Output Performance - Vote Finance

Statement of Forecast Service Performance Section 38 Public Finance Act 1989

This section provides information about the services and activities (outputs) that the Treasury intends to provide during the 2007/08 financial year.

Over the 2006/07 year, we significantly changed our output structure, moving from nine outputs to six. This change will better support the delivery of our three outcomes and provide an accountability framework for our output delivery and results focus. It will also help us to manage our business more efficiently and effectively.

Descriptions of the Treasury’s six output classes follow, along with some performance measures and cost information. Through introducing results specification to all areas of our work we are introducing better measures of performance. Performance measures of quantity, quality and timeliness will be developed for these results, and the outputs given below will be linked to them.

Detailed service performance standards for all output classes can be found on page 42.

Vote Finance at a glance

Policy advice: State sector performance

This class of outputs involves the provision of policy advice related to ensuring the work of the State sector represents value for money in achieving the Government’s aims and objectives. This includes advice on:

• fiscal and financial management of all government agencies
• specific agency or entity performance (including Crown entities, Crown companies, Crown financial institutions and State-owned enterprises)
• in-depth performance analysis of priority agencies or sectors
• the overall performance of the public management system including thematic and cross-cutting analysis, eg, capital asset management.

The Treasury is seeking to differentiate the level of advice and service routinely provided on, or to, different government agencies and sectors. Those agencies and sectors judged priorities will be a focus for Treasury advice and services. Priority agencies and sectors will be significant for State sector performance, fiscal management, or economic performance.

For all departments and votes, Treasury advice and services will include:

• management of core government Budget processes
• efficient support of good financial management and probity within agencies
• maintaining an informed overview to foresee significant emerging financial or performance risks.

For priority sectors and agencies, Treasury advice will extend to in-depth performance analysis, including a focus on the most efficient and effective policies, regulation, administration and delivery to achieve the Government’s aims and objectives.

Empirical and analytical research will also be undertaken as required to inform the above policy advice.

Performance dimensions[*]

Quality

• Outputs produced under this output expense related to reporting on the financial performance of SOEs, Crown Research Institutes (CRIs) and other Crown companies monitored by CCMAU will be undertaken in conjunction with CCMAU.
• Outputs produced in relation to Housing New Zealand Corporation will be undertaken in conjunction with the Ministry of Housing.

Policy advice: Economic performance

This class of outputs involves the provision of policy advice and services relating to helping the Government to improve New Zealand’s economic performance. This includes helping Ministers, the Government and State agencies understand policies that are important for economic growth and the connections between overall economic performance and other desired outcomes when developing strategies and evaluating intervention options.

The advice the Treasury will provide includes:

• analysis and advice to Ministers on broad economic strategies to promote economic growth and their impact on living standards
• analysing the drivers of productivity growth and advising Ministers on the policies, regulations and institutional arrangements that best achieve improved overall economic performance
• advice on trade-offs between these and other government outcomes.

The Treasury’s advice will concentrate on those policy areas that are most significant and pervasive for New Zealand’s economic performance. These are:

• financial markets, investment and savings
• competition and regulatory frameworks
• sustainable environment, particularly climate change
• skills acquisition and schooling outcomes
• taxation
• international connections
• infrastructure: energy, telecommunications, transport
• innovation
• Auckland
• labour market performance
• social mobility.

In addition, the Treasury will:

• continue to measure and monitor New Zealand’s economic performance
• undertake empirical and analytical research to inform policy advice.

Performance dimensions[*]

Quality

Outputs produced under this output expense are to be undertaken in conjunction with Inland Revenue and other relevant collection agencies where reports are produced on revenue policy issues.