Treasury and Exchequer
Ministerial Decision Report
ALLOCATION of Reserve Funding to cyPES and hcs for camhs inpatient service set up in 2020 due to the impact of COVID-19
- Purpose of Report
To enable the Minister to approve the allocation of up to £644,000 in 2020 from the General Reserve to the Children, Young People, Education & Skills (CYPES) and Health & Community Services (HCS) departments for CAMHS Inpatient Service set up due to the impact of COVID-19 in 2020.
- Background
Funding provisions were made in the Government Plan 2020-2023 in the General Reserve for funding needs that cannot be met from existing heads of expenditure in 2020.
CAMHS – up to £644,000
This Business Case seeks to secure funding to meet the costs of providing temporary dual use of the Greenfields site to provide secure care in terms of Children (Jersey) Law 2002 and the Criminal Justice (Young Offenders) (Jersey) 2014 and as an Inpatient Tier 4 CAMHS provision for the period of the COVID-19 emergency only as a direct alternative to using in-patient facilities in Jersey General Hospital.
An options appraisal has been undertaken to assess the suitability of alternative accommodation that comply with statutory requirements. The preferred option is delivering CAMHS Inpatient services at Greenfields which will ensure young people were comfortable, safe and secure during this unprecedented time. The CAMHS inpatient unit is now known as Meadow View which distinguishes it from the young offenders’ unit which remains operational from its other wing.
- Recommendation
The Minister is recommended to approve the allocation of up to £644,000 from the General Reserve to the HCS and CYPES heads of expenditure in 2020 as detailed below for CAMHS Inpatient Service set up due to the impact of COVID-19.
The recommendation is that funding should be approved up to the maximum amount but that only half is drawn down subject to a review of patient numbers and costs to date plus a consideration of COVID-19 requirements at the General Hospital and the ability to use Robin Ward. The costings of the first 3 months have been calculated as up to £324,000 and the remainder would be drawn down pending a review to be undertaken in early June.
All appraisal comments have been addressed and funding has been revised to illustrate the three-month funding requirement and the funding allocation between HCS and CYPES which can be seen in the table below.
| Current Year | | | HCS costs | CYPES costs |
Description | 2020 | 2021 | Total | Total | Total |
£ | £ | £ | £ | £ |
Initial draw down - 3 months 16 Apr to 15 July | 324,000 | 0 | 324,000 | 179,000 | 145,000 |
| | | | | |
Additional draw down month 4 | 107,000 | 0 | 107,000 | 59,000 | 48,000 |
Additional draw down month 5 | 107,000 | 0 | 107,000 | 60,000 | 47,000 |
Additional draw down month 6 | 106,000 | 0 | 106,000 | 59,000 | 47,000 |
Total additional draw down for the 3 months 16 July to 15 Oct | 320,000 | 0 | 320,000 | 178,000 | 142,000 |
| | | | | |
Check total for 6 months | 644,000 | 0 | 644,000 | 357,000 | 287,000 |
- Reasons for Decision
Article 15(3) of the Public Finances (Jersey) Law 2019 states that the approval by the States of a government plan authorises the Minister to direct how an approved appropriation for a reserve head of expenditure in the plan may be spent (including on another head of expenditure) in the first financial year covered by the plan.
The current Contingency Allocation Policy (published as R.23/2020) sets the requirement for all allocations from contingency to be considered by the Investment Appraisal Board, Principal Accountable Officer and States Treasurer prior to submission to the Minister for approval, however it also states that ‘Where a request is made for £100,000 or less, or where the Minister is satisfied that there is an urgent need to provide funding in the public interest, an allocation may be made by the Minister on the recommendation of the Treasurer.’ A draft business case has been received and reviewed by the Investment Appraisal Team.
Further to this review, the Treasurer recommends this allocation to the Minister for approval.
5. Resource Implications
The HCS and CYPES heads of expenditure to increase by up to £357,000 and up to £287,000 respectively in 2020 and the General Reserve to decrease by the same amount. This decision does not change the total amount of expenditure approved by the States in the Government Plan 2020-2023.
Report author: Specialist – Business Cases | Document date: 28th April 2020 |
Quality Assurance / Review: Group Director, Strategic Finance | File name and path: L:\Treasury\Sections\Corporate Finance\Ministerial Decisions\DS, WR and SD\2020-0050 - Reserve Funding to CYPES and HCS for CAMHS |
MD sponsor: Treasurer of the States |