News / PAC calls for open book update

The Public Accounts Committee has called on NHS England to report by December on progress implementing open book reporting by clinical commissioning groups.

In particular, the influential Commons committee wants to see how much money CCGs are spending on different mental health services to understand progress towards parity of esteem commitments

Earlier this year, the HFMA and NHS Providers undertook a joint survey of commissioners and providers. Their report, Funding mental health at local level, said just half of mental health trusts received the required real-terms increase in their services in 2015/16. This was despite commissioners being told to increase investment in line with their overall allocations.

NHS England chief executive Simon Stevens told the committee’s inquiry that not all increased investment would go through mental health trusts.

‘In some areas, the money is not getting through and in others the money is going to other parts of the mental health system,’ he said.

He added that a move to open-book accounting would provide transparency on where the money was spent. The committee now wants an update on how this move is progressing.

HFMA director of policy Paul Briddock said current budget pressures made parity of esteem harder to achieve. ‘However, it is important that commissioners are open and transparent about how these funding decisions are made and where resources will be focused to reach frontline services,’ he said.