Agenda item

Mr Paul McMenamin introduced the paper and gave an outline of the content.  He highlighted the detail on savings and investments in order to provide assurance to the IJB on the sufficiency of resources.  He further commented that the 2016/17 financial plan addressed the financial challenges experienced in 2015/16. 

Mr John Raine commented on the fact that this report, like the previous financial report and the following financial report, had no apparent sign-off or input from the Director of Finance of the Health Board and asked if there was an explanation for this.

The Chair commented that the report did not require sign off by the Chief Financial Officer for Scottish Borders Council or the Director of Finance for NHS Borders.

Mrs Carol Gillie advised that there had been a number of points of detail and clarity that had not been included in the report and due to the tight timescales involved in signing off the report she was unable to sign it off on that occasion. 

Mr David Davidson enquired where the social care funding had been used in relation to the range of items shown in the social care budget table on page 4.  Mr McMenamin reminded the IJB that the social care fund had been allocated to the partnership for the partnership to direct the use of the funding.  He advised that Scottish Borders Council had assumed the funding would be utilised for social care to address the pressures they had identified (living wage, gap in home care, demographics) which when added together the assumptions came to slightly more than the social care fund itself.  If the costs did not materialise the funding would not be required to the same degree.  He suggested the next report on the agenda gave more detail on actual and projected costs and how the IJB may wish to direct the use of the social care fund.

Mr Davidson enquired if the £12k pay uplift in SBC on page 9 was correct.  Mr McMenamin clarified that the pay uplift figure was correct as it reflected pay awards and increments only, give that the majority of care staff had transferred to SB Cares. 

Mr Raine returned to the earlier issue saying he felt it to be important, for the assurance of the IJB, for there to be an input from the Health Board Director of Finance, particularly in respect of factual matters and bearing in mind the particular report was also about the planned efficiency and savings targets within NHS Borders, and the IJB would have greater confidence knowing there was close co-operation between the finance officers.

Mr McMenamin commented that cooperation from the finance teams within the partner organisations was vital to the success of the partnership and he echoed Mrs Gillie’s comments.

The HEALTH & SOCIAL CARE INTEGRATION JOINT BOARD noted the further detail provided as to the areas of targeted investment made by NHS Borders and Scottish Borders Council in relation to the 2016/17 budget for those services delegated to the IJB from 1^st April 2016, specific to the summary of areas of key pressure experienced during and at the end of 2015/16. 

The HEALTH & SOCIAL CARE INTEGRATION JOINT BOARD noted the further detail provided on each partner’s 2016/17 efficiency/savings programme on which their Financial Plans were based and the full delivery of which was required in order to ensure that the 2016/17 delegated budget was fully affordable and funded, noting progress to date, associated risks of each proposal and resultant overall risk to the affordability of the delegated budget as a whole.