PDF File - Guidance to Departments in Relation to Crown Entities

F. Budget process
Departments should support government budget processes by:
• distributing budget round information (timetables, templates,
etc) to entities
• working with entities to align entity planning and budget processes
• working with entities to understand, improve and critically
assess proposals
• ranking bids against other bids from the sector on value-formoney
criteria, and
• ensuring all successful bids are reflected in accountability
documents (e.g. SOI, output agreements), after budget
decisions are released to Crown entities.
The department is
responsible for
ensuring all proposals
make a robust case for
funding, are accurate,
and comply with
Treasury’s Budget
Circular
The department is responsible for ensuring all proposals make a
robust case for funding, are accurate, and comply with Treasury’s
Budget Circular 16 . Proposals should include a cost-benefit
analysis 17 , and lay out how major benefits will be demonstrated.
Entities should prioritise their own bids. All bids will be forwarded
to the Minister for decision with advice from the department on
their strengths, weaknesses and priority.
Funding proposals may be submitted outside budget rounds, but
only for urgent matters. Out-of-budget proposals may count
against the allocation in the next budget for the relevant Vote(s).
They should not be processed unless they rank over competing
bids likely to be presented in the next budget. Late funding
requests can reflect poor planning or indicate capability risks in the
entity that should be monitored.
All requests for increases in compulsory levies, fees and charges
should be presented to the Minister well ahead of the proposed
implementation date. Like budget bids, departments should work
with entities to improve requests for levy increases, but assess
them critically. The Minister should be advised on whether costs
can be absorbed, why the levy represents value to levy payers,
how consultation with those affected by the change will be
managed, and any risks arising from the increase.
These responsibilities do not displace the department’s vote
administration roles of:
• providing budget and budget update coordination and quality
assurance
16 Available at http://www.treasury.govt.nz/budgetprocessguide/
17 The extent or depth of the analysis should reflect the cost, impacts and risks
of the proposal.
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