Report of the Crown Company Monitoring and Advisory Unit Review Team: Phase II - Scope, Form and Location

Introduction#

The Crown Company Monitoring Advisory Unit (CCMAU) is a semi-autonomous body attached to the Treasury. The Executive Director of CCMAU is employed by the Chief Executive of the Treasury, but is operationally independent. CCMAU was set up to provide a stream of ownership monitoring advice to Ministers about Crown companies, independently from the Treasury. The ownership monitoring roles of CCMAU and the Treasury are complementary, with CCMAU focusing on entity performance at a company level, while the Treasury focuses on the economic and fiscal implications of the Crown's investment.

In May 2000 Cabinet agreed:

• to transfer the health ownership monitoring unit from CCMAU to the Ministry of Health (CCMAU Review - Phase I); and
• that Treasury and the State Services Commission, in consultation with CCMAU and other affected departments, should review the functions of CCMAU with particular reference to scope, form and location and should report back to the Cabinet Committee on Government Expenditure and Administration (CCMAU Review - Phase II).

Following phase II of the CCMAU Review, Cabinet has decided that, in addition to its current responsibilities, CCMAU should monitor the ownership interest in:

• The Public Trust;
• The Lotteries Commission; and
• Learning Media Ltd.

CCMAU has also been asked to assist the Department of Internal Affairs to monitor the Fire Service Commission for the next twelve months in order to help the Department upgrade its monitoring capability.

CCMAU will continue to monitor Housing New Zealand Ltd during the transition to the new Housing New Zealand Corporation (up to 12 months), however the Ministry of Housing will retain overall responsibility for Housing New Zealand Corporation, including its subsidiaries.

Cabinet endorsed a role for CCMAU as a centre of excellence in ownership monitoring, board member selection, and corporate governance in the state sector, with responsibility for leading and enhancing ownership monitoring networks within departments.

Additionally, Cabinet has decided that CCMAU should be retained as a semi-autonomous body attached to the Treasury. However, if CCMAU gets larger than 30 FTEs, more work should be done to determine the costs and benefits of establishing it as a separate department under the State Sector Act (1988).