Vote Customs Standard Estimates Questionnaire 2018/19

Transcription

1 Vote Customs Standard Estimates Questionnaire 2018/19 The outcomes that the Vote aims to achieve 1. Which agencies will be using funds from this Vote, and who are the responsible Ministers? The New Zealand Customs Service (NZCS) is the only agency that incurs expenditure under Vote Customs. The Minister of Customs, Hon Meka Whaitiri, is the responsible Minister for Vote Customs. 2. What outcomes does the Vote aim to achieve? The four outcomes sought from expenditure for Vote Customs are set out on page 10 of the NZCS Statement of Intent (available from the NZCS website at 3. What does each of the agencies funded by the Vote contribute to these outcomes? NZCS contributes to the outcomes sought from expenditure for Vote Customs discussed in the response to question Sometimes more than one Vote or department is working towards the same outcome. Where this is happening, explain which other Votes and/or departments are involved (in working towards the same outcome), what resources they will be using and how, and how results will be reported. While NZCS s outcomes are not formally shared with another Vote or department, NZCS continues to work with other border agencies to deliver efficiencies and provide a more seamless service for customers, and with other security intelligence and law enforcement agencies (particularly New Zealand Police) to protect New Zealand from threats such as illicit drugs, weapons, and objectionable material. Significant changes to expenditure under the Vote 5. Please describe the most significant factors (including social, environmental, or economic) that have affected the type and amount of the appropriations sought under the Vote in 2018/19. The main factors affecting the type and amount of appropriations sought under Vote Customs for 2018/19 are: increased service demands including the expected continuing growth in trade and travel volumes; increasing diversity of NZCS s customer base (resulting in changing and increasing demands on NZCS s customer service and new risks to be managed); and threats arising from the changing geopolitical environment (the new Exports: Reducing Overseas Customs Delays for New Zealand Exporters initiative contained in Part 1.1 New Policy Initiatives of The Estimates of Appropriations 2018/19 for Vote Customs provides funding in 2018/19 for NZCS to further streamline border processes for trans- Tasman trade) increased complexity in the nature of cross-border crime and security risks, and more organised and sophisticated trans-national criminal offending, particularly relating to illicit drugs (the new Drug Smuggling Networks: Strategic Disruption initiative contained in Part 1.1 New Policy Initiatives of The Estimates of Appropriations 2018/19 for Vote Customs will help NZCS respond to risks relating to illicit drugs in Vote Customs Standard Estimates Questionnaire 2018/19 Page 1

2 2018/19 and outyears through activity to strategically target and disrupt drug supply chains, including proactively disrupting smuggling activity offshore) the continued drive to improve the border experience for users, and improve efficiency, through more tailored programmes for lower-risk users and the introduction and use of technology (such as the Trade Single Window, egates, and mobile devices at the frontline) continued efforts to provide greater assurance at the border, including activity to increase voluntary compliance and focus resources on risk the work required to support the implementation of the new Customs and Excise Act. 6. What is planned for significant capital expenditure and investment, including information system investments, for 2018/19 and out-years? How will this capital expenditure and investment be funded? How does the level of planned capital expenditure and investment differ from 2017/18, and why? What, if any, delays or curtailment of capital projects/investment have there been, why, and what is the expected impact on service delivery? NZCS s priorities for capital expenditure over the next four years are: to ensure the health and safety of NZCS staff further investment in cost-effective technology-based service delivery solutions continuing to invest in continuous improvement to deliver better services and realise efficiencies maintaining and replacing key business systems and operational equipment. A major programme of capital works undertaken over the last five years is delivering on NZCS s long-term vision by providing multi-agency joint risk-based technology solutions. In particular, Trade Single Window within the Joint Border Management System, egate automated self-clearance for travellers, joint border risk and intelligence data analytics capabilities, and Digitally Enhanced Systems (DES) technology within the Integrated Targeting and Operations Centre (ITOC). Ongoing capital investment will be made to continue to maintain, develop, and enhance business-critical systems over the next four years and beyond. The planned capital programme for the next four years also includes provision for maintaining, upgrading, and replacing critical operational assets, such as cargo screening equipment; the financial management information system; and IT projects to enhance productivity, mitigate risk, integrate and share information with other agencies, and to help manage volume growth. NZCS s current 2018/19 capital expenditure budget is $4.5 million more than the 2017/18 capital expenditure budget. This is primarily from the timing of the delivery of core business systems in 2018/19 and the forecast commencement of the replacement programme for significant operational equipment, together with the $2.74 million of new capital expenditure funding in 2018/19 provided under the Drug Smuggling Networks: Strategic Disruption initiative. The capital expenditure for this initiative is for the purchase of mobile X-ray units, marine craft, and vehicles. The capital expenditure budgets will be updated throughout 2018/19 to reflect new investment approvals and timing between financial years of the delivery of capital investment programmes. NZCS will continue to review and reprioritise its capital investment plan to ensure it meets the priorities, and balances upgrades and replacements of core systems and assets alongside investing in new technology. This includes reviewing funding sources such as from balance sheet reserves, third party-funded, and new capital injections, and delivery mechanisms such as as a service offerings and cloud-based solutions. Vote Customs Standard Estimates Questionnaire 2018/19 Page 2

3 There have not been any delays or curtailment of capital projects/investments in 2017/18 that have impacted on service delivery. 7. Is the department administering the Vote planning to enter into any significant asset "as a service" arrangements (for example, "software as a service", "business process as a service", "infrastructure as a service") in 2018/19 and out-years? How will these be funded and what effect will they have on the appropriations in the Vote? NZCS has already implemented infrastructure as a service and telecommunications as a service. During 2018/19 NZCS is planning to migrate the core Border Management System, CusMod, from its current NZCS-owned platform, to a Platform as a Service (PaaS) offering provided by our existing Infrastructure as a Service provider. To date, the costs of moving to as a service arrangements have been managed within approved operating and capital baseline funding, and are expected to remain so going forward. 8. What are the financial risks relating to this Vote? How will any financial risks that have been identified be monitored and managed? NZCS continues to face increasing workloads from trade and travel volume growth, increasing complexity of managing risk at the border, and increasing input costs. There is constant ongoing review of departmental operations to ensure that resources are deployed in the most effective manner to achieve desired results and address priorities within approved funding provisions while maintaining the standards of border protection at the frontline. This includes the Operations Transformation Programme (the review of which is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2017/18), which realigned roles and tasks to optimise resources and enable more focus on border protection and assurance and enforcement activities in addition to facilitation and transactional tasks. The introduction of the Border Clearance Levy on 1 January 2016 provides a sustainable third party funding mechanism to meet cost pressures relating to the volume growth in and changing risk profiles of processing passengers. A review of cost recovery fees for goods is underway with the view to enable a similar funding mechanism to manage volume growth and managing risks from goods. NZCS has invested, and continues to invest, in staff, systems, and new technology. These investments are designed to better target interventions from an intelligence perspective, and support efficient and flexible work practices that will mitigate the impact of the cost increases referred to above. Further information is contained in NZCS s 2017 Four Year Plan. 9. What is the responsible Minister expecting regarding efficiency savings under this Vote in 2018/19? Where are those savings expected to be found? Please indicate how the funds saved are intended to be used (for example will they be returned to the Crown, or reinvested, and if so, in what). NZCS s 2017 Four Year Plan (pages 35 to 41) identifies and outlines how NZCS expects to manage cost pressures and volume growth within existing baselines through to 2020/21. Vote Customs Standard Estimates Questionnaire 2018/19 Page 3

4 The strategies include savings from continuous improvement initiatives, technology investments, accommodation, and whole-of-government procurement arrangements, alongside increases in third party revenue. 10. Please explain briefly what significant changes affect this Vote for 2018/19, and the reasons for them, including the following: a. new policies or outputs The major changes affecting the Vote Customs appropriations for 2018/19 are listed in the New Policy Initiatives part (Part 1.1) of The Estimates of Appropriations 2018/19 for Vote Customs. There are no other changes to the Vote arising from new policies or outputs. b. discontinued policies or outputs i. why they have been discontinued; ii. the exit strategy and cost of exiting any discontinued or re-prioritised policies or outputs; and iii. the effect this is expected to have on the agency's ability to achieve its outcomes. There are no changes to the Vote arising from policies or outputs that have been discontinued from the previous year. c. policies or outputs that have changed from the previous year (for example, any policies that have been reprioritised or refocused; increased or decreased outputs) Policies and outputs are continually reviewed however no policies or outputs have been significantly changed from the previous year. The Customs and Excise Act 2018 will come into effect on 1 October 2018 and will introduce a number of new or modified services and processes, but the cost of these will be met from within the current NZCS budget in addition to new third party funding for the valuation rulings service as discussed in the response to question 12c. d. any new or discontinued multi-category appropriations There are no new or discontinued multi-category appropriations. e. increases or decreases of 10 percent or $10 million (whichever is less), in the amount of appropriations. Where appropriations have decreased, please explain what effect this is likely to have on the department administering the Vote and the agencies that receive or use the funds There is one appropriation that has increased or decreased by more than 10 percent or $10 million. The Clearance and Enforcement Services Related to Craft appropriation has increased by $1.575 million to $ million, an 18 percent increase. This is primarily driven by new funding in 2018/19 from the Drug Smuggling Networks: Strategic Disruption initiative along with updated allocation of expenditure to appropriations to reflect the current deployment of NZCS s resources and the latest forecast of costs and cost drivers. f. any funds carried forward or transferred from previous appropriations (this should cover transfers from 2016/17 to 2017/18 as well as transfers from 2017/18 to 2018/19) Vote Customs Standard Estimates Questionnaire 2018/19 Page 4

5 There were eight in-principle expense transfers totalling up to $4.100 million approved in the 2017 March Baseline Update. These in-principle transfers relate to specific initiatives including the implementation of the new Customs and Excise Act, transition and implementation costs for the Operations Transformation Programme, and initiatives funded under the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act. The audit of NZCS s 2016/17 financial statements confirmed that of the $4.100 million available for transfer, the amount able to be transferred from 2016/17 to 2017/18 was $2.637 million. There were four expense transfers of funding from 2016/17 to 2017/18 and 2018/19 totalling $2.900 million approved in the 2017 March Baseline Update. These were for the Secure Trade Lane, initiatives funded under the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act, the Assurance programme, and the Customs and Excise Act implementation programme. Of the $2.900 million transferred from 2016/17, $2.520 million was transferred to 2017/18 and $0.380 million to 2018/19. There were five in-principle expense transfers from 2017/18 to 2018/19 totalling up to $1.973 million approved in the 2018 March Baseline Update. These relate to implementation of the Customs and Excise Act, the Assurance programme, the Secure Trade Lane programme, Business Continuity programme, and initiatives funded under the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act. The audit of NZCS s 2017/18 financial statements will confirm the amount of appropriation that is available for transfer that would then be submitted for approval in the 2018 October Baseline Update. There were two expense transfers from 2017/18 to 2018/19 approved in the 2018 March Baseline Update. The first related to timing of the commencement of the Secure Trade Lane initiative ($0.342 million), and the second ($1.112 million) to the allocation of costs across financial years for initiatives funded under the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act. g. any changes to staffing levels in the 2018/19 financial year and out-years, including: i. full-time-equivalent staff ii. total head-count iii. numbers and percentages of staff defined as "front-line" staff (those who provide a service directly to the public for a significant rather than an occasional part of their duties) and "back-office" staff (those whose role is mainly to provide corporate support services to others within the department). The NZCS 2017 Four Year Plan (pages 27-28) discussed expected changes in workforce capacity, including possible increases arising from trade and travel volumes. Compared to 2017/18 staffing levels, there are two initiatives that are expected to result in increased staffing levels during 2018/19. The first is an additional 24 FTEs forecast to be recruited to manage the changing workloads from implementation of the new Customs and Excise Act (discussed in the response to question 12). The second is up to 34 FTEs currently forecast to be added during 2018/19 as a result of the commencement of the implementation of the Drug Smuggling Networks: Strategic Disruption initiative funded in Budget NZCS expects up to an additional 93 FTEs by the end of 2021/22 as a result of this initiative. NZCS does not categorise staff into discrete frontline and back office categories. Improvements in frontline service delivery at NZCS can be, and are, achieved through a range of changes using technology, more customer-centric approaches, building on staff skills, and upgrading work processes and procedures. Vote Customs Standard Estimates Questionnaire 2018/19 Page 5

6 11. Are any changes planned for 2018/19 in the use of external resources (such as consultants, leased executives, advisers, or contractors) to provide the administering department s outputs (that is, deliver its services to its customers)? If so, please advise: a. the nature and size (both in percentage terms and nominally) of the changes that are planned; b. the reason for the changes; and c. why internal resources cannot be used. Detailed budgets for 2018/19 for external advisors, leased executives, and consultants have yet to be finalised. NZCS does not expect to materially change the nature and size of external resources from those for 2017/18. NZCS uses external resources where specialised expertise is required that is not otherwise available or is not cost-effective to permanently retain in-house, or for fixed-term projectbased assignments. 12. Is the department administering this Vote reviewing, or intending to review, any legislation for which it is responsible? If so: a. What changes to legislation are proposed, and why? b. If the review is because of policy changes, please specify the policy areas and changes being considered. NZCS undertook a substantive review of the Customs and Excise Act 1996 that commenced in This process culminated in the passage of the new Customs and Excise Act 2018 in April It is intended that the new legislation will come into effect on 1 October The Customs and Excise Act 2018 modernises the earlier customs legislation and introduces greater flexibility to respond to the changing trade and travel environment. Key changes include: clarifying NZCS s power to examine electronic devices through the use of statutory thresholds creating a consistent, transparent framework for information, including protections for personal and commercially sensitive information increasing efficiency and flexibility in trade and revenue collection systems to reflect changing patterns and volumes, while promoting voluntary compliance creating a modern, transparent, and fair sanctions regime. NZCS will amend the Customs and Excise Regulations 1996 and chief executive rules to support the new Act. It also intends to take a wider review of the regulations and rules to ensure they are fit for purpose. A date has not been set for the review. In response to an increased maritime drug smuggling threat, Cabinet has also recently agreed to progress further changes to NZCS s powers at sea specified in the Customs and Excise Act 2018, and consequential amendments to the Misuse of Drugs Act These will enable NZCS to respond, in certain situations, to drug smuggling ventures in international waters that affect New Zealand. c. How would the proposed legislative change affect the appropriations within this Vote? Funding was provided in Budget 2016 for the Improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the border sector initiative, which included ongoing funding to support the implementation of the new Customs and Excise Act. Some new or modified services and processes are being introduced under the Act, such as valuation rulings and the infringement notice scheme. Vote Customs Standard Estimates Questionnaire 2018/19 Page 6

7 These will be met from the funding provided in Budget 2016 and new third party funding for valuation rulings of approximately $1.0 million per annum. It is not anticipated that the additional maritime powers will require additional funding. d. What effect is it expected to have on any other Vote? It is not anticipated that any of the proposed changes will have any impact upon other Votes. Crown entities funded under the Vote ("Crown entities" includes Public Finance Act Schedule 4A companies as well as Crown entities as defined in the Crown Entities Act.) 13. For any Crown entities funded by the Vote: a. If any significant changes in funding Crown entities are proposed in the Estimates, how are they expected to affect the services produced or provided? b. What changes, if any, have been made to performance information for appropriations used by Crown entities under this Vote? c. Are there any particular performance risks or concerns for the 2018/19 year? d. How will the performance of the Crown entities be monitored to make sure that the risks are well managed? No Crown entities are funded under Vote Customs. 14. What specific expectations has the responsible Minister communicated to each of the Crown entities funded under the Vote? If no expectations have been set, please explain why. Please describe in detail any specific human-resource, financial, or operational issues or risks that may arise in meeting these expectations. How will these be managed? No Crown entities are funded under Vote Customs. Capability of agencies to deliver outputs 15. What specific risks and challenges (in order of significance) to the capability of agencies delivering outputs under this Vote have been identified? What action is being taken to manage these challenges? NZCS currently has sufficient capability to deliver on its outputs under Vote Customs in 2018/19. However, NZCS faces challenges from increasing service demands, including continuing volume growth in trade and travel with an increasingly diverse customer base, resulting in changing and increasing risks, and growing service challenges and expectations (as discussed in the response to question 5). Third party funding is more responsive to changes in volumes of trade and travel. The Border Clearance Levy was introduced on 1 January 2016 for passenger processing. NZCS is currently reviewing existing goods cost recovery from third parties. NZCS continues to: proactively forecast and monitor trade and travel volumes (and adjust third party revenue forecasts accordingly) prioritise activity and make resourcing decisions based on available resources, and look to increase automation of its services and improve compliance so that resources can be focussed on risk. Vote Customs Standard Estimates Questionnaire 2018/19 Page 7

8 Additional funding is being provided to NZCS as listed in the New Policy Initiatives part (Part 1.1) of The Estimates of Appropriations 2018/19 for Vote Customs to respond to particular service demands. In 2017, NZCS completed implementation of its Operations Transformation Programme to modernise and transform the way NZCS works, and future-proof the Operations workforce. It was intended to build capability and help NZCS to respond to the increasing service demands over the next few years. The operational workforce was reshaped, and a new deployment model developed, to deliver operational efficiencies by realigning roles to optimise resources to manage growing volumes and border risks (while benefitting staff through enriching their work and providing additional opportunities for career development). NZCS continues to progress its current Customs 2020 strategy (that strategy being outlined on pages of the NZCS Statement of Intent ). NZCS s longer-term strategy is currently being developed. 16. What staff groups have you identified as being critical to the delivery of essential core services under the Vote? What risks are there to capability in these critical areas? Please provide information about the level of risk to this capability. All staff groups are critical to the delivery of NZCS s core services. NZCS is currently focused on its new Operational Leaders who were reassigned into new people and technical roles resulting from the Operations Transformation Programme. The Drug Smuggling Networks: Strategic Disruption initiative funded in Budget 2018 will enable the development of new Intelligence roles (and others). The NZCS 2017 Four Year Plan (Annex 1) contains some information on these groups, their capability gaps, and strategies to mitigate them. 17. For those agencies involved in the Canterbury rebuild/regeneration, what particular challenges and priorities have been identified? NZCS is not directly involved in the Canterbury rebuild/regeneration. 18. How have any mergers and machinery-of-government or other structural changes made in 2017/18 affected the Vote? There were no mergers and machinery-of-government or other structural changes in 2017/18 that affected Vote Customs. 19. Are any of the agencies funded under the Vote considering or developing any plans to a. enter into any kind of: i. collective or joint procurement ii. shared services arrangements? b. form or enter into any type of joint venture or public-private partnership? c. access external equity? In each case, please provide details. NZCS is not currently considering or developing plans to access external equity. NZCS and other border agencies, along with Auckland International Airport Limited (AIAL), airlines, IDEMIA (which provides the current egate technology) and Datacom, are working together and currently jointly assessing opportunities to invest in improved technology and operations for passenger processing at the border. Vote Customs Standard Estimates Questionnaire 2018/19 Page 8

9 NZCS, the Ministry for Primary Industries, and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment are working together to develop the Risk and Intelligence Real Time Tools capability. NZCS has worked, and will continue to work, with other agencies to share resources that will assist agencies to perform their functions and meet performance targets while reducing the overall cost to the taxpayers. There are formal arrangements in place in respect of data and information sharing and collection of revenue on behalf of other agencies. At a number of locations, accommodation is being shared. NZCS will also continue to look at and pursue opportunities to enter into collective or joint procurement arrangements. Other information 20. Would you like to bring to the committee's attention any other matters relating to your Vote that have not been described in the Estimates documents, in your Budget press statements, or in response to other questions in this questionnaire? Please give details. No. 21. Please provide an electronic copy of each output plan drawn up between you (or an agent) and a department and/or other party for the supply of outputs for the 2018/19 year related to this Vote. If output plans have not yet been finalised, and you prefer not to provide draft plans, please let us know the timetable for finalising these and provide an electronic copy of each output plan as it is completed. The output agreement for 2018/19 is currently expected to be completed by July 2018, and a copy will be provided when it is completed. 22. Please provide hard copies of the 4-year plan for each agency funded under this Vote. NZCS was not required to prepare a Four Year Plan for A copy of the current NZCS 2017 Four Year Plan is available on the NZCS website at and is attached as Appendix 1. This is the Budget 2017 Four Year Plan, prepared in December 2016 so the strategic objectives in that document are consistent with the policies and performance expectations of the previous Government, and were endorsed by the then Minister of Customs. As discussed in the response to question 15, NZCS is currently developing its longer-term strategy (beyond 2020) and that strategy, together with the current Government s priorities, will be reflected in the next NZCS Four Year Plan. Vote Customs Standard Estimates Questionnaire 2018/19 Page 9

10 Appendix 1: New Zealand Customs Service 2017 Four Year Plan (question 22) The 2017 Four Year Plan of the New Zealand Customs Service is attached. Vote Customs Standard Estimates Questionnaire 2018/19 Page 10