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Finance Minister Bill English - Source: Q+A
The future of two government departments could be up for discussion as part of plans to re-balance the economy.
The Finance Minister Bill English has been questioned on TV ONE's Q+A programme about the security of the ministries of Women's Affairs and Consumer Affairs.
English said he could not guarantee there would always be the same number of government departments, but added that "we haven't really considered these things in much detail."
"The government's focus is much more on getting gains on the large numbers rather than on what are in the scheme of things very, very small entities," he said.
"Health and education are clearly where you've got the public very sensitive to the way services are delivered and that's where our focus is."
English also said most government departments will get nothing in the upcoming budget.
"They are going through a process right now where instead of focussing on biding for another few million on top of the billion they have already got, they are spending time looking at the billion they have already got," he says.
"And we will see the results fo that come through in the next two or three months."
