Feature / Technical round-up

Draft Manual – costing guidance – property – pricing workshops

• The Department of Health has issued a draft 2013/14 Manual for accounts for consultation. The draft includes a number of changes. For example, instead of item-by-item consolidation schedule completion guidance, it seeks to provide group accounting instructions. The draft also includes guidance on the consolidation of charitable funds.
• Monitor has issued an FAQs document and reissued approved costing guidance. Approved costing guidance includes information on costing principles and standards, as well as guidance for reference costs and patient-level information and costing systems (PLICS) collections for 2012/13. The FAQs document details small changes to the guidance and answers key questions, including the treatment of education, training and research and development income in the PLICS collection.
• Commissioners have been notified of the charges they will have to pay in 2013/14 for premises that have been transferred to NHS Property Services and Community Health Partnerships. A Department of Health letter said the charges amount to the difference between the gross costs of running the properties and amounts charged to tenants. It added that the charges were estimates and more accurate bills would be sent from quarter three, when data would be based on actual costs incurred.
• NHS England and Monitor are to hold a series of workshops on their proposals for the future of pricing and incentives. The workshops, which will be held at four venues in July, are primarily aimed at senior finance staff in providers and commissioners.
• Northern Ireland’s health and social care bodies have been issued revised guidance on laying their annual reports and accounts before the Assembly. The document notes that the lastday for laying the accounts is2 August, although organisations that wish to lay their accounts before the summer recess must do so on or before 5 July.
• The Department of Health has published a revised version of the NHS standards of procurement. The new document sets out the standards that NHS providers should use to assess and benchmark procurement performance and identify areas for improvement. The latest version replaces the standards that were originally published in May 2012.
• Northern Ireland health and social care bodies have been notified of a revised system of internal audit opinions. A circular said the new system should be used by heads of internal audit to communicate their opinionon the adequacy and effectiveness of governance, risk management and control.