The NHS Operating Framework for 2010-11 stated that strategic health authorities must ensure that primary care trusts do not recurrently commit the totality of their recurrent funding in their 2010-11 plans, such that at least 2 per cent. of recurrent funding at the aggregate regional level is only ever committed non-recurrently.
The reason primary care trusts need to do this is to ensure that they have flexibility in their spending plans to provide the capability to manage risk and volatility.