your email. You have the right to ask an Ombudsman to
review the decision on your request, in accordance with section 28 of the
Act. You can do this by writing to [11][email address] or to
Office of the Ombudsman, PO Box 10152, Wellington 6143. 

Nāku noa, nā,

Official and Parliamentary Information | Ministry of Education | ED

[12]education.govt.nz

He mea tārai e mātou te mātauranga kia rangatira ai, kia mana taurite ai
ōna huanga
We shape an education system that delivers equitable and excellent
outcomes
[13][IMG]

 

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