Feature / Technical round-up

Responsible commissioner – balances – programme budgeting

NHS England has updated its guidance on determining the responsible commissioner. Its latest bulletin for clinical commissioning groups includes a link to the document, which includes the circumstances in which a CCG would be liable to pay a provider for services commissioned by another CCG. According to the bulletin, a data pack to support commissioning for value will be sent to CCGs this month. It highlights new resources to support NHS England’s business case approval process for capital investment, property, equipment and IT.

There will be an agreement of balances exercise at month seven rather than month six this year, Monitor has said. This is because of the ongoing transfer of balances from legacy organisations to clinical commissioning groups and other organisations. Monitor expects to issue the month seven agreement of balances template to foundation trusts by 4 October.

Monitor and NHS England are to hold workshops on building NHS payment system capability. The workshops, to be held in London, Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds in October, are free and offer the opportunity to comment on proposals around the national tariff document. The focus of the workshops will also include the emerging proposals for the NHS payment system strategy and a chance to understand the tariff enforcement mechanisms. It is aimed at finance staff and directors in clinical commissioning groups, commissioning support units, area teams, foundation trusts, trusts and the independent and voluntary sectors.

Monitor has updated its accounts and FTCs process guidance. This includes a post-reorganisation list of bodies and several points for foundation trusts to note. The latter includes a reminder that balances with commissioning support units and local area teams should be recorded against NHS England.

The programme budgeting sense check Excel file is available from the Department of Health’s online finance manual. The Department has also issued a corrected version of the 2012/13 programme budgeting guidance – changes include an amendment to the ambulance worksheet.

The Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety has confirmed a 3% efficiency target for Northern Ireland trusts and local commissioning groups in 2013/14. The measure, forecast to save £101m, was outlined in its Savings delivery plan 2013/14. Productivity will be delivered through four streams, including estate rationalisation and acute and social care reform.

The Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety has also issued revised guidance on the business case process. There have been a number of changes to the economic appraisal and evaluation guide and a three-month transitional period has begun.

Detailed guidance for NHS England and clinical commissioning groups on the transfer of opening balances from legacy organisations has been published. As well as giving details on the process, the guidance identifies high-level principles that underpin the asset transfer. These include an insistence that the process is about which organisation ‘owns’ items, not whether their valuation is correct.