Office of Hon Bill English
Deputy Prime Minister
Minister of Finance
MP for Clutha-Southland

Dear Board Chairs of Statutory Crown Entities

Enduring Letter of Expectations

This letter replaces the previous letter of expectations that was sent on 22 December 2008 to the chairs of boards of statutory Crown entities. The "no surprises" policy remains in place. No surprises means that the Government expects a board to:

• be aware of any possible implications of their decisions and actions for wider government policy issues
• advise the responsible Minister of issues that may be discussed in the public arena or that may require a ministerial response, preferably ahead of time or otherwise as soon as possible, and
• inform the Minister in advance of any major strategic initiative.

Crown entities must comply with the good employer provisions set out in the Crown Entities Act and maintain standards of integrity and conduct set out in the code of conduct for the State Services at www.ssc.govt.nz/code. We also expect entities to take account of the Government's expectations for Pay and Employment Conditions in the State Sector.

This Government requires effective self monitoring by boards

Your board is the most important monitor of entity performance. We expect boards to provide to responsible Ministers high quality information and analysis on entity performance against plan, implications for future performance, and risks and opportunities facing the entity. We also expect you to have a constructive working relationship with your monitoring department.

... increased transparency of performance

We want to see boards operate transparently by disclosing non-sensitive entity performance information throughout the year via your websites, following discussion with your responsible Minister.

... and expects State agencies to deliver Better Public Services

The Better Public Services programme (www.ssc.govt.nz/better-public-services) focuses on delivering better results and improved services for New Zealanders. In that context, we expect boards to:

• maintain a thorough understanding of the business and cost drivers of your entities, and look for service improvements within tight fiscal constraints
• take opportunities to work with other agencies on joint procurement, shared services and delivering key results to maximise system-wide efficiency and effectiveness
• look for opportunities to share your ideas on how the State Services can operate more effectively and efficiently.

Yours sincerely