Agenda item

The Board had before it a report by Alex Stephen (Chief Finance Officer, ACHSCP) which updated the Board on the provisional grant settlement and implications to the IJB budget resulting from announcements made on 15 December 2016. The report advised on the budget pressure facing the Board in 2017-18 and the budget savings identified by officers to close the provisional funding gap. And highlighted to the Board the position with regard to the Board’s reserves and future year budget projections along with budget risks and assumptions underpinning the provisional budget.

The report recommended:-

That the Board –

(a)       Acknowledge the implications of the Scottish Budget and Grant Settlement on the IJB’s budget;

(b)       Agree the budget savings identified in Appendix A of this report;

(c)       Agree the use of integration and change funds amounting to £3,182,000 to close the budget gap;

(d)       Agree the Bon Accord Care contract level for 2017-18 of £26,405,000 and budget assumptions noted in section 2.7;

(e)       Agree the 2017-18 provisional IJB Budget in Appendix B;

(f)        Agree the earmarking of £2.5 million of 2016-17 underspend into a risk provision and £500,000 for replacement of essential equipment; and

(g)       Request that a report be brought back to the IJB on 28 March 2017 to detail the final 2017-18 budget for the IJB, along with a proposal for approval to release additional funding for the living wage and sleepovers.

Alex Stephen spoke to the report and advised that the budget had been discussed and approved by the Executive Team and it was their objective to strike a balance between providing resource for mainstream services and supporting the Partnership’s transformation aspirations. He explained that the presentation of the budget had taken cognizance of Aberdeen City Council’s financial protocols which were based on transparency and openness. Mr Stephen highlighted that relevant colleagues from both partners had been consulted and advised that this was a provisional budget based on indicative figures. He explained that the budget was due to be considered by Aberdeen City Council and the NHS Grampian Board in February, and thereafter would be reported back to the IJB on 28 March 2017 for final approval.

Thereafter there were questions on aligning the budget with the values and risk tolerances set out in the Strategic Plan; the achievability of the savings identified; the use of transformation and change funding for transformation purposes rather than to cover variances in the mainstream budget; the impact of prescribing on the level of overspend; how much control the Partnership had over prescribing costs; the role of Public Health in sourcing efficiencies in the prescribing budget; the high cost of care packages; the need for the Partnership to maintain a fund earmarked for reserves; the Bon Accord Care budget; the replacement of essential equipment; the importance of protecting training and registration for staff; recruitment challenges; and the apprenticeship levy.

Following discussion, Councillor Young proposed

that the Board –

(1)                    Acknowledge the implications of the Scottish Budget and Grant Settlement on the IJB’s budget;

(2)       Agree the budget savings identified in Appendix A of this report;

(3)       Instruct the Chief Officer to bring back to the Board at a future meeting, options for accelerating the Transformation Programme;

(4)       Request an additional special budget meeting of the IJB post formal budget meetings of Aberdeen City Council and the NHS Grampian Board; and

(5)       Request the Chief Officer to come back to the special budget IJB meeting sharing plans for controlling prescribing costs, including a financial risk assessment.

The Board resolved:-

(i)           to acknowledge the implications of the Scottish Budget and Grant Settlement on the IJB’s budget;

(ii)          to agree the budget savings identified in Appendix A of this report;

(iii)         to instruct the Chief Officer to bring back to the Board at a future meeting, options for accelerating the Transformation Programme;

(iv)         to request an additional special budget meeting of the IJB post formal budget meetings of Aberdeen City Council and the NHS Grampian Board;

(v)          to request the Chief Officer to come back to the special budget IJB meeting sharing plans for controlling prescribing costs, including a financial risk assessment;

(vi)         to replace all references to uncontrollable prescribing with limited control of prescribing in future reports; and

(vii)       to separate training from overtime and staffing in Appendix A.