As part of Budget 2021 [the Treasury guide Putting It Together(external link)(external link) provides an overview of New Zealand’s State sector finance system and how the Budget process works], $14.836 million of funding was provided to ensure the Crown continues to respond to the Abuse in Care Inquiry in a timely, joined up way.  The Crown must provide a large volume of material, make witnesses available and respond to the Inquiry’s requests and findings as it proceeds.

The following table shows how the funding is spread across a number of appropriations [an appropriation is a parliamentary authorisation for the Crown or an Office of Parliament to incur expenses or capital expenditure] and Votes [a Vote is a grouping of one or more appropriations that are the responsibility of a Minister of the Crown and are administered by a department. Votes generally take the name of the portfolio of the Vote Minister].  The funding covers:

• the Crown Response Unit providing overall coordination and administration for the cross-agency Crown Response;
• specialist research, modelling, and policy support, to help agencies respond to Abuse in Care Inquiry requests for analysis and Inquiry recommendations;
• specialist records management support, including secure records retrieval, digitisation, and processing for both the Abuse in Care Inquiry and care leavers affected by the Inquiry;
• legal support for representation and procedural matters;
• wellbeing, safety, and cultural support for current and former staff; and
• records management services to NGOs and Crown entities.

The funding is for one year only. The Crown Response applies for funding on a year-by-year basis to ensure it has the right resources to respond to the specific needs of the Abuse in Care Inquiry.