Budget transfers to Health and Social Services and Home Affairs relating to 2009 pandemic flu

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A decision made 15 February 2010 regarding: Budget transfers to Health and Social Services and Home Affairs relating to 2009 pandemic flu.

Decision Reference: MD-TR-2010-0018
Decision Summary Title:	Transfer of funds in respect of preparations for Pandemic Flu		Date of Decision Summary:	5 February 2010
Decision Summary Author:	Acting Finance Director– Corporate Group		Decision Summary: Public or Exempt?	Public
Type of Report: Oral or Written?	Written		Person Giving Oral Report:	N/A
Written Report Title:	Transfer of funds in respect of expenditure on preparations for Pandemic Influenza in 2009		Date of Written Report:	5 February 2010
Written Report Author:	Acting Finance Director– Corporate Group		Written Report : Public or Exempt?	Public
Subject: Transfer of funding to Health and Social Services and Home Affairs to reimburse these departments for 2009 expenditure on preparations for pandemic flu.
Decision(s): The Minister approved the following transfers totalling £1,399,000 from the contingency fund for expenditure incurred in 2009 in preparing for the influenza pandemic H1N1. £826,000 to Health and Social Services from the monies made available under Article 16 by P174/2009 £7,000 to Home Affairs from the monies made available under Article 16 by P174/2009 £566,000 to Health and Social Services from the Section 11(8) monies made available by P67/2008 (originally H5N1)
Reason(s) for Decision: Reimbursement of Health and Social Services for total expenditure incurred of £1,392,000 of expenditure non-recurrently in preparing for pandemic influenza in the period 1 January 2009 to 31 December 2009. Reimbursement of £7,000 spent by Home Affairs in establishing a command centre for the management of a pandemic.
Resource Implications: £1,399,000 of non-recurring expenditure incurred in 2009 by Health and Social Services and Home Affairs.
Action required: Implementation of the budget transfers between the contingency fund and departments as described in the accompanying report.
Signature:		Position: Deputy E. J. Noel, Assistant Minister for Treasury and Resources
Date Signed:		Date of Decision:

Budget transfers to Health and Social Services and Home Affairs relating to 2009 pandemic flu

Treasury and Resources Minister

Report

TRANSFER OF FUNDS IN RESPECT OF EXPENDITURE ON PANDEMIC INFLUENZA IN 2009

Purpose of Report

This report provides information in support of a budget transfer from the Treasury Contingency Fund to Health and Social Services and Home Affairs in respect of expenditure incurred in 2009 on preparations for pandemic influenza.

It identifies the source of funding within the contingency fund from the sums made available by propositions of the States P67/2008 and P174/2009.

Background

‘Swine flu’ or H1N1 was identified at the end of April 2009 and a pandemic declared imminent by the World Health Organisation. Jersey set up a Pandemic Flu Co-ordination Group under the Chief Minister’s Department and mobilised a swift response to the containment and management of the anticipated pandemic.

These actions included:

Containment – public hygiene campaign
Vaccination
Community Treatment – including ‘tamiflu’ antiviral treatment
Hospital escalation
Preparing for flu deaths

Funding has been allocated to the Treasury Contingency Fund to respond to a potential influenza pandemic - originally for ‘bird flu’ (H5N1) and more recently for ‘swine flu’ (H1N1). In P67/2008 the States allocated £1,230,000 to the contingency and in P174/2009 a further £1,725,000 was allocated. P174/2009 determined that funds would be allocated to departments retrospectively by the Minister for Treasury and Resources.

The States also agreed that the Minister for Treasury and Resources would provide a detailed and comprehensive breakdown to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) as soon as practicable detailing exactly how the funds were spent in order to confirm that funds were used only for pandemic-specific costs.

As at December 2009, budget transfers for £1,399,000 expenditure incurred have been requested. Health and Social Services in the sum of £1,392,000 and by Home Affairs in the sum of £7,000. This represents all costs claimed in 2009.

2009 Expenditure

The tables in Appendix A detail the expenditure being claimed as incurred in 2009 against contingency funds by the Health and Social Services and Home Affairs departments.

The overall response to the pandemic has been co-ordinated and overseen by a group of senior officers, chaired by the States Chief Executive. This group subjected the proposed expenditure in P174/2009 to robust challenge and recommended that the Minister transfer funding to the relevant departments, as detailed in MD-TR-2009-0164. This report details the final value of the 2009 funding to be transferred.

Health and Social Services officers have provided the following assurances in the Ministerial Decision accompanying their claim:

“As per the funding agreement the Accounting Officer confirms:

that the goods and services being purchased are required immediately and are needed to respond to the threat to the safety of the island’s inhabitants;
that insufficient funds are available within existing budgets;
that there are appropriate controls in place to ensure that funds are being spent appropriately;
that value for money is being achieved; and
that financial directions are being complied with in respect of this expenditure.”

The Treasurer has commissioned an audit review of the expenditure being claimed to provide an independent assurance around this expenditure. The initial findings of this audit indicate that the expenditure claimed is appropriate and meets the criteria outlined above.

Final claims against this contingency fund are expected in early 2010 once the vaccination programme is complete.

The detailed analysis in Appendix A and the audit report on 2009 expenditure is being provided to the Public Accounts Committee. A further report will be provided once the Co-ordinating Group have confirmed that the risk of an outbreak has passed and he vaccination programme has ended.

Recommendation

It is proposed to transfer funding from contingency to Health and Social Services and to Home Affairs for the costs they have incurred in 2009 as follows:

£826,000 to Health and Social Services from the monies made available under Article 16 by P174/2009
£7,000 to Home Affairs from the monies made available under Article 16 by P174/2009

£566,000 to Health and Social Services from the Section 11(8) monies made available by P67/2008 (originally H5N1)

Reason for Decision

The Departments concerned have incurred expenditure in carrying out the activities agreed through the Pandemic Flu Co-ordinating Group in mitigating the threat of pandemic influenza. Transfers should be made to reimburse them for this expenditure from the contingency sums approved for this purpose.

Report author : Acting Finance Director – Corporate Group	Document date : 05/02/2010
Quality Assurance / Review : Deputy Treasurer	File name and path: l:\treasury\sections\corporate finance\ministerial decisions\dss, wrs and sds\2010-0018 - transfer funds respect preparations pandemic flu - ah\wr - transfer funds expenditure pandemic influenza 2009 - ah.doc
MD sponsor : Deputy Treasurer