Central Agency Leadership

A high-performing, trusted and accessible State sector, delivering the right things in the right way at the right prices.

The common purpose of the central agencies is a shared or mutual interest in a high-performing, trusted and accessible State sector. Central agencies have a key leadership role to play in aligning the activities of the State services with Government’s priorities and making sure that Ministers receive the best possible advice before making decisions. Each central agency has its own key responsibilities, but they also require contributions from the other two agencies.

• The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (DPMC) exists to support the process of collective decision-making, to convey Cabinet’s decisions to the relevant Ministers and officials and ensure that the Cabinet receives well-conceived and coordinated advice. DPMC also has a leadership role in relation to government themes and priorities, including conveying government’s priorities to officials.
  
  
• The Treasury exists to monitor and manage the financial affairs of the Government and to provide economic and fiscal policy advice. Treasury is the key agency to support Ministers in balancing priorities through the Budget process. They provide insight into the efficiency and effectiveness of government agencies and their interventions.
  
  
• The State Services Commission exists to appoint and manage Public Service chief executives, to provide leadership in capability of agencies, sectors and systems, and to ensure that State servants are appropriately focussed on addressing the Government’s priorities.

In 2006 an independent in-depth review of the central agencies was completed. While the review pointed to successes, Ministers agreed that more is needed from the Central Agencies, both jointly and separately, if we are to lift performance in the State sector. Central Agencies must:

Provide effective leadership

Central agencies need to take responsibility for making our devolved system work. To that end, central agencies will work alongside other agencies on specific issues.

Central agencies will work to give Ministers better information and advice, We will ensure that the right guidance and monitoring is in place to enable the system to run smoothly ensuring agencies will have a clear understanding of Ministers’ performance expectations.

Focus on the things that matter

Central agency efforts need to be better targeted to where they are going to have the most impact on results. Central agencies will focus on priority issues and get action on these while retaining responsibility for a system-wide view.

Work together more effectively

By sharing information and integrating aspects of our planning, we will aim to develop joint views on where priority issues lie. We can then identify where there is value in taking joint action on issues, or where separate action is likely to be more productive.

In 2007/08 the central agencies will work in a number of areas including:

• Cross-government policy issues – central agencies will provide the leadership and support needed to achieve progress on complex issues where government expects to see significant shifts in outcomes. These issues often cross agency and sector boundaries.
  
  
• State systems improvement – central agencies will work together where systems improvements would significantly assist government to deliver on priorities.
  
  
• Central agency organisational improvements – each central agency is changing and better aligning its internal processes to more effectively carry out the shared central agency role.

Measurement

Feedback, through an annual survey to State sector agency leaders, and from central agencies Ministers, indicates that central agencies are adding-value to State sector performance.

The Treasury’s approach to our central agency commitments

We plan to embed our responsibilities under our central agency role at all levels in the work we undertake. To provide momentum for this, we have recently appointed a Deputy Secretary Central Agencies and a team to support that focus in the Central Agencies Group.

The agreed priorities the central agencies will be progressing together are:

• sustainability (including climate change)
• engagement and achievement of youth in education
• State sector reprioritisation.

They will be working alongside other groups, and in particular in the State Sector Performance Group, to ensure that:

• the Treasury’s central agency leadership role is fully understood and complementary to other central agencies
• the Treasury provides good leadership and adds value to the State sector via that central agency role
• there are constructive and consistent central agency engagements with the wider State sector on performance improvement.