Air Ambulance Service: Allocation of Reserve Funding

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A decision made on 15 July 2020

Decision reference: MD-TR-2020-0088
Decision Summary Title:	Allocation of Reserve Funding to HCS to enable the continuation of the air ambulance service		Date of Decision Summary:	15th July 2020
Decision Summary Author:	Specialist – Business Cases		Decision Summary: Public or Exempt?	Public
Type of Report: Oral or Written?	Written		Person Giving Oral Report:	N/A
Written Report Title:	Allocation of Reserve Funding to HCS to enable the continuation of the air ambulance service		Date of Written Report:	15th July 2020
Written Report Author:	Specialist – Business Cases		Written Report : Public or Exempt?	Public
Subject: The allocation of up to £197,560 in 2020 from the General Reserve to HCS (Health & Community Services) to provide funding for the additional cost pressure of the air ambulance service contract.
Decision(s): The Minister approved the allocation of up to £197,560 in 2020 from the General Reserve to the HCS to provide funding for the additional cost pressure of an alternative air ambulance contract from 14th July to 31st December 2020.
Reason(s) 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 Procedures on Allocations from the Reserve (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. The proposed allocation has been considered and approved by the Investment Appraisal Board. The One Gov Political Oversight Group and the Council of Ministers have been consulted. A 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 subject to the following conditions: Funds will be held in Reserves until there is evidence that the funding is required.
Resource Implications: The General Reserve head of expenditure to decrease by up to £197,560 and the HCS head of expenditure to increase by the identical amount in 2020. The new contract provides an additional annual cost pressure on HCS in the region of £395,120 beyond 2020. This will need to be considered as part HCS’s submission to the Government Plan.
Action required: The Head of Financial Governance to advise the Specialist – Business Cases and the Head of Finance Business Partnering of HCS that this decision is approved.
Signature:		Position: Deputy S J Pinel Minister for Treasury and Resources
Date Signed:		Date of Decision:

Air Ambulance Service: Allocation of Reserve Funding

Treasury and Exchequer

Ministerial Decision Report

Allocation of Reserve Funding to hcs to enable the continuation of the air ambulance service contract

Purpose of Report

To enable the Minister to approve the allocation of up to £197,560 in 2020 from the General Reserve to the Health & Community Services (HCS) to provide funding for the additional cost pressure of the air ambulance service contract from 14th July to 31st December 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. The Minister has increased the amount available in the General Reserve by transferring £65.3 million for the Treasury and Exchequer head of expenditure (MD-TR-2020-0035); approving an additional £99.99 million of expenditure (MD-TR-2020-0047) and approving the transfer of £28 million from the Stabilisation Fund, with associated authority to spend from the General Reserve (MD-TR-2020-0055).

The current supplier of air ambulance services has confirmed their intent to withdraw from the existing agreement on the basis that they are unable to continue to trade following financial detriment resulting from the impact of COVID-19 on their wider aviation activities.

An alternative service solution with Gama Aviation has been identified and a contract negotiated. The new contract places an additional annual cost pressure of £395,120 per annum on HCS. If unfunded this may place unacceptable cost pressures on other HCS services (e.g. elective surgery).

Recommendation

The Minister is recommended to approve the allocation of up to £197,560 in 2020 from the General Reserve to HCS to provide funding for the additional cost pressure of the air ambulance service contract from 14th July to 31st December 2020.

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 Procedures on Allocations from the Reserve (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. The proposed allocation has been considered and approved by the Investment Appraisal Board. The One Gov Political Oversight Group and the Council of Ministers have been consulted. A 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

subject to the following conditions:

Funds will be held in Reserves until there is evidence that the funding is required.

5. Resource Implications

The General Reserve head of expenditure to decrease by £197,560 and the HCS head of expenditure to increase by an identical amount in 2020.

The new contract provides an additional annual cost pressure on HCS in the region of £395,120 beyond 2020. This will need to be considered as part HCS’s submission to the Government Plan.

Report author: Specialist – Business Cases	Document date : 15th July 2020
Quality Assurance / Review: Group Director, Strategic Finance/ Head of Financial Governance	File name and path: L:\Treasury\Sections\Corporate Finance\Ministerial Decisions\DS, WR and SD\2020-0088 - Reserve Funding to HCS for air ambulance service contract
MD sponsor: Treasurer of the States