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Publications ~ Statement of Intent 2003-2006

THE ROLE OF THE DEPARTMENT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (DPMC) was established in January 1990 to provide impartial, high-quality advice and support to the Executive (the Prime Minister, the Governor- General and the Cabinet). The services provided by DPMC flow from the various roles performed by the Prime Minister and the Governor- General in our system of Government.

Role and Structure

The Prime Minister is the political leader of the government and the country – and its main public “face”. The Prime Minister is also the chair of Cabinet, and the person responsible for the effective operation of collective government. These roles combine political and executive responsibilities.

Supporting the Prime Minister and Cabinet

DPMC supports the Prime Minister’s twin roles as leader of the government and chair of Cabinet, and has explicit responsibility for promoting co-ordination across the public service. DPMC provides three kinds of direct support to the Prime Minister.

The first of these key areas of support is for issues that are the direct responsibility of the Prime Minister; constitutional issues, including those associated with the formation of governments; and issues associated with the operation of the Cabinet system.

Secondly, continuing support is provided on current issues across the range of government business. As the political head of the government, the Prime Minister must have an overview of government activity and access to information on any and all issues that arise. DPMC cannot provide this overview and information on its own. It must work with the rest of the machinery of government to provide information and advice on particular issues. This provides a further imperative for DPMC to ensure that the system of public-service support for the government can come together swiftly and ably to support the Prime Minister and other ministers.

Thirdly, DPMC provides administrative support to the Prime Minister (and also to the Governor-General). This includes services to the Prime Minister – such as preparing replies to Parliamentary questions, and dealing with Official Information Act requests and other correspondence. In many cases, this involves working directly with other agencies as the Prime Minister’s role takes her across all areas of government business.

A totally separate body, the Office of the Prime Minister, also advises the Prime Minister and is the primary point for coalition management.

Supporting the Governor-General

DPMC also supports the Governor-General in carrying out her functions. New Zealand is a constitutional monarchy. This means that the Queen is Head of State of New Zealand, but her powers and those of her representative, the Governor-General, are exercised generally only on the advice of ministers and the government. The Governor-General is, therefore, a significant figure in the constitutional framework, with important constitutional, ceremonial, and community roles.

Bringing the system together

A great deal of DPMC’s activities focus on facilitating government decision making at a strategic and operational level. A major role is to help co-ordinate the work of the core public service departments and ministries – so that decision making takes account of all relevant viewpoints and is as coherent and complete as possible.

The people who work at DPMC come from a wide range of backgrounds – including being seconded from other government departments or outside organisations. Issues are responded to as required and DPMC may be asked to set up units or task forces from time to time to provide advice on a particular issue (or issues) within a specified length of time.

A recent example is the Climate Change project team, which was brought together in 2001 to develop and implement the government’s policies on climate change. This responsibility has now been transferred to the Ministry for the Environment.

Structure of DPMC

DPMC has the following six business units:

• The Cabinet Office provides impartial secretariat services to the Executive Council, Cabinet and Cabinet committees. One of its key roles is to provide neutral advice and information on the policies, processes and procedures relating to the Executive Council and Cabinet – including impartial advice to the Governor-General, the Prime Minister and other ministers on constitutional and procedural issues. It also administers the conventions and practices contained in the Cabinet Manual. Other functions include assisting in the coordination of the government’s legislative programme. The Honours Secretariat of the Cabinet Office is responsible for the administration of the New Zealand Royal Honours System. The Secretary of the Cabinet, as Clerk of the Executive Council, also has overall responsibility for policy and administration of the Office of the Governor-General.

 

• The Policy Advisory Group is responsible for providing neutral advice on issues of the day directly to the Prime Minister and, on occasion, to other ministers. An important part of its job is to coordinate the advice coming in from different government departments, so that the Prime Minister is given coherent and impartial advice. The group contributes to policy development across the full range of government business.

 

• The External Assessments Bureau makes assessments of external events and developments to inform government decision making, using the widest possible range of information from open and secret sources. The reports produced are intended to inform the Prime Minister, other senior ministers, senior government officials, and New Zealand’s diplomatic representatives overseas about external political, economic, security, environmental, scientific and strategic
  developments of significance to New Zealand’s national interests. Reports are also produced to inform the members of inter-departmental watch groups that co-ordinate New Zealand’s responses to external crises and threats to New Zealand.

 

• DPMC’s Corporate Services Unit co-ordinates the production of the Statement of Intent, Annual Report, Output Plan and other reporting requirements under the Public Finance Act 1989 and the State Sector Act 1988. It negotiates and administers employment agreements, co-ordinates the selection and appointment of new staff, maintains personal files and leave records, and develops and implements human-resource policies. It supplies accounting services, financial reporting, and payroll services. The unit plays a significant role in information-systems management, planning, development and support to the rest of DPMC.

 

• The Domestic and External Security Secretariat (DESS) coordinates central government action aimed at protecting New Zealand’s domestic and external security, including intelligence, counter-terrorism preparedness, emergency and crisis management, and defence operations. This includes advising the Prime Minister on such matters. DESS also acts as the secretariat to the Officials Committee for Domestic and External Security Coordination (ODESC).

 

• Government House is responsible for providing administrative and support services for the Governor-General to enable her to carry out the functions of the office. This includes the maintenance of Government House and its grounds in Wellington, as well as the smaller Government House in Auckland.

 

DPMC has 121 staff including secondees from other departments. Its annual appropriation for outputs for 2003/04 is broken down as follows:

Departmental Output Class		2003/04 Appropriation $000
Policy advice and secretariat and co-ordination services		$7,104
Support services to the Governor-General and maintenance of the residences		$3,526
Intelligence assessments on developments overseas		$3,129
Total departmental appropriation		$13,759