Health and Social Services
Department:
Ministerial Decision Report
Pandemic flu preparation (P67)
- Purpose of Report
This report seeks approval from the Minister that monies equivalent to the costs incurred by the Health and Social Services Department in 2011 in relation to H1N1 Flu activity, amounting to £53,000, are transferred from the Treasury & Resources Department.
- Background
Funding for a potential influenza pandemic was previously approved by the States of Jersey.
A sum of £936,000 was earmarked from the then General Reserve by the Council of Ministers prior to the introduction of the Public Finances (Jersey) Law 2005, of which £665,985 was spent.
In P67/2008 the States allocated £1.23 m to the contingency and in P174/2009 a further £5.547 m 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.
In MD-TR-2010-0018, the Minister for Treasury and Resources approved reimbursements of £1.399 m to the Health and Social Services Department (H&SS) and the Home Affairs Department for pandemic flu preparations costs incurred between 1st January and 31st December 2009.
In TR-2011-DD05, the Treasurer of the States (under delegated authority from the Minister for Treasury and Resources) approved reimbursements of £628,000 to H&SS for costs incurred between 1st January and 30th September 2010. No further costs were incurred in 2010.
On 24th January 2011 the Minister for Treasury and Resources signed a Ministerial Decision MD-TR-2011-0007 for the return of a portion of the pandemic flu contingency funding (£1,162,015) back to the consolidated fund.
Funds remaining at 1st June 2011 are summarised in the table below:
| States Funding Approved | Actual expenditure | Actual expenditure 2009 | Actual expenditure 2010 | Returned to consolidated fund January 2011 | Balance remaining at 1st June 2011 |
| £ | | £ | £ | £ | £ |
Sum earmarked from General Reserve | 936,000 | (665,985) | - | - | 270,015 | 0 |
P67/2008 – Article 11 (8) | 1,230,000 | - | (566,000) | (458,000) | - | 206,000 |
P174/2009 – Article 16 (3) | 1,725,000 | - | (833,000) | - | 892,000 | 0 |
P174/2009 – Article 11 (8) | 3,822,000 | - | - | (170,000) | - | 3,652,000 |
Total | 7,713,000 | 665,985 | 1,399,000 | 628,000 | 1,162015 | 3,858,000 |
- Details of the costs incurred by H&SS which are to be funded
The costs incurred by Health and Social Services in 2011 in relation to Pandemic Flu activity, which total £53,000 are outlined below and in accordance with the funding agreement, the Accounting Officer has confirmed:
that the goods and services being purchased were required immediately and were needed to respond to the threat to the safety of the island’s inhabitants;
that the 2011 forecast position in H&SS assumes these funds are received;
that there were appropriate controls in place to ensure that funds were being spent appropriately;
that value for money was achieved; and
that financial directions were complied with in respect of this expenditure.
Expense type | 2011 cost incurred by H&SS £’000 |
Staffing | 5 |
Drugs and Medical Gases | 17 |
Pathology tests | 24 |
Administrative costs | 5 |
Other | 2 |
TOTAL | 53 |
The funding for these costs is to be transferred to KFR110.511991.
- Recommendation
That the Minister approves the transfer of the sum of £53,000 into the Health and Social Services object account KFR110.511991.
- Reason for Decision
Funding is required to reimburse the Health and Social Services Department for actual costs incurred in 2011 relating to the flu pandemic. Article 15(1)(a) of the Public Finances (Jersey) Law 2005 states that all or any part of the amount appropriated by a head of expenditure may, with the approval of the Minister for Treasury and Resources, be used for the purposes of another head of expenditure. Delegation 1.3 delegates authority for non-contentious transfers between expenditure heads of up to £1,000,000 to the Treasurer of the States.
- Resource Implications
The Treasury and Resources contingency head of expenditure to decrease by £53,000 and the H&SS Department revenue head of expenditure to increase by an identical amount.
Sarah Howard
Assistant Director of Finance, HSSD
12 August 2011
gov.je