Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives

Transcription

1 Annual Report of the Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives Te Tari o te Manahautū o te Whare Māngai for the year ended 30 June 2013 Presented to the House of Representatives pursuant to the Public Finance Act 1989

2 MR SPEAKER I have the honour to present to you the Report of the Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives for the year ended 30 June Mary Harris Clerk of the House of Representatives 2 OFFICE OF THE CLERK OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2013

3 Contents Page Directory... 4 Chief Executive s overview... 5 Background: Functions and outcome of the Office of the Clerk... 6 Part 1: Performance against priorities identified in the 2012/13 Statement of Intent... 9 Part 2: The year in review performance against core functions, outputs, and outcome Output class 1: Secretariat services to the House of Representatives Output class 2: Inter-parliamentary relations Organisational health Statement of service performance for the year ended 30 June Output class 1: Secretariat services for the House of Representatives Output class 2: Inter-parliamentary relations Statement of service performance Statement of responsibility for the year ended 30 June Independent Auditor s Report Statement of service performance for the year ended 30 June Output class 1: Secretariat services for the House of Representatives Output class 2: Inter-parliamentary relations Financial statements Statement of comprehensive income for the year ended 30 June Statement of financial position as at 30 June Statement of changes in taxpayers funds for the year ended 30 June Statement of cash flows for the year ended 30 June Statement of commitments as at 30 June Statement of contingent liabilities and contingent assets as at 30 June Statement of departmental expenses and capital expenditure against appropriations for the year ended 30 June Statement of departmental unappropriated expenditure and capital expenditure for the year ended 30 June Notes to the financial statements for the year ended 30 June Financial performance OFFICE OF THE CLERK OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE

4 Directory Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives Te Tari o te Manahautū o te Whare Māngai Postal address Parliament Buildings Wellington 6160 Phone: (04) Fax: House Services (04) Select Committee Services (04) Organisational Performance and (04) Public Information Website: Auditor Audit New Zealand Wellington on behalf of the Auditor-General Bankers Westpac Banking Corporation Solicitors Crown Law Office Insurers American Home Assurance Co New Zealand trading as Chartis Accident Compensation Corporation 4 OFFICE OF THE CLERK OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2013

5 Chief Executive s overview The past year has been a busy one for the Office as Parliament moved into full swing in the middle year of the parliamentary term. I am pleased to report that my Office s core services continued to be delivered to a high standard ensuring the smooth running of the House and its committees. There has been a strong focus on developing the concept of a virtual workspace for members, providing them with the information they need to enable them to fulfil all their responsibilities in the House and in select committees. This means providing information in a way that it can best be used, shared and annotated to suit members: allowing them to have the information they want, when they want it, and in the format they prefer. In collaboration with the Parliamentary Service and the Parliamentary Counsel Office, this new approach to information delivery will be implemented via a suite of projects that will also enhance how the public can access information about what Parliament is doing and their participation in parliamentary proceedings. To support these initiatives the Office has developed a communications strategy for Parliament and will look to roll this out with the Parliamentary Service in the coming year. I believe this will be important in ensuring that Parliament remains relevant into the future. The year has seen the Office contribute significant advice to the Privileges Committee inquiry concerning the defamation action Attorney-General and Gow v Leigh. The Office will continue to provide advice informed by a parliamentary perspective on any legislation concerning privilege that flows on from the report that the committee made this year. We have a long history of shared service delivery with the Parliamentary Service, and the successful transfer of the Office s ICT infrastructure to the Service is the most recent achievement. As these shared services now underpin our critical areas of investment and core service delivery, the arrangements require a greater degree of certainty to manage risk. Work has been done to develop appropriate governance mechanisms for the delivery of shared services that will ensure that parliamentary outcomes are not compromised. This has resulted in the development of a Parliament Sector Advisory Board, which will help to set joint strategic priorities and impacts. The Board will be critical to both agencies as we continue to find more areas in which to work together and develop a common work programme. Our staff continue to be the Office s key asset. We held a new staff engagement survey, which will be conducted annually in the future. I view this as the first step on the path to renewing and reinvigorating how we run the Office. Finally, I acknowledge the contribution of the Deputy Clerk and the Senior Management Team over the last year, and thank my Risk and Assurance Committee for their guidance and support. I also want to thank all my staff for their efforts and achievements, and for their commitment to the delivery of high quality services in a busy year. I look forward to another successful year in 2013/14. Mary Harris Clerk of the House of Representatives OFFICE OF THE CLERK OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE

6 Background: Functions and outcome of the Office of the Clerk Core functions The Clerk of the House of Representatives is the principal permanent officer of the House and carries out the functions required under section 3 of the Clerk of the House of Representatives Act 1988, which provides that: The functions of the Clerk of the House of Representatives shall be (a) (b) (c) to note all proceedings of the House of Representatives and of any committee of the House: to carry out such duties and exercise such powers as may be conferred on the Clerk of the House of Representatives by law or by the Standing Orders and practice of the House of Representatives: to act as the principal officer of the Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives and, in that capacity, to manage that office efficiently, effectively, and economically: (d) to ensure that the members of the Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives carry out their duties (including duties imposed on them by law or by the Standing Orders or practice of the House of Representatives) and maintain (i) (ii) proper standards of integrity and conduct; and concern for the public interest: (e) to be responsible, under the direction of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, for the official reporting of the proceedings of the House of Representatives and its committees. Outcome The outcome of the Office of the Clerk is a legislature in which: members of Parliament are able to discharge their constitutional duties in respect of the consideration of legislation and other parliamentary business; and interested parties are informed and able to participate. The Office influences this outcome through a series of impacts that it can make on the effectiveness of Parliament as an institution: Parliament remains relevant because it has the capacity to adapt its procedures Effective parliamentary scrutiny enhances government outcomes Public respect for the institution of Parliament grows because the public is informed about what Parliament is doing and able to participate 6 OFFICE OF THE CLERK OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2013

7 Parliament s capacity is enhanced by members engagement with other parliaments and inter-parliamentary organisations. These impacts link the Office s outcome and the services the Office provides (outputs) in carrying out its core functions. The quality and effectiveness of these services drive the degree to which the impacts influence the outcome. Outputs The Office administers a single Vote and has two classes of output: Output class 1: Secretariat services to the House of Representatives Provision of professional advice and services designed to assist the House in the fulfilment of its constitutional functions, and enabling participation in, and understanding of, parliamentary proceedings. Output class 2: Inter-parliamentary relations Services to improve relations between the New Zealand Parliament and other parliaments, including providing advice on inter-parliamentary relations to the Speaker and members, establishing and implementing an annual programme of incoming and outgoing visits, developing and implementing individual visit programmes, assisting to build the capacity of the Pacific parliaments, supporting (including through travel to meetings overseas) the New Zealand Parliament s contribution on global issues at parliamentary organisations and hosting international parliamentary conferences. Organisational arrangements The Office of the Clerk is established under section 14 of the Clerk of the House of Representatives Act It is the legislature s secretariat and assists the Clerk in carrying out the core functions established under the Act. The Office comprises four business groups, which deliver the range of services under the Office s two classes of output: Parliamentary Relations and Policy Group Specialist procedural and legal services Advising on parliamentary procedure and law and advocating for Parliament Inter-parliamentary relations services Supporting engagement with other parliaments to build parliamentary capacity House Services Group Secretariat services to the House and committees of the whole House Select Committee Services Group Secretariat services to select committees Organisational Performance and Public Information Group Information about the proceedings of the House and its committees Broadcasting and publishing the proceedings of Parliament Maintaining the parliamentary record. OFFICE OF THE CLERK OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE

8 A.8 A.8 Structure of the Office of the Clerk Note 7 Property, plant and equipment Office of the Clerk structure Executive Assistant to the Clerk Clerk-Assistant (Select Committees) Clerk-Assistant (Organisational Performance and Public Information) and Clerk-Assistant (Publishing Development) Clerk-Assistant (House) Second Principal Permanent Officer of the House/ Deputy Chief Executive Manager Legal Services Legal services to the Office Legal services to Parliamentary Service and select committees Allocation of members drafting services Manager Parliamentary Relations Manager Policy Inter-parliamentary Procedural and parliamentary policy relations research and development Parliamentary education Manager Select Committee Services (x3) Services to select committees Financial scrutiny process Te Kaiwhakahaere Ngā Ratonga Reo Māori Interpretation and translation Manager House Manager Hansard Chamber support Hansard Certification of Bills Computers Office equipment Total Balance as at 1 July 2011 Additions Disposals 214-2, (482) , (482) Balance as at 30 June , ,408 Balance as at 1 July 2012 Adjustments Additions Disposals 214-2, (452) 84 (8) - 2,408 (1) 13 (452) Balance as at 30 June , ,968 Cost or valuation Clerk of the House (Chief Executive) Deputy Clerk/Senior Manager (Parliamentary Relations and Policy) Furniture Manager Organisational Performance Manager Public Information and Chamber Operations Financial services Broadcasting Human resource services Publishing Administration and facilities Planning Manager Information Services Information services Operation of the Chamber Press gallery liaison Risk management Services to Regulations Review Committee The Office s Senior Management Team consists of: Clerk of the House, Deputy Clerk/Senior Manager (Parliamentary Relations and Policy), Clerk-Assistant (Select Committees), Clerk-Assistant (House), Clerk-Assistant (Organisational Performance and Public Information) and Clerk-Assistant (Publishing Development) Accumulated depreciation and impairment losses Balance as at 1 July 2011 (73) (1,808) (63) (1,944) Depreciation expense (24) (215) (5) (244) Eliminate on disposal Balance as at 30 June 2012 (97) (1,548) (61) (1,706) Balance as at 1 July 2012 (97) (1,548) (61) (1,706) Adjustments Depreciation expense Eliminate on disposal 1 (24) - (178) 444 (5) - 1 (207) (120) (1,282) (66) (1,468) As at 30 June As at 30 June As at 30 June Balance as at 30 June Carrying amounts 8 OFFICE OF THE CLERK OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2013 OFFICE OF THE CLERK OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE

9 Part 1: Performance against priorities identified in the 2012/13 Statement of Intent The Office has developed four impacts through which it will enhance the effectiveness of Parliament as an institution. Under each of these impacts are objectives that will be worked on over the next two to four years. Progress made against the impacts and objectives within the timespan of this annual report is set out below. Impact 1: Parliament remains relevant because it has the capacity to adapt its procedures The Office set out four objectives for achieving this impact: Parliamentary knowledge management system implemented A systematic approach is designed and implemented for the development of parliamentary policy Support for the operation of the Chamber is reviewed, and efficient and effective processes implemented A parliamentary perspective to the review of the Civil List Act 1979 and the Official Information Act 1982 is provided. Parliamentary knowledge management system implemented Work has progressed on implementing a parliamentary knowledge management system, including through the Kete Mātauranga project. This is a key strategic project for the Office that will assist its drive to improve the timely capture and dissemination of the procedural, legal, and policy information critical to the delivery of high quality advice and for encouraging a knowledge sharing culture. The focus in the 2012/13 year was on drafting a Knowledge Management Policy for the Office, documenting key processes such as the updating of the Standing Orders and Speakers Rulings at the end of each parliamentary term, and promoting collaborative work practices. Communities of practice were piloted in Select Committee Services. Positive results from the pilot have encouraged further work to implement the concept Office-wide. A programme for updating Parliamentary Practice in New Zealand was developed and the work is under way. Work on identifying at-risk knowledge and implementing mitigating actions, encouraging collaborative work practices, and the updating of Parliamentary Practice in New Zealand will continue in the 2013/14 financial year. A systematic approach is designed and implemented for the development of parliamentary policy The Office continues to take a proactive approach in advocating for the institution of Parliament. This year the Office has provided a parliamentary perspective on departmental proposals for better quality legislation; the Privileges Committee s inquiry concerning the defamation action Attorney-General and Gow v Leigh; the Members of Parliament (Remuneration and Services) Bill (which arose out of the review of the Civil List Act 1979); and an Inland Revenue Department issues paper reviewing the tax treatment of employee allowances and other expenditure payments as these could impact on the effective operation of members of Parliament. A submission was made about the application of section 6 of the State Sector Act 1988, as amended by the State Sector and Public Finance Reform Bill, to the Office OFFICE OF THE CLERK OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE

10 as the secretariat of the legislature. The Office also made a submission on New Zealand s law of parliamentary privilege in response to the Green Paper on Parliamentary Privilege issued by the Government of the United Kingdom, and submitted to the House of Lords and House of Commons Joint Committee on Parliamentary Privilege. The Office provided comment on the Government s proposed response to the Law Commission s recommendations in its review of the Official Information Act 1982 (OIA), which included a recommendation to extend the OIA regime to Parliament. The Government response is that it does not intend to progress the Law Commission s recommendation. Systematic identification and development of parliamentary policy issues such as better monitoring of likely sources of these issues and establishing an across-office process for responding to these will continue in the next financial year. Support for the operation of the Chamber is reviewed, and efficient and effective processes implemented In the past year the Office has worked with the Parliamentary Service to develop more effective service delivery processes for the debating chamber. This included enhancing the performance of the audio systems and emergency response procedures. More work is required in this area and both agencies will continue to focus on improving this service. Impact 2: Effective parliamentary scrutiny enhances government outcomes The Office set out two objectives for achieving this impact: Support for financial scrutiny in the House and committees assists members in their scrutiny role Specialist support for legislative scrutiny in select committees assists legislative outcomes. Support for financial scrutiny in the House and committees assists members in their scrutiny role The Office has provided input into the Treasury s work on potential changes to the Public Finance Act 1989, which sets out the framework for parliamentary financial scrutiny, with a view to ensuring the Act continues to support effective financial scrutiny by the House and select committees. This work includes discussions about the format and supply of documents, such as the Budget documents, necessary for Parliament to carry out its scrutiny function. The Office will continue to monitor changes in this area as they are proposed and implemented for any impact on Parliament and its procedures and assist in providing parliamentary responses where necessary. Support for legislative scrutiny in select committees assists legislative outcomes A project team has examined the possible means of enhancing support for legislative scrutiny in select committees and identified a number of options for strengthening select committee staff awareness of fundamental constitutional and administrative law issues, through staff induction programmes and regular workshops involving legal staff. The project team is currently working on the content of possible training modules and will start the delivery of those modules in the 2013/14 financial year. The Office has worked with the Treasury on the introduction of disclosure statements. As a result of this work, from 29 July 2013, Government bills and substantive Supplementary Order Papers (SOPs) must be supported by disclosure statements that address best practice standards for legislation. These will be made available from the Office to members and their staff on the 10 OFFICE OF THE CLERK OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2013

11 introduction of a bill or an SOP. Disclosure statements will also be available from a URL included in the explanatory note for the bill or SOP, in a similar manner to the regulatory impact statement. This information will underpin developments to enhance support for select committee legislative scrutiny. Impact 3: Public respect for the institution of Parliament grows because the public is informed about what Parliament is doing and able to participate The Office set out four objectives for achieving this impact: Communications strategy for Parliament developed Core parliamentary data system updated Hansard s relevance and production efficiency is enhanced Access to select committee proceedings on the Parliament website enhanced. Communications strategy for Parliament developed In the year under review the Office developed an overarching communications strategy for Parliament. The provision of information to the public, in a form that balances both modern and traditional communications channels, is a key strategic goal. The strategy is critical for planning the enhancement of access to information about what Parliament is doing and facilitating public engagement with Parliament. The strategy, including the increased use of new media and working more closely with the Parliamentary Service, will be implemented in the coming year. Core parliamentary data system updated The Office s project to replace the existing end-of-life database with a repository of core authoritative parliamentary data resumed this year and significant progress was made. The system will support more efficient publishing systems and better access to information for members and staff across Parliament. The project is scheduled to be completed by early Hansard s relevance and production efficiency is enhanced Hansard has further developed the more verbatim approach agreed on in the 2011 review of Standing Orders, prompted by the ongoing convergence of audio, video, and print publications. An improved and more timely service to members and the public is being provided. For instance, uncorrected transcripts of speeches made in the House are now available within two and a half hours. Individual debates are published progressively, as they become ready (typically, no more than one and a half working days after the conclusion of the debate) rather than when the whole day s transcript is complete. The Hansard production system is reaching the end of its life and its underlying technology is now no longer supported, creating a significant element of risk. The supplier of the new system has been contracted. The new production system is expected to be operational in Access to select committee proceedings on the Parliament website enhanced During the year a proposal for piloting select committee webcasting was presented to the Standing Orders Committee. The committee approved the pilot and reported on it in November The pilot will webcast public hearings of evidence from two designated select committee meeting rooms. Each room will have one fixed camera for webcasting and the clerk of committee will be responsible for turning the camera on to show public hearings of evidence. The camera will film members of the committee on a wide-angle view from behind the witnesses. The proceedings will be webcast through the Parliament TV platform ( OFFICE OF THE CLERK OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE

12 The design of the system is largely complete and is expected to begin soon after the website s content management system is upgraded. Impact 4: Parliament s capacity is enhanced by members engagement with other parliaments and inter-parliamentary organisations The Office set out three objectives for achieving this impact: Support to Pacific parliaments enhanced Take up of opportunities for members professional development arising from programmes run through international parliamentary organisations is enhanced Conference of Speakers and Presiding Officers of the Commonwealth planned and delivered. Support to Pacific parliaments enhanced The Office has worked to develop programmes to build capability and capacity within Pacific parliaments. In the year under review the Office arranged tailored programmes through visits and attachments for members and staff of Pacific parliaments, including Bougainville, the Cook Islands, Kiribati, Nauru, Niue, Samoa, Tonga, and Tuvalu. The Office organised a study visit to Parliament for the newly-appointed Cook Islands Speaker in October, and a week-long study programme for the Cook Islands Deputy Clerk and a Parliamentary Officer in May. Staff from six Pacific parliaments participated in the Third New Zealand Parliamentary Study Programme in November. In April the New Zealand Parliament hosted the Pacific Parliamentary and Political Leaders Forum, and the Office led the coordination of this significant event. Members of Parliament and political leaders from 20 Pacific countries engaged in four days of debates and bespoke sessions that focused on regional issues and parliamentary best practice. The Office also provided secretariat services to the Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians Group (CWP), a group that has a specific focus on increasing the participation of women in Pacific parliaments. The year of 2013 saw the first meeting of the Pacific Women s Parliamentary Partnerships Forum hosted by the Parliament of Australia, with participants including current and former Pacific women members of Parliament, Australian Federal and State women parliamentarians, and international guest speakers. A CWP Pacific Region Steering Committee meeting was held alongside the Forum. The Speaker, in consultation with the Executive Committee of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) New Zealand Branch, decided to withhold New Zealand s voluntary contribution to the CPA for the next financial year due to ongoing issues of financial transparency within that organisation. This funding has instead been used to support targeted initiatives in the Pacific region to further build capacity in Pacific parliaments. Take up of opportunities for members professional development arising from programmes run through international parliamentary organisations is enhanced The Office facilitated opportunities for members to advance their professional development through attendance and participation at conferences and workshops. These included members attendance at a seminar organised by the CPA to provide participants with a broad overview of the Westminster system, the 21st Asia Pacific Parliamentary Forum in Vladivostok, the Russian Federation, the 127th Inter-Parliamentary Union assembly in Quebec, Canada, and the 128th Inter-Parliamentary Union assembly in Quito, Ecuador. 12 OFFICE OF THE CLERK OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2013

13 The Office continues to explore ways in which it can facilitate tailored professional development for members of Parliament who may have interests or experience in a specific subject, and to better connect members with organisations in the parliamentary community or academic institutions that could provide opportunities for professional development. Proposals to develop opportunities further in this area will be progressed once changes to the members support arrangements are determined under legislation currently before the House. A representative from the Office attended the Council of Pacific Public Accounts Committees on behalf of the CPA and New Zealand. The Office is supportive of this initiative and will explore how best to provide future support where necessary. Conference of Speakers and Presiding Officers of the Commonwealth planned and delivered In January 2014 the New Zealand Parliament will host the Conference of Speakers and Presiding Officers of the Commonwealth (CSPOC). Funding for this event was agreed in November 2012, and a draft programme presented at the meeting of the Standing Committee in Swakopmund, Namibia in January 2013 was accepted. Planning for the event is well underway, with facilities booked, accommodation options secured, and invitations to presenters sent. OFFICE OF THE CLERK OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE

14 Part 2: The year in review performance against core functions, outputs, and outcome During the reporting period, the Office continued to fulfil its core functions and to provide services to achieve its primary outcome. It met all obligations imposed on it by legislation, the Standing Orders, and practices of the House. The Office provided specialist procedural advice to the Speaker of the House and provided the other services that ensure that members of Parliament are able to discharge their constitutional duties effectively. Output class 1: Secretariat services to the House of Representatives Demand for this class of outputs was driven by the requirements of the Standing Orders, decisions of the House and its committees, the Speaker, members, the Government, and the public. Secretariat services in this output class cover secretariat services to the House and its committees, broadcasting and publishing proceedings of Parliament, maintenance of the parliamentary record, advising on parliamentary procedure and law, and advocating for Parliament. Services to the House During the reporting period, the House sat on 94 calendar days (91 sitting days). The Office undertook all of the activities required of it to support all sittings of the House. In the year under review the minimal revision verbatim approach adopted for the production of Hansard has allowed further improvement in the timelines of the availability of Hansard. A new system was successfully developed for the Order Paper, which included a more interactive online version of the document. Hyperlinks in the Order Paper on the Parliament website now allow members and the public to directly access items of business with a click. At the same time, the traditional look of the paper version was retained in line with members feedback. In response to requests from members and the public the Office worked on and successfully rolled out a significantly improved search function on the website for Questions for Written Answer. The new search function returns search results in less than two seconds, which now meets the expectations of users. The Office completed a trial of a captioning service of the House s proceedings for those with impaired hearing. Following the trial, the Standing Orders Committee requested that the Office carry out further work to deliver a captioning service of a high standard. In the coming year, the Office will be developing systems that overcome the technical issues the trial highlighted and concentrating on training staff to cope in the challenging skills of live captioning the dynamic proceedings of the House, especially during question time. The Office has successfully met the logistical challenges that changes to the Standing Orders providing for extended sittings have created for the management of services to the House. The extended sittings have been positively received by the House as a way of progressing the legislative programme and have been seen as a good use of House time. In particular, some of the time was used to progress 10 Treaty of Waitangi claims settlement bills. The use of urgency has correspondingly declined. The House sat for 33 hours in urgency and 43 hours in extended sittings compared with 97 hours in urgency the 2010/11 year, prior to the Standing Orders changes. 14 OFFICE OF THE CLERK OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2013

15 This year has seen the Office continue its work of publishing proposed members bills electronically on the Parliament website on the receipt of notices of proposal, rather than waiting for the bills to be drawn from the ballot. Members no longer have to resubmit their bills at each ballot, which has led to a record number of bills in the ballot 74 were in the last ballot this year compared with 24 bills in the last ballot before the 2011 Standing Orders change. Members have more time to seek public support for their bills and there has been a significant reduction in the number of members seeking to postpone members bills set down for first reading. Three members bills were passed into law in the year under review. The Office provided its Māori language services, including simultaneous interpretation of speeches in the House, the translation of members speeches for Hansard, and the translation of select committee reports. Services to select committees Secretariat services were provided for all select committees and the statutory Intelligence and Security Committee. Procedural assistance was made available in all committee meetings and to all committee members and chairpersons as required. In addition, the Office facilitated the provision of specialist advice and interpretation and transcription services to committees. In 2012/13, 526 select committee meetings took place, over a total of 1,203 hours. Committees considered 658 items of business, and produced a total of 354 select committee reports. In 2011, changes were made to the Standing Orders to provide that where a bill was referred to a committee with a reporting date of less than four months, or with a special instruction, those motions would be debatable. This continues to result in fewer bills being referred to committees with shortened timeframes for report only 25 percent of bills in 2012/13, down from almost 30 percent in 2011/12. This has reduced some of the pressure on committee consideration, as have other of the 2011 Standing Order changes. The delivery of secretariat services requires high calibre staff. The Office has worked to develop the professional experience and institutional knowledge of its staff through the sharing of knowledge and the provision of professional skills training and development opportunities. During the year the ecommittee system underwent a technical upgrade to ensure full support for it would remain available. Further upgrade work is planned for the coming year as part of the Office s overall programme of development of its publishing systems. This work will involve extensive engagement with members to make sure the system delivers maximum benefit to users in a customised way. Exploratory work was carried out into a pilot of webcasting select committee hearings of evidence. The Office has also given consideration to other ways in which information about what select committees are doing, and select committee processes, is made available to the public, mainly through the Parliament website. The Office undertook a review of the effectiveness of advertising for submissions on behalf of committees (in newspapers and on the Parliament website). Newspaper advertisements were not seen by 98% of those submitters surveyed. Advertising was also trialled on Facebook with the results feeding into the overall review. The review will inform the Office s work on communicating select committee information to the public in the coming year. This will include a move to an effective form of advertising that is most meaningful to those people who wish to engage in the parliamentary process. Specialist procedural and legal services In the reporting period, the Clerk presided over the election of a new Speaker and specialist briefings were prepared and delivered. Innovative procedures were developed to assist with the OFFICE OF THE CLERK OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE

16 consideration of conscience issues, in particular, the age for sale and purchase of alcohol on licensed premises during the committee of the whole House consideration of the Alcohol Reform Bill. The public appetite for information about members participation in parliamentary business, and a clear direction from the Government Administration Committee, led to the Office investigating a system for recording members attendance in the House, and sessional orders that may enable statutory attendance requirement and attendance requirements for party voting to be brought together and also make provision for members parental responsibilities. The increased number of members bills that may appear on the Order Paper for first reading has required the provision of more tailored legislative assistance to members. In the year under review the Office drafted 71 members bills, compared with 24 in the previous reporting period. Citizens Initiated Referenda Act 1993 The Office has a role to scrutinise and, as required, provide advice on all citizens initiated referendum petitions. During the reporting period, the Clerk of the House undertook the process of counting the signatures collected for one indicative referendum petition. The petition lapsed as the Clerk was not able to be satisfied it had been signed by not less than 10 percent of eligible electors. The petition may be resubmitted following collection of signatures over a further twomonth period. Register of Pecuniary and Other Specified Interests of Members of Parliament In the year under review, members annual returns were all received by the due date. The register was then compiled and a summary of those returns published within the prescribed time. Advice was provided to the Registrar of Pecuniary Interests of Members of Parliament as required. Public information Enhancing access for members and the public to information about what Parliament is doing is critical to achieving the Office s core outcome. The ability of an informed public to participate in the parliamentary process helps to keep Parliament relevant. A communications strategy was developed to drive the Office s work in this area in the coming year. The Parliament website is now the key source of information for members and the public. The Office has taken full responsibility for its management and, as part of maintaining the website s future capability, an upgrade of the underlying content management system, known as CMS, is nearing completion. It will deliver enhanced performance for users and enable new technology to be developed. This enhanced performance is designed to facilitate greater and more flexible access as the volume of content increases. A tender process for a new contract for broadcasting the activities in the Chamber on Parliament TV is well underway. In addition to television broadcasting, daily and weekly radio programmes (Today in Parliament and The Week in Parliament) were funded by the Office. The Office and the Parliamentary Counsel Office met regularly to review the organisations joint print contract. Both organisations are satisfied that the new contract is working adequately. The Office continues to be part of a programme led by the National Library of New Zealand to digitise the early Appendices to the Journals of the House of Representatives. In the year under review, the Office organised the digitisation of the votes and proceedings records up until 1950, and these will be published to the A to J Online section of the National Library of New Zealand website. 16 OFFICE OF THE CLERK OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2013

17 Output class 2: Inter-parliamentary relations The Office developed the official inter-parliamentary relations programme for approval by the Speaker, and managed all the visits that occurred under the programme. Twelve incoming visits and 15 outgoing visits took place over the reporting period. The New Zealand Parliament s membership of and engagement with international parliamentary organisations, including the Inter-Parliamentary Union, the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, and the Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum, continued in the year under review. Parliamentary delegations visited the legislatures in the Northern Territory of Australia, British Columbia, Brussels, Croatia, the Republic of Korea, Namibia, New Caledonia, Niue, Tonga, and the United Kingdom, as part of the New Zealand Parliament s participation in interparliamentary conferences and seminars. The Office sought advice from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade to enable delegations to maximise the benefit of the outward programme and enhance New Zealand s international relationships in a cost-effective manner. The continuing development and maintenance of these relationships remains a strategic activity for the Office. Secretariat services were provided to the CPA Pacific region and to the regional representatives of the CPA executive committee. The Regional Secretary assisted in the organisation of the region s management meetings held in conjunction with the 43rd Conference of Presiding Officers and Clerks for Australia and the Pacific held in Honiara, Solomon Islands and at the annual CPA conference in Sri Lanka. The attendance of the regional representatives at meetings in Sri Lanka and Canberra was also supported. OFFICE OF THE CLERK OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE

18 Organisational health During the financial year, the Office made further progress in developing a closer relationship with the Parliamentary Service, collaborating in areas where cost or service delivery efficiencies could be gained. The merger of the Office s computing network with that of the Parliamentary Service was finalised during the first half of 2013, enhancing services to the Office and benefits from economies of scale. The Office is now well placed to provide more seamless services to members, supported by a stronger technology infrastructure. In addition, both agencies are now sharing staff resources in the finance and business continuity areas. Planning is under way for a disaster preparedness exercise in the coming financial year to test the resilience of technical systems and staffing plans to support Parliament should a disaster occur. Work continues on integrating these plans with the wider strategy for the parliamentary complex. The Office is continuing to identify and develop areas with which it can work closely with the Parliamentary Service. The senior management teams from both organisations held a planning session to develop a common work programme with a Parliament Sector approach. This work will continue, and good progress has been made to establish a Parliament Sector Advisory Board. The board will assist both agencies to determine and achieve Parliament outcomes, strategic priorities and impacts, as well as with the development of further shared services between both agencies. A sector approach to information solutions was embarked on by the Office in this year in collaboration with the Parliamentary Counsel Office. A new senior management role was created to drive this programme of projects, which is currently in the scoping stage. Consultation is taking place with stakeholders to ensure that all information that members need is accessible to them on any device and that the information is delivered seamlessly. The programme will enable some of the processes that underlie important parliamentary functions to take advantage of the digital technology, and become modernised and streamlined. Improved and more accessible information delivery to members will also flow on to the public when they access information about Parliament. The Office now has well-embedded systems for reporting on performance measures, risk, legislative compliance, and internal controls, with the use of a single, automated system. This system allows the senior management team to monitor all these items. Staff turnover fell by nearly two-thirds in the year under review, from 29.6 percent to 13 percent. This reflects a return to the norm following the general election and the organisational structure review that was carried out in An engagement survey was carried out during the year and will now be conducted on an annual basis. The Office will concentrate on addressing areas for improvement arising from the survey, with the aim of ensuring that the Office staff are engaged with the organisation and working to their full potential. The Office also focused its efforts on developing its leadership capability. During the financial year, a series of coaching programmes for senior managers, operational managers, and others with supervisory responsibilities was completed with the aim of creating a culture of openness and that values innovation. This work will continue over the next financial year. 18 OFFICE OF THE CLERK OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2013

19 Statement of service performance for the year ended 30 June 2013 Output class 1: Secretariat services for the House of Representatives This output class involves provision to the House of Representatives of professional advice and services to assist the House in the fulfilment of its constitutional functions. Officers assist with the transaction of parliamentary business on the floor of the House and in select committees. Quality and quantity of administrative and support services for the House of Representatives Demand for this output class was driven by the requirements of the Standing Orders, decisions of the House and its committees, the Speaker, the members, the Government, and the public. The Speaker purchased the following services during the financial year. Services to the House Performance Measures Budgeted Standard Actual Standard Timeliness, quality, and political sustainability of procedural and operational advice to presiding officers and members Timeliness and quality of servicing of sittings of the House Timeliness and accuracy of recording and publishing of decisions and the business transacted by the House Quality of maintenance of House records Accords with Standing Orders, Speakers' Rulings, established practice, and to the satisfaction of the Speaker Accords with Standing Orders, Speakers' Rulings, established practice, and to the satisfaction of the Speaker and members Accords with Standing Orders, Speakers' Rulings, established practice, and to the satisfaction of the Speaker Maintained in accordance with standards set by statute and Standing Orders Standard met. Advice met within agreed timeframes. Positive verbal feedback received and Speaker s satisfaction statement states that he is satisfied. Surveys of presiding officers indicated they were very satisfied with advice given. Standard met. Order Papers and legislation available for every sitting of the House. Compliance ensured by checking by senior manager. Standard met. The record was published for every sitting within agreed timeframes. Compliance ensured by all versions being peer reviewed and checked by senior manager. Standard met. Compliance ensured by review by senior manager. OFFICE OF THE CLERK OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE

20 Performance Measures Budgeted Standard Actual Standard Timeliness and quality of vetting questions for oral and written answer Accords with Standing Orders, Speakers' Rulings, established practice, and to the satisfaction of the Speaker Standard met for oral questions. Oral questions accepted as in order, published and made available in Chamber within agreed timeframes. Standard met on all but one occasion for written questions. Written questions accepted as in order, published to Ministers offices within agreed timeframe. Timeliness and accuracy of certification of bills, and their preparation for Royal assent Availability, timeliness and quality of Te Reo Māori interpretation and translation services Complies with Standing Orders, reflects the decisions of the House and committees, processed without delay and in the order passed by the House Interpreter available for the House at all sitting times and to select committees as requested. Translation service available on request. Services delivered in accordance with Standing Orders, Speakers Rulings, established practice and professional standards Standard met on all but two occasions. On one occasion the agreed timeframe was exceeded by one day. On the second occasion a private bill was introduced without being forwarded to the Clerk for endorsement. Compliance ensured by review by managers. Standard met. Compliance ensured by management reporting and review of all translations by Te Kaiwhakahaere. Services to committees Timeliness and quality of procedural and operational advice to committee chairpersons Accords with Standing Orders, Speakers' Rulings, established practice, and to the satisfaction of committee chairpersons Standard met with one exception. The instance of failure was identified by discussions with members and managers. A programmed schedule of interviews with committee chairpersons has been maintained and records kept over the review period. Timeliness and quality of servicing of committee sittings Accords with Standing Orders, Speakers' Rulings, established practice, and to the satisfaction of committee chairpersons and members Standard met. Compliance with the standard was measured by discussions with members, managers, and staff. A programmed schedule of interviews with committee chairpersons has been maintained and records kept over the review period. 20 OFFICE OF THE CLERK OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2013

21 Performance Measures Budgeted Standard Actual Standard Quality of information and services provided to inform committee consideration Accords with committee requirements and to the satisfaction of committee chairpersons and members Standard met with one exception. The instance of failure was raised by a letter of complaint from a committee. Compliance with the standard was measured by discussions with members, managers, and staff. A programmed schedule of interviews with committee chairpersons has been maintained and records kept over the review period. Timeliness and accuracy of recording decisions of committees Accords with Standing Orders, Speakers' Rulings, established practice, and to the satisfaction of committee chairpersons and members Standard met. Compliance with the standard was measured by discussions with members, managers, and staff. A programmed schedule of interviews with committee chairpersons has been maintained and records kept over the review period. Quality of maintenance of committee records Maintained in accordance with standards set by statute and Standing Orders Standard met. Compliance with the standard was measured by discussions with members, managers, and staff. A programmed schedule of interviews with committee chairpersons has been maintained and records kept over the review period. Timeliness and quality of drafting and publishing of committee reports Drafted and published in accordance with committee and House timetables, accurately reflect the views of the committee, and to the satisfaction of the committee chairpersons and members Standard met. Compliance with the standard was measured by discussions with members, managers, and staff. A programmed schedule of interviews with committee chairpersons has been maintained and records kept over the review period. Quality of brokering sources of subject advice to committees Contracted services meet the requirements of the contract and all advice is provided to the satisfaction of committee chairpersons and members Standard met. Compliance with the standard was measured by discussions with members, managers, and staff. A programmed schedule of interviews with committee chairpersons has been maintained and records kept over the review period. OFFICE OF THE CLERK OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE

22 Performance Measures Budgeted Standard Actual Standard Public information Timeliness and user accessibility of published House and committee proceedings House and committee proceedings published to the website and in print in accordance with established timeframes Systems for publication available. Percentage of House time covered and broadcast on television and radio, and the quality of services provided All sittings of the House of Representatives will be broadcast and filmed in accordance with Standing Orders, Speakers' Rulings, established practice, and professional standards Standard met. Percentage of TV coverage available to be replayed, timeliness of replays, and ease of access All proceedings of the House of Representatives searchable and available for replay within 45 minutes on normal sitting days Standard met. Availability of feeds for television broadcasters and web streaming No loss of feed reported Feeds were available for streaming, however streaming itself was unavailable for three hours on the afternoon of 7 May. Production of summary programmes about the proceedings of Parliament Contracted services provide meaningful, journalistically neutral summaries of the main themes of activity at Parliament within the time periods of each programme Standard met. Compliance with standard was ensured by routine monitoring of the programmes. Specialist procedural and legal services Timeliness, quality, and political sustainability of specialist and highlevel procedural and legal advice Accords with Standing Orders and Speakers' Rulings, is politically sustainable, and to the satisfaction of the Speaker Standard met. Advice provided within agreed timeframes. Positive oral and written feedback received, peer review process followed, and Speaker s satisfaction statement given. Timeliness, quality, and political sustainability of parliamentary policy development and advice Timeliness, accuracy, and appropriateness of parliamentary education services Accurate, informed, timely, and politically sustainable Accessible, accurate, useable, and up-to-date Standard met. Policy responses provided within agreed timeframes. Policy developments that significantly affect Parliament have Clerk s input. Standard met. Positive oral and written feedback received from participants and facilitators. Timeliness and accuracy of members legislative drafting service Accords with Standing Orders, Speakers' Rulings, and PCO drafting standards, is legally correct, and reflects the intention of the originator Standard met. Drafting services provided within agreed timeframes and verified by peer review. Positive oral and written feedback received from members. 22 OFFICE OF THE CLERK OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2013

23 Performance Measures Budgeted Standard Actual Standard Timeliness and quality of administration of statutory functions under the Citizens Initiated Referenda Act 1993 and the Electoral Act 1993 Complies with statutory requirements Standard met. Progress of proposals, including statutory time frames, recorded and met. Timeliness and quality of administration of the Register of Pecuniary Interests of Members of Parliament Accords with Standing Orders, Speakers' Rulings, and established practice Standard met. Summary published to website on 8 May 2013 and advice to members where appropriate was peer reviewed. OFFICE OF THE CLERK OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE

24 Cost of service 30/06/12 Actual Actual Main Estimates Supp Estimates $000 $000 $000 $000 17,050 Revenue Crown 17,347 17,297 17, Other Revenue/Department ,380 Total Revenue 17,569 17,531 17,581 15,826 Total Expenses 16,327 17,531 17,581 1,554 Net Surplus 1, The surplus resulted from delays in starting two significant projects the Virtual House portfolio of projects to upgrade the Office s publishing systems including a project to upgrade the ecommittee software. Output class 2: Inter-parliamentary relations This class involves the provision of advice on inter-parliamentary relations (IPR) to the Speaker and members, establishment of annual programme for incoming and outgoing visits, the development and implementation of individual visit programmes, the building of the capacity of the Pacific Island parliaments, supporting the New Zealand Parliament s contribution on global issues at international parliamentary organisations, and the hosting of international parliamentary conferences. Quality and quantity of servicing of inter-parliamentary relations Performance Measures Budgeted Standard Actual Standard Quality of advice to Speaker and members on issues relating to interparliamentary relations Timeliness and quality of development and management of annual visit programme and completed within budget Quality of advice and services to individual visits and timeliness of reporting Quality of advice and services supporting engagement with Pacific Island parliaments Quality of advice and services supporting engagement with interparliamentary organisations Quality of secretariat services to local branches of inter-parliamentary agencies Quality of planning, advice, and services supporting hosting of parliamentary conferences Accurate, informed, timely, and politically sustainable Meets the expectations of the Speaker Meets the satisfaction of the Speaker, members, and select committees, of both incoming and outgoing delegations Meets the satisfaction of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) Pacific Branches and Regional Representatives Meets the satisfaction of the Speaker, the permanent delegates to the CPA and Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), and members Meets the satisfaction of the Speaker, the permanent delegates to the CPA and IPU, and members Meets the satisfaction of the New Zealand Commonwealth Parliamentary Association Branch Inter- Parliamentary Union Group Executive Committee (the Committee) Standard met. Positive results from questionnaires received from members that have participated in events coordinated by IPR. Standard met. Programme submitted approved by the Speaker and managed within budget. Standard met. Positive results from questionnaires received by members participating in individual visits, both incoming and outgoing. Standard met. Positive oral feedback received by Presiding Officers and Clerks from Pacific Island parliaments. Standard met. Positive oral feedback received by Speaker, and permanent delegates to the CPA and IPU. Standard met. Positive oral feedback received by Speaker, and permanent delegates to the CPA and IPU. Standard met. Planning for the Conference of Speakers and Presiding Officers of the Commonwealth being held in 2014 underway. 24 OFFICE OF THE CLERK OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2013

25 Quantity 2008/ / / / /13 Outgoing parliamentary delegations and visits organised Incoming parliamentary delegations and visits organised Outputs in this class were provided within the appropriated sum including GST. The costs in this cost of service statement are stated exclusive of GST. This is a multi-year appropriation which commenced on 1 July 2011 and expires on 30 June Cost of service 30/06/12 Actual Actual Main Estimates Supp Estimates $000 $000 $000 $ Revenue Crown , Other Revenue/Department Total Revenue 1, , Total Expenses 1, , Net Surplus 59 OFFICE OF THE CLERK OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE

26 A.8 A.8 Responsibilities of the Auditor Statement of service performance We are responsible for expressing an independent opinion on the financial statements and the non-financial performance information and reporting that opinion to you based on our audit. Our responsibility arises from section 15 of the Public Audit Act 2001and the Public Finance Act Independence When carrying out the audit, we followed the independence requirements of the Auditor-General, which incorporate the independence requirements of the External Reporting Board. In addition to the audit, we have provided independent quality assurance over a tender process, which is compatible with those independence requirements. Other than this assignment, we have no relationship with or interests in the Office. Karen Young Audit New Zealand On behalf of the Auditor-General Wellington, New Zealand 26 OFFICE OF THE CLERK OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2013 OFFICE OF THE CLERK OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE

27 Statement of responsibility for the year ended 30 June 2013 In terms of the Public Finance Act 1989 I am responsible for the preparation of the Office of the Clerk s (the Office) financial statements and statement of service performance, and for the judgements made in them. I have the responsibility for establishing, and I have established, a system of internal control designed to provide reasonable assurance as to the integrity and reliability of financial reporting. In my opinion, the financial statements and statement of service performance fairly reflect the financial position of the Office as at 30 June 2013 and its operations for the year ended on that date. Mary Harris Rafael Gonzalez-Montero Clerk of the House of Representatives Clerk - Assistant (Organisational Performance and Public Information) (Chief Financial Officer) 9 September September 2013 OFFICE OF THE CLERK OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE

28 Independent Auditor s Report Independent Auditor s Report To the readers of Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives financial statements and non-financial performance information for the year ended 30 June 2013 The Auditor-General is the auditor of Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives (the Office). The Auditor-General has appointed me, Karen Young, using the staff and resources of Audit New Zealand, to carry out the audit of the financial statements and the non-financial performance information of the Office on her behalf. We have audited: the financial statements of the Office on pages 35 to 55, that comprise the statement of financial position, statement of commitments, statement of contingent liabilities and contingent assets as at 30 June 2013, the statement of comprehensive income, statement of changes in taxpayers funds, statement of departmental expenses and capital expenditure against appropriations, statement of departmental unappropriated expenditure and capital expenditure and statement of cash flows for the year ended on that date, and the notes to the financial statements that include accounting policies and other explanatory information; and the non-financial performance information of the Office that comprises the statement of service performance on pages 19 to 25 and the report about performance against priorities identified in the 2012/13 statement of intent on pages 9 to 13. Opinion In our opinion: the financial statements of the Office on pages 35 to 55: comply with generally accepted accounting practice in New Zealand; and fairly reflect the Office s: financial position as at 30 June 2013; 28 OFFICE OF THE CLERK OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2013

29 financial performance and cash flows for the year ended on that date; expenses and capital expenditure incurred against each appropriation administered by the Office and each class of outputs included in each output expense appropriation for the year ended 30 June 2013; unappropriated expenses and capital expenditure for the year ended 30 June 2013; and the non-financial performance information of the Office on pages 19 to 25 and 9 to 13: complies with generally accepted accounting practice in New Zealand; and fairly reflects the Office s service performance and outcomes for the year ended 30 June 2013, including for each class of outputs: its service performance compared with the forecasts in the statement of forecast service performance at the start of the financial year; and its actual revenue and output expenses compared with the forecasts in the statement of forecast service performance at the start of the financial year. Our audit was completed on 9 September This is the date at which our opinion is expressed. The basis of our opinion is explained below. In addition, we outline the responsibilities of the Clerk of the House of Representatives and our responsibilities, and we explain our independence. Basis of opinion We carried out our audit in accordance with the Auditor-General s Auditing Standards, which incorporate the International Standards on Auditing (New Zealand). Those standards require that we comply with ethical requirements and plan and carry out our audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements and the non-financial performance information are free from material misstatement. Material misstatements are differences or omissions of amounts and disclosures that, in our judgement, are likely to influence readers overall understanding of the financial statements and the non-financial performance information. If we had found material misstatements that were not corrected, we would have referred to them in our opinion. An audit involves carrying out procedures to obtain audit evidence about the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements and the non-financial performance information. The procedures selected depend on our judgement, including our assessment of risks of material misstatement of the financial statements and the non-financial performance information, whether due to fraud or error. In making those risk assessments, we consider internal control relevant to the Office s preparation of the financial statements and the OFFICE OF THE CLERK OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE

30 non-financial performance information that fairly reflect the matters to which they relate. We consider internal control in order to design audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Office s internal control. An audit also involves evaluating: the appropriateness of accounting policies used and whether they have been consistently applied; the reasonableness of the significant accounting estimates and judgements made by the Clerk of the House of Representatives; the appropriateness of the reported non-financial performance information within the Office s framework for reporting performance; the adequacy of all disclosures in the financial statements and the non-financial performance information; and the overall presentation of the financial statements and the non-financial performance information. We did not examine every transaction, nor do we guarantee complete accuracy of the financial statements and the non-financial performance information. Also we did not evaluate the security and controls over the electronic publication of the financial statements and non-financial performance information. We have obtained all the information and explanations we have required and we believe we have obtained sufficient and appropriate audit evidence to provide a basis for our audit opinion. Responsibilities of the Clerk of the House of Representatives The Clerk of the House of Representatives is responsible for preparing financial statements and non-financial performance information that: comply with generally accepted accounting practice in New Zealand; fairly reflect the Office s financial position, financial performance, cash flows, expenses and capital expenditure incurred against each appropriation and its unappropriated expenses and capital expenditure; and fairly reflects its service performance and outcomes. The Clerk of the House of Representatives is also responsible for such internal control as is determined is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements and non-financial performance information that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error. The Clerk of the House of Representatives is also responsible for the publication of the financial statements and non-financial performance information, whether in printed or electronic form. The Clerk of the House of Representatives responsibilities arise from the Public Finance Act OFFICE OF THE CLERK OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2013

31 A.8 A.8 Responsibilities of the Auditor Statement of service performance We are responsible for expressing an independent opinion on the financial statements and the non-financial performance information and reporting that opinion to you based on our audit. Our responsibility arises from section 15 of the Public Audit Act 2001and the Public Finance Act Independence When carrying out the audit, we followed the independence requirements of the Auditor-General, which incorporate the independence requirements of the External Reporting Board. In addition to the audit, we have provided independent quality assurance over a tender process, which is compatible with those independence requirements. Other than this assignment, we have no relationship with or interests in the Office. Karen Young Audit New Zealand On behalf of the Auditor-General Wellington, New Zealand 26 OFFICE OF THE CLERK OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2013 OFFICE OF THE CLERK OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE

32 Statement of service performance for the year ended 30 June 2013 Output class 1: Secretariat services for the House of Representatives This output class involves provision to the House of Representatives of professional advice and services to assist the House in the fulfilment of its constitutional functions. Officers assist with the transaction of parliamentary business on the floor of the House and in select committees. Quantity of business transacted by the House and committees 2008/ / / / /13 House statistics Sitting days of the House serviced Calendar days of the House serviced Sitting hours in the House Normal (hours and minutes) Extended (hours and minutes) 1 n/a n/a n/a Urgency (hours and minutes) Total House Sitting hours in committee of the whole House Normal (hours and minutes) Extended (hours and minutes) 1 n/a n/a n/a Urgency (hours and minutes) Total committee of the whole House Total House and committee of the whole House Order Papers published Parliamentary Bulletins published Papers processed for presentation 1,322 1,333 1, ,470 Petitions scrutinised for presentation Notices of motion scrutinised for lodging Oral questions scrutinised 683 1,042 1, ,093 Written questions scrutinised for lodging 11,195 31,001 31,160 13,019 15,880 Members bills drafted/processed Members bills ballots conducted Bills introduced Government Members Private Local Extended hours were introduced with effect from 21 October 2011 following the Standing Orders Committee report, Review of Standing Orders, I.18B This figure includes provisional Order Papers. 32 OFFICE OF THE CLERK OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2013

33 2008/ / / / /13 Bills certified for reprinting Assents prepared CIR petition questions determined Select committee statistics 2008/ / / / /13 Select committees serviced (including subcommittees) * Select committee meetings serviced (including subcommittees) * Hours of committee meetings serviced (including subcommittees) 542 1,111 1, ,231* Items of business considered by committees Select committee reports presented Select committee reports printed separately Compendia of select committee reports Bills considered by select committees Transcription of select committees (hours and minutes) Transcription of select committees (number of committee hearings serviced) Hansard statistics Hansard advance produced Hansard Weekly (pinks) produced Discontinued Broadcasting services Calendar days House broadcast *The Business Committee and the statutory Intelligence and Security Committee are now included in these figures. Outputs in this class were provided within the appropriated sum including GST. The costs in this cost of service statement are stated exclusive of GST This figure represents bills reprinted following select committee and committee of the whole House stages. The number of assents prepared for each year can vary significantly depending on whether a Statutes Amendment Bill has been passed by the House. All reports on the Estimates, the financial reviews of departments, and the reviews of State enterprises, Crown entities, and public organisations are each printed in a single volume. Another volume covers all other reports not printed separately. OFFICE OF THE CLERK OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE

34 Output class 2: Inter-parliamentary relations This class involves the provision of advice on inter-parliamentary relations (IPR) to the Speaker and members, establishment of an annual programme for incoming and outgoing visits, the development and implementation of individual visit programmes, the building of the capacity of the Pacific Island parliaments, supporting the New Zealand Parliament s contribution on global issues at international parliamentary organisations, and the hosting of international parliamentary conferences. Quantity 2008/ / / / /13 Outgoing parliamentary delegations and visits organised Incoming parliamentary delegations and visits organised Outputs in this class were provided within the appropriated sum including GST. The costs in this cost of service statement are stated exclusive of GST. This is a three year appropriation which commenced on 1 July 2011 and expires on 30 June OFFICE OF THE CLERK OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2013

35 Financial statements Statement of comprehensive income for the year ended 30 June /06/12 Actual Actual Main Estimates Supp Estimates $000 Note $000 $000 $000 Income 17,850 Crown 18,321 18,282 18, Department Other ,197 Total income 18,852 18,516 18,993 Expenses 8,555 Personnel 2 8,845 10,226 7,997 6,939 Operating 3 7,491 6,904 9, Depreciation and amortisation Capital charge ,565 Total expenses 17,551 18,516 18,993 1,632 Net Surplus 1, Other comprehensive income ,632 Total comprehensive income 1, Explanations of major variances against budget are provided in note 21. The accompanying notes form part of these financial statements. OFFICE OF THE CLERK OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE

36 Statement of financial position as at 30 June /06/12 Actual Actual Main Estimates Supp Estimates $000 Note $000 $000 $000 Taxpayers funds 6,243 Taxpayers funds 6,243 6,243 6,243 6,243 Total taxpayers funds 6,243 6,243 6,243 Represented by: Current assets 7,232 Cash and cash equivalents 4,436 5,619 5, Debtors and other receivables Prepayments Debtor Crown 2, ,527 Total current assets 7,270 5,731 5,654 Non-current assets 702 Property, plant and equipment ,240 Intangibles 8 2,390 2,301 2,668 2,942 Total non-current assets 2,890 2,904 3,243 10,469 Total assets 10,160 8,635 8,897 Current liabilities 1,339 Creditors and accruals 10 1, ,399 1,632 Provision for payment of operating surplus 1, Employee entitlements ,614 Total current liabilities 3,520 1,834 2,042 Non-current liabilities 612 Employee entitlements Total non-current liabilities ,226 Total liabilities 3,917 2,392 2,654 6,243 Net assets 6,243 6,243 6,243 The accompanying notes form part of these financial statements. 36 OFFICE OF THE CLERK OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2013

37 Statement of changes in taxpayers funds for the year ended 30 June /06/12 Actual Actual Main Estimates Supp Estimates $000 $000 $000 $000 6,243 Balance as at 1 July 6,243 6,243 6,243 1,632 Total comprehensive income 1, (1,632) Return of operating surplus to the Crown (1,301) - - 6,243 Balance as at 30 June 6,243 6,243 6,243 The accompanying notes form part of these financial statements. OFFICE OF THE CLERK OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE

38 Statement of cash flows for the year ended 30 June /06/12 Actual Actual Main Estimates Supp Estimates $000 Note $000 $000 $000 Cash flows from operating activities Cash provided from supply of outputs: 17,850 Crown 15,954 18,282 18, Department Other (277) ,198 16,314 18,516 18,993 Cash disbursed to produce outputs: 8,727 Personnel 9,032 9,924 7,997 6,928 Operating 6,657 7,206 9, Net GST paid Capital charge ,263 16,806 17,630 18,361 1,935 Operating activities net cash flows (492) Cash flows from investing activities Cash disbursed to: (868) Purchase of property, plant and equipment and intangible assets (672) (955) (955) (868) Investing activities net cash flows (672) (955) (955) Cash flows from financing activities Cash disbursed to: (657) Return of operating surplus (1,632) - (1,632) (657) Financing activities net cash flows (1,632) - (1,632) 410 Net increase (decrease) in cash held (2,796) (69) (1,955) 6,822 Cash at the beginning of the year 7,232 5,688 7,232 7,232 Cash at the end of the year 4,436 5,619 5,277 The GST (net) component of operating activities reflects net GST paid and received with the Inland Revenue Department. The GST (net) component has been presented on a net basis to be consistent with the presentation basis of the other primary financial statements. The accompanying notes form part of these financial statements. 38 OFFICE OF THE CLERK OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2013

39 Statement of commitments as at 30 June 2013 As at 30 June 2013, there were no non-cancellable lease contracts (2012: nil). Statement of contingent liabilities and contingent assets as at 30 June 2013 Contingent liabilities As at 30 June 2013, there were no contingent liabilities (2012: nil). As at 30 June 2013 there were no guarantees or indemnities given under sections 65ZD and 65ZE of the Public Finance Act 1989 in respect of the activities of the Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives (2012: nil). Contingent assets The Office has no contingent assets (2012: nil). The accompanying notes form part of these financial statements. OFFICE OF THE CLERK OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE

40 Statement of departmental expenses and capital expenditure against appropriations for the year ended 30 June /06/12 Expenditure actual $000 Expenditure actual $000 Main Estimates $000 Supp Estimates $000 Vote Office of the Clerk Appropriation for output expenses 15,826 Secretariat services for the House of Representatives 16,327 17,531 17,581 - Inter-parliamentary relations annual ,826 Total appropriation for output expenses 16,327 17,531 17,581 Appropriation for capital expenditure 868 Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives Capital expenditure (Permanent Legislative Authority) 16,694 Total appropriation for output and capital expenses ,999 18,486 18,536 Details of multi-year appropriations This is a multi-year appropriation which commenced on 1 July 2011 and expires on 30 June Vote Office of the Clerk Appropriation for output expenses Expenditure actual $000 Original appropriation Adjustments to 2011/12 Adjustments for 2012/13 2,778 (2) 610 Total adjusted appropriation 3,386 Actual expenditure for 2011/12 Actual expenditure for 2012/13 Cumulative actual expenditure till 30 June 13 Appropriation remaining for 2013/ ,224 1,963 1,423 The accompanying notes form part of these financial statements. 40 OFFICE OF THE CLERK OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2013

41 Statement of departmental unappropriated expenditure and capital expenditure for the year ended 30 June 2013 Expenses and capital expenditure approved under section 26B of the Public Finance Act 1989 Nil (2012: Nil) Expenses and capital expenditure incurred in excess of appropriation Nil (2012: Nil) Expenses and capital expenditure incurred without appropriation or other authority Nil (2012: Nil) Breaches of projected departmental net asset schedules Nil (2012: Nil) The accompanying notes form part of these financial statements. OFFICE OF THE CLERK OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE

42 Notes to the financial statements for the year ended 30 June 2013 Note 1 Statement of accounting policies Reporting entity The Office of the Clerk (the Office) is a Government department as defined by the Public Finance Act 1989 and is domiciled in New Zealand. The Office has designated itself as a Public Benefit Entity as the primary objective is the provision of specialist advice on parliamentary procedure, parliamentary law, and administrative services to the Speaker and members of the House of Representatives. The financial statements have been authorised for use on 9 September 2013 by the Clerk of the House of Representatives and the Clerk-Assistant, Organisational Performance and Public Information (Chief Financial Officer). Basis of preparation Statement of compliance These are the financial statements of the Office for the year ended 30 June 2013, which have been prepared pursuant to the Public Finance Act 1989, which include the requirement to comply with New Zealand generally accepted accounting practice (NZ GAAP), and Treasury Instructions. These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with NZ GAAP, 6 and comply with NZ IFRS 7 and other applicable financial reporting standards as appropriate for Public Benefit Entities. Measurement base The financial statements have been prepared on an historical cost basis. Functional and presentation currency The financial statements are presented in New Zealand dollars and all values are rounded to the nearest thousand ($000). The functional currency of the Office is New Zealand dollars. Changes in accounting policies There have been no changes in accounting policies. Previous year s numbers have been restated where necessary for comparison purposes. Standards, amendments, and interpretations issued that are not yet effective and have not been early adopted There is one standard, amendment, or interpretation issued but not yet effective that has not been early adopted, and that is relevant to the Office. NZ IFRS 9 Financial Instruments will eventually replace NZ IAS 39 Financial Instruments: Recognition and Measurement. NZ IAS 39 is being replaced through the following three main phases: Phase 1 Classification and Measurement, Phase 2 Impairment Methodology, and Phase 3 Hedge Accounting. Phase 1 has been completed and has been published in the new financial instrument standard NZ IFRS 9. NZ IFRS 9 uses a single approach to determine whether a financial asset is measured at amortised cost or fair value, replacing the many different rules in NZ IAS 39. The approach in 6 Generally Accepted Accounting Practice in New Zealand. 7 New Zealand equivalents to International Financial Reporting Standards. 42 OFFICE OF THE CLERK OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2013

43 NZ IFRS 9 is based on how an entity manages its financial assets (its business model) and the contractual cash flow characteristics of the financial assets. The financial liability requirements are the same as those of NZ IAS 39, except for when an entity elects to designate a financial liability at fair value through the surplus/deficit. The new standard is required to be adopted for the year ended 30 June However, as a new Accounting Standards Framework will apply before this date, there is no certainty when an equivalent standard to NZ IFRS 9 will be applied by public benefit entities. The Minister of Commerce has approved a new Accounting Standards Framework (incorporating a Tier Strategy) developed by the External Reporting Board (XRB). Under this Accounting Standards Framework, the Office will be eligible to apply the reduced disclosure regime (Tier 2 reporting entity) of the public sector Public Benefit Entity Accounting Standards. The effective date for the new standards for public sector entities is for reporting periods beginning on or after 1 July Therefore, the Office will transition to the new standards in preparing its 30 June 2015 financial statements. The Office has not assessed the implications of the new Accounting Standards Framework at this time. Due to the change in the Accounting Standards Framework for public benefit entities, it is expected that all new NZ IFRS and amendments to existing NZ IFRS will not be applicable to public benefit entities. Therefore, the XRB has effectively frozen the financial reporting requirements for public benefit entities up until the new Accounting Standard Framework is effective. Accordingly, no disclosure has been made about new or amended NZ IFRS that exclude public benefit entities from their scope. The following significant accounting policies, which materially affect the measurement of financial results and financial position, have been applied consistently to all periods presented in these financial statements. Significant accounting policies Budget figures The Budget figures are those presented in the Information Supporting the Estimates of Appropriations for the Government of New Zealand for the year ended 30 June 2013 in the Main Estimates and those amended by the Supplementary Estimates and any transfer made by Order in Council under the Public Finance Act The budget figures have been prepared in accordance with NZ GAAP, using accounting policies that are consistent with those adopted in preparing these financial statements. Revenue The Office derives revenue through the provision of outputs to Parliament. Such revenue is recognised when earned and is reported in the financial period to which it relates. Revenue is measured at the fair value of the consideration when received or receivable. Statement of cost allocation policy The Office has derived the costs of outputs using the cost allocation system outlined below. Direct costs are charged directly to significant activities. Indirect costs are charged to significant activities based on cost drivers and related activities/usage information. Criteria for direct and indirect costs: Direct costs are those costs directly attributed to an output. Direct costs are charged directly to outputs. Depreciation and capital charge are charged on the basis of asset utilisation. Personnel costs are charged on an assessment of the time spent on functions involved in each output. OFFICE OF THE CLERK OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE

44 Indirect costs are those costs that cannot be identified in an economically feasible manner, with a specific output. Indirect costs are expenses incurred in the Organisational Performance and Public Information Group, and are assigned to outputs on the basis of a proportion of direct staff costs used for each output. There have been no changes in cost allocation policies since the date of the last audited financial statements. Trade and other receivables Receivables are recorded at fair value, after providing for impairment. A provision for impairment of receivables is established when there is objective evidence that the Office will not be able to collect all amounts due according to the original terms of the receivables. Significant financial difficulties of the debtor, probability that the debtor will enter into bankruptcy, and default in payments are considered indicators that the debtor is impaired. The amount of the impairment is the difference between the asset s carrying amount and the present value of estimated future cash flows, discounted using the original effective interest rate. The carrying amount of the asset is reduced through the use of a provision for impairment account, and the amount of the loss is recognised in the net surplus or deficit. When a debt is uncollectible, it is written off against the provision for impairment account for debtors. Overdue receivables that are renegotiated are reclassified as current (ie, not past due). Cash and cash equivalents Cash and cash equivalents consists of cash in the bank and cash on hand and is measured at its face value. Finance leases A finance lease is a lease that transfers to the lessee substantially all of the risks and rewards incidental to ownership of an asset, whether or not title is eventually transferred. At the commencement of the lease term, the Office recognises finance leases as assets and liabilities in the Statement of Financial Position at the lower of the fair value of the leased item and the present value of the minimum lease payments. The amount recognised as an asset is depreciated over its useful life. If there is no certainty as to whether the Office will obtain ownership at the end of the lease term, the asset is fully depreciated over the shorter of the lease terms and its useful life. Operating leases The Office does not have any operating leases. Property, plant and equipment (PPE) Property, plant and equipment (PPE) consists of furniture, office equipment and computer hardware. The initial cost of PPE is the value of the consideration given to acquire or create the asset and any directly attributable costs of bringing the asset to working condition for its intended use. PPE is measured at cost less accumulated depreciation and impairment losses. Depreciation and amortisation Depreciation of property, plant and equipment is provided on a straight-line basis so as to allocate the cost of assets, less any estimated residual value, over their useful lives. 44 OFFICE OF THE CLERK OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2013

45 The estimated economic useful lives and associated depreciation and amortisation rates of major classes of assets are: Furniture and fittings 5 10 years 20% 10% Office equipment 5 10 years 20% 10% Computer hardware 3 10 years 33% 10% Computer software 3 8 years 33.3% 12.5 % Intangible assets software acquisition and development Intangible assets are acquired computer software licenses that are capitalised on the basis of the cost incurred to acquire and bring to use the specific software. Costs that are directly associated with the development of software for internal use by the Office are recognised as an intangible asset. The carrying value of an intangible asset with a finite life is amortised on a straight-line basis over its useful life of between three and eight years. Costs associated with maintaining computer software are recognised as an expense when incurred. Additions All property, plant and equipment costing more than $2,000 excluding GST, are capitalised and recorded at historical cost. Software licences costing more than $2,000 excluding GST per licence are capitalised. Capital work in progress Capital work in progress is not depreciated. The total cost of this work is transferred to the relevant asset category on its completion. Disposals Gains and losses on disposals are determined by comparing the proceeds with the carrying amount of the asset. Gains and losses on disposals are included in the surplus or deficit. Impairment Property, plant and equipment and intangible assets that have a finite useful life are reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount may not be recoverable. An impairment loss is recognised for the amount by which the asset s carrying amount exceeds its recoverable amount. The recoverable amount is the higher of an asset s fair value less costs to sell and value in use. If an asset s carrying amount exceeds its recoverable amount the asset is impaired and the carrying amount is written down to the recoverable amount. Donated assets Donated assets, with or without conditions, are valued at fair market value and recognised as revenue when control over the asset is obtained. Creditors and other payables Creditors and other payables are initially measured at fair value and subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method. Employee entitlements Provision is made in respect of the Office s liability for annual, long service, retirement and sick leave. Annual leave has been calculated on an actual basis at current rates of pay. Long service OFFICE OF THE CLERK OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE

46 and retirement leave have been calculated on an actuarial basis based on the present value of expected future entitlements. Sick leave has been calculated on the past history of sick leave taken by all employees for the last three years to derive the average amount of accrued sick leave taken over and above the entitlement for the year. Sick leave has been actuarially assessed. Defined benefit schemes The Office of the Clerk belongs to the Government Superannuation Scheme (GSF). GSF is a defined benefit plan. Insufficient information is available to use defined benefit accounting, as it is not possible to determine from the terms of the scheme the extent to which the surplus or deficit will affect future contributions by individual employers, as there is no prescribed basis for allocation. The scheme is therefore accounted for as a defined contribution scheme. Further information on this scheme is disclosed in the statement of contingent liabilities and contingent assets. The GSF is therefore accounted for as a defined contribution scheme. Defined contribution schemes Obligations for contributions to the State Sector Retirement Savings Scheme, KiwiSaver and GSF are accounted for and recognised as an expense in the surplus or deficit as incurred. Foreign currency Foreign currency transactions are converted at the New Zealand dollar exchange rate at the date of the transaction. When a forward exchange contract has been used to establish the price of a transaction, the forward rate specified in that foreign exchange contract is used to convert the transaction to New Zealand dollars. Foreign exchange gains and losses resulting from the settlement of such transactions and from the translation at year-end exchange rates of monetary assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies are recognised in the surplus or deficit. Financial instruments Revenue and expenses in relation to all financial instruments are recognised in the surplus or deficit. Where the Office enters into foreign currency forward contracts to hedge foreign currency transactions, any exposure to gains or losses on these contracts is generally offset by a related loss or gain on the item being hedged. Goods and services tax (GST) The financial statements are exclusive of GST, except for creditors and payables and debtors and receivables, which are GST inclusive. All other statements are GST exclusive. The amount of GST owing to or from the Inland Revenue Department at balance date, being the difference between output GST and input GST, is included in creditors and payables or debtors and receivables (as appropriate). Commitments and contingencies are disclosed exclusive of GST. Income tax Government departments are exempt from the payment of income tax in terms of the Income Tax Act Accordingly, no charge for income tax has been provided for. Commitments Future expenses and liabilities to be incurred on non-cancellable lease contracts that have been entered into at balance date are disclosed as commitments to the extent that they are equally unperformed obligations. Commitments relating to employment contracts are not disclosed. 46 OFFICE OF THE CLERK OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2013

47 Taxpayers funds This is the Crown s net investment in the Office and is measured as the difference between total assets and total liabilities. Critical accounting estimates and assumptions In preparing these financial statements the Office has made estimates and assumptions concerning the future. These estimates and assumptions may differ from the subsequent actual results. Estimates and judgments are continually evaluated and are based on historical experiences and other factors, including expectations or future events that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances. Note 2 Personnel costs 30/06/12 Actual Actual Main Estimates Supp Estimates $000 $000 $000 $000 8,305 Salaries and wages 8,784 9, (85) Increase (decrease) in employee entitlements annual, (187) retirement and long service leave 335 Other personnel costs ,555 Total personnel costs 8,845 10,226 7,997 OFFICE OF THE CLERK OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE

48 Note 3 Operating costs 30/06/12 Actual Actual Main Estimates Supp Estimates $000 $000 $000 $000 7 Net loss on disposal of property, plant and equipment Audit fees to auditors for audit of the financial statements Assurance services provided by Audit NZ ,023 Broadcasting costs 3,076 3,066 3, Printing contract ,146 Information services 1,104 1,207 1,207 2,350 Other operating costs 3,074 2,305 5,245 6,939 Total operating costs 7,491 6,904 9,843 Note 4 Depreciation and amortisation costs 30/06/12 Actual Actual Main Estimates Supp Estimates $000 $000 $000 $ Computer hardware Furniture Office equipment Computer software Total depreciation and amortisation costs Note 5 Capital charge The Office pays a capital charge to the Crown on its taxpayers funds as at 30 June and 31 December each year. The capital charge rate for the year ended 30 June 2013 was 8% (2012: 8 %). Note 6 Debtors and other receivables The Office of the Clerk had not yet been reimbursed for these payments at balance date. There are no receivables past due at 30 June OFFICE OF THE CLERK OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2013

49 A.8 A.8 Structure of the Office of the Clerk Note 7 Property, plant and equipment Office of the Clerk structure Executive Assistant to the Clerk Clerk-Assistant (Select Committees) Clerk-Assistant (Organisational Performance and Public Information) and Clerk-Assistant (Publishing Development) Clerk-Assistant (House) Second Principal Permanent Officer of the House/ Deputy Chief Executive Manager Legal Services Legal services to the Office Legal services to Parliamentary Service and select committees Allocation of members drafting services Manager Parliamentary Relations Manager Policy Inter-parliamentary Procedural and parliamentary policy relations research and development Parliamentary education Manager Select Committee Services (x3) Services to select committees Financial scrutiny process Te Kaiwhakahaere Ngā Ratonga Reo Māori Interpretation and translation Manager House Manager Hansard Chamber support Hansard Certification of Bills Computers Office equipment Total Balance as at 1 July 2011 Additions Disposals 214-2, (482) , (482) Balance as at 30 June , ,408 Balance as at 1 July 2012 Adjustments Additions Disposals 214-2, (452) 84 (8) - 2,408 (1) 13 (452) Balance as at 30 June , ,968 Cost or valuation Clerk of the House (Chief Executive) Deputy Clerk/Senior Manager (Parliamentary Relations and Policy) Furniture Manager Organisational Performance Manager Public Information and Chamber Operations Financial services Broadcasting Human resource services Publishing Administration and facilities Planning Manager Information Services Information services Operation of the Chamber Press gallery liaison Risk management Services to Regulations Review Committee The Office s Senior Management Team consists of: Clerk of the House, Deputy Clerk/Senior Manager (Parliamentary Relations and Policy), Clerk-Assistant (Select Committees), Clerk-Assistant (House), Clerk-Assistant (Organisational Performance and Public Information) and Clerk-Assistant (Publishing Development) Accumulated depreciation and impairment losses Balance as at 1 July 2011 (73) (1,808) (63) (1,944) Depreciation expense (24) (215) (5) (244) Eliminate on disposal Balance as at 30 June 2012 (97) (1,548) (61) (1,706) Balance as at 1 July 2012 (97) (1,548) (61) (1,706) Adjustments Depreciation expense Eliminate on disposal 1 (24) - (178) 444 (5) - 1 (207) (120) (1,282) (66) (1,468) As at 30 June As at 30 June As at 30 June Balance as at 30 June Carrying amounts 8 OFFICE OF THE CLERK OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2013 OFFICE OF THE CLERK OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE