57825 (2024). Francisco Hernandez to the Minister of Customs

57825 (2024). Francisco Hernandez to the Minister of Customs: How many contractors, if any, did the Minister's departments have on 9 September 2024; and how many of them, if any, were former employees of the department that lost their roles or resigned from their roles since 27 November 2023?

Hon Casey Costello: I am advised that the New Zealand Customs Service (Customs) does not keep a central record of this information, making it difficult to respond to this question in the required timeframe without substantial use of officials’ time. However, Customs regularly provides information on the use of contractors and consultants to the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Select Committee, as part of the Annual Review and Estimates process, which the member may wish to refer to. The most recent questionnaires completed by Customs for the 2022/23 Annual Review and 2024/25 Estimates hearings can be found through the following links: 2022/2023 Annual review (Questions 68 to 75) -https://www.parliament.nz/resource/en-NZ/54SCFADT_EVI_f5582f61-a999-4040-83e5-08dbff6cce5c_FADT347/95d20387ceb1ab7faebf8c4a33179a9c8da1c8af 2024/2025 Estimates (Questions 71 to 80) - https://www.parliament.nz/resource/en-NZ/54SCFADT_EVI_76ce53a6-734b-41ea-6d34-08dc80ee0281_FADT611/0da9a386da1bc256d4a5d715b81c3e133675433c Furthermore, Customs has advised me that no contractors that they are currently engaged with were previous permanent employees who lost their roles or resigned since 27 November 2023. This response includes the staff of the Border Executive Board secretariat, as these staff are employees of Customs.