I am going to turn now to feedback from Board committees and subcommittees and invite Victor
to introduce it, please.
Feedback from Board Committees and Sub-committees Victor Adebowale
Non-Executive Director CCG Authorisation Committee
The CCG Authorisation Committee has done a cracking job in getting 211 CCGs authorised.
Can I thank Naquib and Ciarán for their support on this; I think it is true to say we could
not have done it without them, but in particular Barbara's team who have just played a blinder.
Getting this done in the time available and the resources available was no mean feat and
I think they should be congratulated.
We have now moved into the next phase, which is just as important, which is assuring that
those CCGs that have conditions upon them meet those conditions and can be fully authorised.
We need to assure ourselves that that is the case.
We also need to assure ourselves that the development programme that has been put in
place to improve and support CCGs is delivered, and is delivered really well.
It is my view that we also need to ensure that we have consistence excellence of leadership
across the CCG network; I do not see why someone in area X should have any worse leadership
than area Y, so we need to make sure that delivers.
Of course the Board, like everyone else, will be interested in the outcomes of CCGs as they
operate a new and complex commissioning landscape.
I am looking forward to working with Rosamond on that, on delivering all that and reporting
to the Board as we go forward.
Malcolm Grant: Thank you.
That is something we will want to keep a very close eye on, because of course, the success
of the CCGs is our success and we wish to work in a very supportive way and closely
with them.
Any questions for Victor?
If not may I invite Moira to give us an oral report on the CSU committee?
Moira Gibb Non-Executive Director
CSU Committee Thank you, Chair.
The CSU committee met on 22nd April; the minutes are not available now but will obviously be
available for the next Board meeting.
I will just briefly touch on four points, if I may.
The committee received a report on check point four of the assurance process on CSUs which
said that all of them were financially viable in '13, '14 but there were development and
support needs, which would not be surprising in such new organisations.
Some of them were significant but, nevertheless, there were plans to meet those.
We also heard about the CSS market strategy and supported the idea of the launch in June
at the commissioning show, I think it is called.
Supporting that there was a development of an app which will help CCGs learn about what
commissioning support is available in a very user friendly way, I am told.
It will be very up-to-date because it is a complex financial framework that CSUs have
to work in and the difficulties that presents, but efforts are being made to try to resolve
that.
Also again, the impact on CSUs of the system-wide problem of patient information flows and the
new structures that we have and the difficulties; it is not for CSU people, as it were, to resolve
but it does have an impact on CSUs.
Ros will answer any questions that anyone has on that report.
Malcolm Grant: Thank you, and thank you for volunteering, Ros!
I think you may be spared, but thank you, Moira, very much for the report, and Ros,
for your work on it.
We turn now to item ten on the agenda, which is an oral update on the accounts of the Commissioning
Board.
NHS Commissioning Board Accounts Paul Baumann
Chief Financial Officer Thank you, Malcolm.
This is just a very quick progress update; last time we met we took in private session
the accounts for the first half year.
Remember, this is a strange year because we had the first half year as the Commissioning
Board Authority and we have to lay a set of accounts for that.
The second half of the year was in the guise of the Commissioning Board proper, if I can
put it that way, and we have a second set of accounts to do -- twice as much fun for
accountants.
The first set of accounts we took last time, those are just waiting there in the queue
to be laid before parliament and then they will be published by us on the website, but
those, as you recall, were problem-free.
The second six month accounts were completed in draft according to the national timetable
for that, on 22nd April.
They are with the national audit office, which of course is our external auditor, for checking.
They start their work on Tuesday, which will be interesting for us all I am sure.
That comes back then in its post-audit form to the audit committee in June in time for
that then to be published thereafter.
Given the timings of the meetings that we have it will be extremely helpful if the Board
could empower the audit committee to sign off on its behalf, those accounts when it
meets in June, and then for you, Malcolm and David, to be able to do the final signing
off thereafter.
Of course, when we then meet as a Board for the next time in July, we will bring the accounts
at that point.
If we do not have that authority we cannot pass them on according to the timetables we
are required to work.
Members might be interested to know what the numbers say, as well as the process.
You will recall that we had for the whole of last year, across the two six-month periods
that I talked about, just over £80 million of resources just to fund, effectively, the
central team that [break in audio] to the board.
The likelihood of an under spend against that £80 million was always quite high for the
very reason that we talked about today and earlier, which is that the recruitment of
the team has taken longer than we anticipated.
In the accounts we have submitted we have spent £61.6 million against that control
total, as it were, of £80 million, so the Board can be assured that we have stayed well
within our financial control total, and we have delivered the programme that has been
described this morning with less resource than we had originally been allocated.
Malcolm Grant: Thank you very much.
Of course, the volume of our expenditure is going to go up exceptionally.
Paul Baumann: Just a little.
Malcolm Grant: Just a little; and you will, I know, be bringing regular financial reporting
to the Board starting in July.
Any questions for Paul; in which case may I ask you to endorse his proposal that the
accounts, when they come back, will go to the audit committee for approval, and then
to me and to David for final sign-off?
Okay?
Thank you very much.
That brings us, I think, to the end of the formal business.
I have no other business.
In which case I think I need to say formally that the Board will now meet as a private
meeting with the items on the agenda that I mentioned before, but otherwise this meeting
is closed and can I again thank members of the public for joining us.
Your presence is much appreciated.
Thank you.