Fiscal Performance
DC made this Official Information request to Ministry of Social Development
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From: DC
Dear Ministry of Social Development,
Please treat this as a request for official information under the Official Information Act 1982.
This request is made in the public interest to support transparency around how fiscal responsibility, workforce growth, and leadership accountability are reflected in MSD’s operating model. As someone with a strong interest in the performance and efficiency of large public organisations, I believe this information is essential to understanding scale, structure, and resource prioritisation over time.
The information requested below should be readily available through internal financial and operational reporting.
1. Budget vs Actual Expenditure by Executive Portfolio – FY2021 to FY2024
For each financial year from FY2021 to FY2024, please provide the following for each Deputy Chief Executive (DCE) or equivalent ELT member’s portfolio (i.e., all cost centres and operational areas reporting to them):
- The approved annual budget and actual expenditure.
- If any dollar values are considered sensitive, percentage variance (over/under budget) is acceptable as an alternative.
- Please include the name of the relevant DCE or ELT member responsible for each portfolio in each year.
2. FTE by Executive Portfolio – FY2021 to Present
For each DCE or Executive Leadership Team portfolio, please provide:
- The budgeted FTE vs actual FTE for each financial year from FY2021 through to the current financial year to date.
- The year-on-year change in actual FTE (as a number or percentage).
- If more granular reporting (e.g. quarterly or mid-year tracking) is available internally, that level of detail is welcomed.
In addition, for front-line or service delivery roles, please provide:
- Any instances since FY2021 to the date of this request where increases in FTE were sought and approved.
- Copies of or excerpts from approval documentation, such as ELT or Ministerial/Board memos, that supported or approved additional headcount for front-line services (e.g. service centres, contact centres, work brokers, case management, etc.).
These are foundational indicators of fiscal discipline, organisational scale, and accountability for delivery. If any aspect of the request is likely to require substantial collation under section 18(f) of the Act, I’d appreciate early notice so I can consider refining the scope.
Yours faithfully,
DC
From: OIA_Requests (MSD)
Ministry of Social Development
Tçnâ koe DC,
Thank you for your email received 15 July 2025, under the Official Information Act 1982. Your request has been forwarded to the appropriate officials at National Office to respond.
Ngâ manaakitanga,
Official Information Team | Ministerial and Executive Services
Ministry of Social Development
Our Purpose:
We help New Zealanders to help themselves to be safe, strong and independent
Ko ta mâtou he whakamana tangata kia tû haumaru, kia tû kaha, kia tû motuhake
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From: OIA_Requests (MSD)
Ministry of Social Development
IN-CONFIDENCE
Kia ora DC,
I am writing to you regarding your request for information below.
This email is to advise you the Ministry requires more time to respond to this request. In accordance with section 15(1) and 15A of the Official Information Act, the Ministry’s decision will be with you by 3 September 2025.
The reason for the extension is that consultations necessary to make a decision on the request are such that a proper response to the request cannot reasonably be made within the original time limit.
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 0800 802 602.
If you wish to discuss any aspect of your request with us, including this decision, please feel free to contact [MSD request email]
We will respond to you sooner if we can.
Ngâ mihi,
Lucy
Official Information Team | Ministerial and Executive Services
Ministry of Social Development
Our Purpose:
We help New Zealanders to help themselves to be safe, strong and independent
Ko ta mâtou he whakamana tangata kia tû haumaru, kia tû kaha, kia tû motuhak
show quoted sections
From: OIA_Requests (MSD)
Ministry of Social Development
Dear DC
We refer to your request made to the Ministry of Social Development (the
Ministry) under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act), on 15 July
2025.
The below part of your request is broad in scope and is likely to be
refused under section 18(f) of the Act as substantial manual collation
would be required to provide the information requested.
- Any instances since FY2021 to the date of this request where increases
in FTE were sought and approved.
- Copies of or excerpts from approval documentation, such as ELT or
Ministerial/Board memos, that supported or approved additional headcount
for front-line services (e.g. service centres, contact centres, work
brokers, case management, etc.).
As such, we suggest that you refine your request to enable us to provide
the information you are seeking. We recommend refining your request, for
example, by requesting all decisions that have resulted in staff increases
as this will allow the Ministry to conduct a more targeted search.
Please note that once you have refined your request, under section 15(1AA)
of the Official Information Act, the Ministry will treat your refined
request as a new request that replaces the original request. This restarts
the 20-working day response period. This is required to ensure that the
Ministry has enough time to process your request
If you do not refine your request by 14 August 2025, the Ministry will
proceed with your original request. Please note that this is likely to
result in a partial refusal of your original request.
Please confirm whether you agree with the refinement proposed.
Yours sincerely
Official Information team | Ministerial and Executive Services
Ministry of Social Development
Our Purpose:
We help New Zealanders to be safe, strong and independent.
Manaaki Tangata, Manaaki Whānau.
This email and any attachments may contain information that is
confidential and subject to legal privilege. If you are not the intended
recipient, any use, dissemination, distribution or duplication of this
email and attachments is prohibited. If you have received this email in
error please notify the author immediately and erase all copies of the
email and attachments. The Ministry of Social Development accepts no
responsibility for changes made to this message or attachments after
transmission from the Ministry.
From: DC
Dear OIA_Requests (MSD),
I am comfortable with the suggestion you have provided for the revision of the request.
Also happy to limit to requests with greater than an additional 10 FTE increase.
Yours sincerely,
DC
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- Download a zip file of all correspondence (note: this contains the same information already available above).
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