National Breastfeeding Committee

Terms of Reference

1. Purpose

The purpose of the National Breastfeeding Committee (the Committee) is to provide advice on breastfeeding to the Ministry of Health, the wider health sector and other relevant government agencies, to support the achievement of the vision of the National Plan of Action for Breastfeeding:

Aotearoa New Zealand is a country in which breastfeeding is valued, protected, promoted and supported by the whole of society.

The advice will help ensure that strategies designed to improve breastfeeding rates are effective, relevant, practical, equitable and sustainable, and represent best practice.

2. Objectives

The Committee’s objectives are:

to provide advice and guidance on the implementation of the National Strategic Plan of Action for Breastfeeding (the plan) (National Breastfeeding Advisory Committee 2008);
to provide information and guidance to support specific programmes and interventions under the Plan;
through its actions, contribute to increased breastfeeding rates, including a reduction in inequalities of breastfeeding rates across the population;
to foster improved collaboration and coordinated planning and practice within and between relevant sectors; and
to make an active contribution to the establishment of a breastfeeding culture in New Zealand.

3. Principles

In all its work, the Committee will:

adopt an evidence-based approach;
be guided by the Treaty of Waitangi principles of partnership, participation and protection;
have a population focus consistent with the Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion;
carry out its tasks in an open and transparent manner; and
work together in a collegial manner, seeking consensus wherever possible.

4. Accountability

The Committee is established by the Ministry of Health and is accountable to the Director-General of Health.

5. Tasks

The Committee’s key tasks are to:

develop and provide expert, impartial advice to the Ministry of Health and other key agencies as requested;
receive information on, track and comment on progress toward the implementation of the plan;
host sector meetings to facilitate collaboration and coordination on breastfeeding, specifically concerning but not limited to activities outlined in the plan;
assist in programme planning for and prioritisation of activities as required;
commission relevant research to support the development and provision of robust advice on the protection, promotion and support of breastfeeding in New Zealand; and
inform and advocate for the protection, promotion and support of breastfeeding in New Zealand.

The Committee may also advise on other matters that the Director-General and the Committee agree will be required to achieve the objectives and tasks of the Committee, as described above.

The Director-General may request that the Committee provide advice to other agencies, provided the issue in question falls within the Committee’s scope of work.

6. Scope of advice

The Committee’s work will focus on the implementation of the National Strategic Plan of Action on Breastfeeding (the Plan). Within this, there is scope for the Committee to provide advice, as appropriate, on other programmes and interventions that are relevant to the achievement of the outcomes and objectives in the plan. The Committee may provide advice to agencies other than the Ministry of Health, with the agreement of the Ministry of Health.

In providing advice and information to the Ministry of Health and the Director-General of Health, the Committee should:

consult with other organisations and individuals as appropriate;
engage with Māori, Pacific and other ethnic communities; young parents; fathers, family and whānau; and providers and consumers as appropriate to ensure their active participation in the development of advice designed to improve breastfeeding rates in their communities;
in consultation with the Ministry of Health, engage with other agencies (as appropriate) to support effective intersectoral activities that protect, promote and support breastfeeding.

7. Sector meeting(s)

The Committee will host and participate in at least one sector meeting in the 2008-09 year. The sector meeting(s) may include (but not be limited to) the following stakeholders:

the Ministry of Health;
other relevant government agencies and Crown entities (e.g. Departments of Labour and Justice, the Ministries of Education and Social Development; the Families Commission; the Human Rights Commission);
District Health Boards, including planning and funding, maternity and child health, public health and HEHA team staff;
Primary Health Organisations and Well Child providers;
professional colleges and councils (e.g. the Midwifery Council, College of Midwives, New Zealand Nurses’ Organisation; the College of General Practice, New Zealand Medical Association, the New Zealand Lactation Consultants’ Association);
Māori health providers and Pacific health providers;
non-government agencies and community organisations with specific interest in breastfeeding (e.g. the NZBA, La Leche League; the New Zealand Breastfeeding Authority, lactation consultants; early childhood education providers);
consumers.

8. Composition of the Committee

The members and the Chair will be appointed by the Director-General of Health.

The Committee will comprise between eight and ten members who collectively have wide practical and technical knowledge on breastfeeding, and matters that influence breastfeeding in New Zealand.

The Committee may invite other members as required to address gaps in knowledge and/or expertise, or to contribute to deliberations on specific agenda items. Invited members will not hold voting rights.

Other expert presenters may be called on to provide additional information to the Committee’s deliberations.

9. Status of members

The Director-General will appoint members of the Committee as individuals, to speak as such. Members will not be appointed as representatives of the organisations for which they work or are otherwise affiliated with.

If, however, members wish to make representations on an agency’s position or policy, they will make it clear to the Chair and the Secretariat that they are putting forward an agency perspective, and it will be minuted as such.

10. Term of Office

The Committee’s term of office runs until 30 June 2009, at which point the Committee’s role and functions will be reviewed.

11. Fees

Members will be reimbursed for actual and reasonable expenses incurred through attendance at face-to-face meetings. Fees paid will be set by the Ministry of Health and administered by the Secretariat. Fees paid will be consistent with the State Services Commission Guidelines, in accordance with Cabinet Office Circular CO(03)4.

12. Method of work

Meeting frequency
The Committee will meet four times during its term. Meetings will comprise a mixture of Committee only meetings, and meetings that take place as part of sector meetings. All meetings will be convened by the Chair.
Quorum
Where possible, meetings will be arranged to ensure that all Committee members can attend. Where this is not possible, a quorum will be achieved when two thirds of the members are in attendance, or participating via teleconference.
Decision-making
The Committee will strive to reach consensus on all matters brought before it or considered by it. Where consensus cannot be reached, members will vote on the desired course of action with a two-thirds majority applying.
Minutes
The Secretariat will take minutes throughout the meetings of the Committee. There will be a single set of minutes, reflecting discussion and including differing viewpoints and discussions that lie behind Committee decisions. The minutes will confirm Committee decisions and assign action points arising from Committee discussions and decisions.

Individual members’ comments will not normally be minuted, unless the member requests it or if it is necessary for clarity.

The Secretariat will draft the minutes. The Chair will review the minutes and provide feedback to the Secretariat. The Secretariat will circulate the draft minutes to the Committee for comment. Committee members will provide feedback to the Chair; and the Chair will send all comments through to the Secretariat, who will modify the minutes, return them to the Chair for sign off, then distribute to Committee members in final form.

The minutes of the Committee will be of interest to a wide range of people and agencies. The Committee acknowledges that the draft and final minutes, and the notes of the Secretariat, are discoverable under the Official Information Act 1982.

Minutes taken while the group has gone into committee will be on separate sheets and will be clearly marked.

13. Performance measures

The Committee will be effectively discharging its responsibilities when it completes its key tasks as established in these Terms of Reference; namely the provision of timely, relevant and accurate advice to support the implementation of the plan on Breastfeeding.

The Committee must meet agreed timeframes.

The Committee must stay within its allocated budget.

14. Secretariat services

Secretariat services will be provided by Allen and Clarke Policy and Regulatory Specialists Ltd. The contract for secretariat services covers:

establishment of the Committee;
management of the Committee;
organisation and management of sector meetings;
management of information flows; and
policy analysis and advice.

If the Committee requests work from the Secretariat that is over and above the normal scope of work, the Committee may request that the Secretariat access a discretionary fund, held as part of the contract with the Ministry of Health. Use of this fund requires the approval of the Committee and/or Ministry of Health.

15. Confidentiality

The provisions of the Official Information Act 1982 apply without exception to the activities of the Committee. The Chair is responsible for ensuring that members of the Committee are aware of the provisions of the Act and the extent to which written material, including notes and minutes of meetings, is potentially discoverable under the Act.

Some information may need to be kept confidential within the Committee: that is, not circulated outside the Committee members and Secretariat. That information will be clearly identified and members are expected to ensure that it is not copied or circulated outside the Committee.

16. Conflicts of interest

All members must agree to abide by the Ministry of Health’s conflict of interest protocol, and sign the declaration form provided by the Secretariat.

Committee members should perform their functions in good faith, honestly and impartially, and avoid situations that might compromise the integrity or otherwise lead to perceived or actual conflicts of interest.

Committee members will disclose any pecuniary interests, or other potential or actual conflicts of interest in a conflict of interest register maintained by the Secretariat.

Declarations of a conflict of interest may also be made prior to discussions commencing, or as soon as it becomes apparent that a member or members may have a conflict of interest. The Chair will rule on whether the member(s) should absent themselves from the meeting for that item, or take some other appropriate step to manage the conflict.

17. Media liaison

Queries from or contact with the media regarding the proceedings of the Committee must be referred to the Chair. The Chair will act as spokesperson for the Committee. If necessary, the Chair can delegate this responsibility in consultation with the Ministry of Health.

All request for media comment regarding the Committee, or questions relating to media representation or members’ roles on the Committee should be directed to the Chair in the first instance.

When providing media comment on issues related to their work outside the Committee, members should make it clear that they are speaking as individuals or representatives of their agency or organisation, not as a member of the Committee.

From time to time the Committee may wish to develop press releases on its work, or provide Committee comment on particular issues. The Secretariat will draft the press release and circulate it to the Committee for comment. The Chair is responsible for signing out the final press release. The Secretariat will provide all Committee members with a copy of the press release prior to it being provided to media outlets.

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Page last updated: 2 April 2009