Combined Pharmaceutical Budget (CPB) budget bids and budget funding signals for 2022/23

Thank you for your request dated 8 September 2022 under the Official Information Act 1982 (OIA) for information relating to Combined Pharmaceutical Budget (CPB). You requested: 

‘All final or draft documentation, in either digital or physical form including but not limited to reports, letters, emails, minutes, recommendations, spreadsheets, analyses, templates, notes, and comments, relating to the Combined Pharmaceutical Budget (CPB) budget bids and budget funding signals for the 2022/23 financial year and outyears.’ 

Further to our letter of 6 October 2022 to advise you that we had extended the time limit for making a decision on your request until 4 November 2022, we are now able to provide our response to your request. The documents identified within the scope of your request are attached to this letter. 

We have redacted a small amount of information from the documents as we consider this is necessary to:

• maintain constitutional conventions for the time being which protect the confidentiality of advice tendered by Ministers of the Crown and officials (section 9(2)(f)(iv));
• protect the privacy of natural persons (section 9(2)(a));
• enable Pharmac to carry on, without prejudice or disadvantage, negotiations, including commercial negotiations (section 9(2)(j));

As required under the OIA, we also considered whether, in the circumstances, the withholding of this information was outweighed by other considerations which render it desirable, in the public interest, to make this information available.  In this case we did not consider that the public interest outweighed the reasons for withholding the information. 

Please note you have the right, by way of complaint under section 28(3) of the OIA to an Ombudsman, to seek an investigation and review of our decision. 

Please get in touch with us if you have any questions about this.