16 December 2021
C142194
Phoebe Moran
[FYI request #16995 email]
Tēnā koe Phoebe
Thank you for your Official Information Act Request of 1 October 2021 to the
Department of Corrections – Ara Poutama Aotearoa (Corrections), requesting the
following information:
1) How much money has the Department budgeted for its COVID-19 response since
January 1, 2020? Please break this down by budgetary line item. Please break this
down by financial year.
2) What has been the actual Departmental spend on its COVID-19 response since
January 1, 2020? Please break this down by budgetary line item. Please break this
down by financial year.
Your request has been considered under the Official Information Act 1982 (OIA).
Corrections continues to take a proactive approach to COVID-19 recovery activities.
We have scaled the number of personnel assigned to COVID-19 related activities up
and down as required at different stages of our response.
As alert levels changed, Corrections’ response has also changed, focusing on risk
mitigation and containment at the higher alert levels, as well as prevention
throughout. This includes safety measures at prisons, Community Corrections sites,
regional offices, and national office. Corrections’ COVID-19 recovery includes a
vaccination programme for staff and people in prison, and a workstream for on-going
response measures across all areas of Corrections.
Early in the COVID-19 response, Corrections was allocated funding from the COVID-
19 Response and Recovery Fund to help with PPE procurement, paid leave for sick
workers, and more. You can find information here, on page 11:
https://www.treasury.govt.nz/system/files/2020-05/b20-sum-initiatives-crrf.pdf
Appendix One provides Covid Response and Recovery Fund (CRRF) budgeted
funding and actual spend for 2019/20 to 2023/24, as at 29 October 2021.
NATIONAL OFFICE, WELLINGTON
Mayfair House, 44 – 52 The Terrace, Wellington, 6011, Private Box 1206, Wellington 6140,
Phone +64 4 460 3000
www.corrections.govt.nz
2
You may also be interested to know that the Government has publicly released a
variety of documents relating to decisions about its response to COVID-19. These
can be found at the following link:
https://covid19.govt.nz/alert-levels-and-updates/proactive-releases/ Please note that this response may be published on Corrections’ website. Typically,
responses are published quarterly, or as otherwise determined. Your personal
information including name and contact details will be removed for publication.
I encourage you to raise any concerns about this response with Corrections.
Alternatively, you are advised of your right to also raise any concerns with the Office
of the Ombudsman. Contact details are: Office of the Ombudsman, PO Box 10152,
Wellington 6143.
Ngā mihi
ppJo Perez
Deputy Chief Executive
Finance, Planning & Assurance
Appendix One – Covid-19 Related funding and spending for 2019/20 to 2023/24, as at 29 October 2021i
Funded
Actual
Funded
Actual
Funded
Actual
Funded
Funded
2019/20
2019/20
2020/21
2020/21
2021/22
YTD
2022/23
2023/24
($m)
($m)
($m)
($m)
($m)
2021/22
($m)
($m)
($m)
CRRF OPEX:
COVID-19 - Addressing the Department of Corrections' Annual Leave Costs
13.250
11.350
-
-
-
2.500
-
-
Maintaining Connectivity Between our Staff, and Between People in our
1.377
0.340
6.375
6.375
3.075
0.769
3.075
3.075
Care and their Whānau during COVID-19
COVID - Personal Protective Equipment
9.192
7.047
3.852
4.086
-
0.610
-
-
Responding to COVID-19 by Strengthening our Health, Safety and Wellbeing,
0.101
0.101
2.298
2.100
-
0.500
-
-
and Communications Capacity and Capability
Savings Initiatives as per Budget 20 documentation
(16.670)
(11.735)
-
-
-
-
-
-
COVID -19 - Supported Accommodation
1.753
0.285
-
-
-
-
-
Thermal Imaging Detection System - COVID-19
0.075
0.075
0.350
0.350
0.352
0.075
0.354
0.356
Justice Sector Resourcing to Address COVID-19 Related Backlogs
-
-
0.098
0.098
0.195
0.049
0.195
-
Mayfair House: Offsetting COVID-19 Redevelopment Delay Impacts
-
-
0.034
0.034
1.246
0.311
0.096
0.096
Te Maihi o te Whare Māori - Māori & Iwi Housing Innovation (MAIHI) - NRCF
-
-
1.100
-
1.500
-
1.500
1.500
Waikeria PPP – Outcome of COVID-19 Negotiations
-
-
1.050
1.050
5.100
0.700
5.100
4.100
CRRF CAPEX:
Maintaining Connectivity Between our Staff, and Between People in our
5.343
5.343
-
-
-
-
-
-
Care and their Whānau during COVID-19
Thermal Imaging Detection System - COVID-19
0.843
0.791
-
-
-
-
Mayfair House: Offsetting COVID-19 Redevelopment Delay Impacts
-
-
0.163
0.163
0.800
0.800
-
-
Te Maihi o te Whare Māori - Māori and Iwi Housing Innovation (MAIHI) -
-
-
3.600
-
-
-
-
-
Northland Region Corrections Facility
Waikeria PPP – Outcome of COVID-19 Negotiations
-
-
35.000
35.000
1.185
-
2.445
-
Department of Corrections – C142194
i In some instances, money may be reprioritised from baseline funding or one budgeted line to another, if needed and within stewardship responsibilities
for ring fenced funding. This has been required in some cases as the Covid Response and Recovery Fund (CRRF) was established in response to COVID-19 in
quarter four of 2019/20 financial year, however, funding requests were made based on estimated Covid-19 disruption under an elimination setting. The
subsequent emergence of COVID-19 variants and changing operational and fiscal requirements was not known at the time and accordingly the funding
detailed above represented an assessment of response costs for the initial wave of COVID-19 only.
Other Notes:
• Where there are unspent funds it has been returned to Treasury and so retained in the CRRF.
• The scope of the PP&E expenditure included in the analysis is the same as that funded from the CRRF (i.e. it does not represent full expenditure on all
PP&E).
• Waikeria PPP costs relate to the negotiation and settlement reached in June 2020.
• It is noted that the Te Maihi o te Whare Māori - Māori and Iwi Housing Innovation (MAIHI) - Northland Region Corrections Facility (NRCF) was not
necessarily a Covid-19 related initiative, however, funding was released at the same time as the CRRF so it has been provided for process convenience.
This $3.6m capital funding was to develop an on-site construction facility at NRCF which has been delayed. Options for the utilisation of this funding to
achieve intended outcomes are still being assessed.
• The actual costs shown above are for those elements that relate to funding that was provided through the CRRF. It should be noted the department is
incurring other costs relating to the ongoing COVID-19 response and its impacts on our operating settings.
Department of Corrections – C142194
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