78798 (2024). Hon Dr Ayesha Verrall to the Minister for Tertiary Education and Skills

78798 (2024). Hon Dr Ayesha Verrall to the Minister for Tertiary Education and Skills: Has the process for appointing individuals to Crown boards within ministries, departments and/or agencies for which the Minister is responsible changed since 27 November 2023, if so, what specific changes have been made to the process, on what date did those changes occur, and what advice or reasoning, if any, informed those changes, listed by title and date?

Hon Penny Simmonds: I am advised by the Ministry of Education that, since 27 November 2023, there have been no substantive changes to the process for appointing individuals to Crown entities and other statutory boards. Officials at the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) have advised me that the appointment process for Ministerial appointed members of the tertiary education institution (TEI) councils was changed in April 2024 to strengthen the due diligence carried out for potential candidates. These changes were made as part of TEC’s continuous improvement of its internal processes and help to ensure that Ministerial appointment processes are carried out in accordance with the Public Service Commission’s Board Appointment and Induction Guidelines.