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Departmental Public Expenditure

Volume 471: debated on Wednesday 30 January 2008

To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to paragraph 5.5 of his Department's resource accounts for 2006-07, what the value of resources released for frontline activity as a result of the streamlining of NHS leadership was, broken down by strategic health authority. (178269)

The information requested is provided in the following table. This gives a total figure in 2006-07 by strategic health authority (SHA) economy for each SHA and its primary care trusts.

2006-07 Commissioning a patient led national health service savings

£000

North East SHA

357

North West SHA

18,223

Yorkshire and The Humber SHA

17,211

East Midlands SHA

6,034

West Midlands SHA

14,006

East of England SHA

2,201

London SHA

15,237

South East Coast SHA

7278

South Central SHA

2020

South West SHA

5180

Total

87,747

Source: Department of Health financial returns

To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to paragraph 6.4 of his Department's resource accounts for 2006-07, if he will break down his Department's £128 million revenue underspend on central programmes by programme; and what the reasons were for the underspend on each programme. (178273)

The following table gives a breakdown of the Department's £128 million revenue underspend as stated in paragraph 6.4 of the 2006-07 Resource Accounts.

Budget

£ million

£ million

Reasons for under/(over)spend

Demand Led

European Economic Area (health costs of United Kingdom citizens abroad)

53

Welfare Foods

8

Family Health Services Dentistry

4

Pharmacy

-23

Total Demand Led budgets

42

Demand led budgets—difficult to accurately predict volume of activity/cost

Technical/Provisions

2005-06 Accounting Adjustments

20

As part of the year end review of balance sheet codes a number of adjustments were made. These included the reduction to zero of some creditors no longer required in respect of Deposits and Advances, £3.6 million, and health authority impairments £10.9 million. In addition following a review of Partnership for Health published accounts a credit of £5.750 million was made to expenditure in respect of an investment in Partnerships for Health charged incorrectly to operating expenditure in 2005-06.

Skipton Fund (Hepatitis C compensation claims)

14

Level of provisions dependent upon expected level of claims, which was lower than forecast.

Ex-Regional Health Authority Retirements

11

Review of methodology and assumptions for calculating provisions resulted in an underspend against budget.

National Specialist Commissioning Advisory Group

7

Review of accounting methodology to bring treatment in line with National Health Service resulted in an underspend against budget.

English National Board provisions

4

Review of methodology and assumptions for calculating provisions resulted in an underspend against budget.

Injury Benefits

-69

Review of methodology and assumptions for calculating provisions resulted in an overspend against budget.

-13

Other Underspends

Arms Length Bodies

63

Underspend due to, in the main, revision of NHS Blood and Transplant corporate strategy, and lower than expected

requirements for transition costs funding.

Payment by Results

6

Personal Social Services (PSS) Regulation

5

£2.5 million due to delays in expansion of domiciliary workers and £2.5 million on various other social care budgets.

Healthy Choices

5

Replanning of website development activity.

Communications

4

Value for money achieved through cheaper advertising.

Individual Budget Pilots

2

Replanning of new PSS Grant in year.

Other underspends

14

Several small variances on many small budgets including £1.5 million arising from exchange rate movements on World Health Organisation budget, £1 million on PSS Grants budgets (dependent upon receipt of valid invoices).

99

Total Central Programme Underspend

128