Budget 2019 Bilateral with Minister Martin
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Treasury Report: Budget 2019 Bilateral with Minister Martin Date: 12 March 2019 Report No: T2019/358 File Number: DH-53 Action Sought Action Sought Deadline Minister of Finance Note the contents of this report 5pm Thursday 14 March 2019 (Hon Grant Robertson) Contact for Telephone Discussion (if required) Name Position Telephone 1st Contact Rebekah Menzies Analyst, Welfare and [39] N/A Oranga Tamariki (wk) (mob) Bridget Duley Senior Analyst, Welfare [39] N/A and Oranga Tamariki (wk) (mob) Sam Tendeter Manager, Welfare and [39] [23] Oranga Tamariki (wk) (mob) Actions for the Minister’s Office Staff (if required) Return the signed report to Treasury Note any feedback on the quality of the report Enclosure: No Treasury:4074228v1 Treasury Report: Budget 2019 Bilateral with Minister Martin Executive Summary You are meeting with Minister Martin (the Minister) at 5pm on Thursday 14 March for a discussion on the package of Budget 2019 initiatives the Minister has submitted for the Children and Internal Affairs portfolios. The Minister may also want to discuss initiatives submitted by the Minister of Social Development under the Seniors portfolio (Minister Martin is the Minister responsible for this portfolio), and learning support initiatives submitted by the Minister of Education. For Budget 2019, agencies sought $7.500 billion operating per annum and $14.500 billion capital. The Treasury has assessed individual initiatives and moderated these assessments across teams to ensure a consistent approach. Overall, Treasury Vote Teams support initiatives totalling $3.400 billion operating per annum, and $7.600 billion capital. Minister Martin sought [33] operating over four years and [33] capital for Budget 2019 across the Children and Internal Affairs portfolios. Of these initiatives, Vote Teams supported [33] operating over four years and [33] capital. The draft package considered at Cabinet Committees in the week beginning Monday 4 March 2019 included [33] operating over four years and [33] capital for these portfolios (T2019/359 refers). Minister Martin is seeking significant investment in Oranga Tamariki’s transformation Following the Modernising Child, Youth and Family Expert Advisory Panel (EAP) report in 2015 and legislation passed in 2016 and 2017, Minister Martin is seeking to invest in the transformation of Oranga Tamariki, focusing on the priority areas of Intensive Intervention, Care, Youth Justice, Transitions, and improving outcomes for Māori tamariki. The current Budget 2019 package contains [33] operating over four years and [33] [33] capital for Oranga Tamariki’s transformation, and [33] operating over four years in non-discretionary cost pressures. There are options for further scaling across the Oranga Tamariki core operating model bids, however these carry some risk. There are also options to invest further in some areas to achieve wellbeing outcomes. The overall balance of investment within this package could likely be adjusted ahead of funding decisions, following feedback from Oranga Tamariki and Minister Martin. Given the significant investment proposed, we recommend that Ministers maintain some oversight over the Oranga Tamariki Transformation as it is implemented, which would involve some funding being kept in a contingency, with drawdown being tied to a series of six monthly or annual report backs to Cabinet. This would allow Cabinet to change track progress, and shift resources or change course if necessary in future years. Minister Martin is seeking to invest in policy capability at the Department of Internal Affairs, and in the National Library and Archives New Zealand Minister Martin is seeking $29.899 million operating over four years to build the Department of Internal Affairs’ (DIA) policy capability. Ministers have expressed frustration that DIA is unable to service all of their priorities within existing resources. The Treasury does not support this initiative, and it has not been included for consideration in draft packages. T2019/358 : Treasury Report: Budget 2019 Bilateral with Minister Martin Page 2 Three initiatives have been submitted by Minister Martin to strengthen the contribution of the National Library and Archives New Zealand (combined total of [33] operating over four years and [33] capital). Two of these initiatives are supported by the Treasury, but not included in draft packages. The third (seeking funding [33] [33] ) is a late initiative. You have not yet indicated whether it should be included for consideration in Budget 2019. The Treasury supports a small element of this initiative. Recommended Action We recommend that you: a note the contents of this report in advance of your Budget 2019 bilateral discussion with Minister Martin at 5pm on Thursday 14 March 2019; b note that if further scaling of Oranga Tamariki’s bids is needed, we recommend that Treasury and Oranga Tamariki work together to provide advice on a proposed package within any fiscal envelope; and c note the following talking points, which you may wish to discuss with Minister Martin: Children Portfolio • What is your view on the balance of investment across the core operating model initiatives in the current package? • Which areas would you suggest be considered for further scaling? What are the associated risks? • The Treasury is recommending funding is linked to continued ministerial oversight of Oranga Tamariki’s transformation. You may wish to set out your expectation that some funding from year two onwards is set aside in contingency with draw down linked to Cabinet report backs (annual or bi-annual), focusing in particular or workforce and recruitment, establishing partnerships, and the ‘learn and grow’ approach. T2019/358 : Treasury Report: Budget 2019 Bilateral with Minister Martin Page 3 Internal Affairs Portfolio • What do you consider to be your priority initiatives across the Internal Affairs portfolio? • There is a high demand across government for policy resource and limited additional capability to meet it, so departments must manage work carefully. How do DIA portfolio Ministers allocate policy resource and decide priorities across portfolios, and does this include considering stopping some lower priority work? • Given the wider pressures on Budget allowances, what investments would you prioritise to strengthen the National Library and Archives New Zealand? • Do you have any views on the future funding of the Office of Film and Literature Classification? Sam Tendeter Manager, Welfare and Oranga Tamariki Hon Grant Robertson Minister of Finance T2019/358 : Treasury Report: Budget 2019 Bilateral with Minister Martin Page 4 Treasury Report: Budget 2019 Bilateral with Minister Martin Purpose of Report 1. The purpose of this report is to provide background information and advice for your bilateral discussion with Minister Martin (the Minister) at 5pm on Thursday 14 March 2019, focusing on the Children and Internal Affairs portfolios. 2.