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SCOTTISH EXECUTIVE EFFICIENCY TECHNICAL NOTES: MARCH 2005: page 32

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SCOTTISH EXECUTIVE EFFICIENCY TECHNICAL NOTES: MARCH 2005

1. Portfolio/Number/Name:H/C7 NHS Efficiency Savings

2. Programme/Activity: Please include a short description

Recurring 1% Efficiency Saving expected from the NHSS. Additional information will be available from every NHSScotland body by 31 March 2005 relating to financial years 2005-06 up to and including 2007-08.

3. Planned Savings

2005-06

2006-07

2007-08

Cash (m)

82

85

90

Time Releasing (m)

0

0

0

4. Accountable Officer for delivery

Kevin Woods

5. Project Manager

Peter Collings

6. EGDG account manager

Gillian Woolman

7. Quality Impact

Describe any impact on the quality of service delivery. Be specific and explain if the expectation is positive, negative or neutral.

NHS Chief Executive Officers have signed up to deliver 1% recurring efficiency savings. These savings will be detailed in financial returns made by 31 March 2005. These savings will not impact on the quality of service provision.

8. Dependencies

Explain if your savings are dependant on legislation or other structural changes being achieved

These savings are expected to be locally based initiatives and not dependant on any legislative or structural influences.

9. Description of efficiency and actions to be taken

9.1 How will the saving be made? Be specific about number/size of contracts, staff, posts dates etc.

This is very much a local decision for the 23 "normal/special" Health Boards. Information on specific schemes has been requested by the Health Department by the 31 March 2005 for each individual body. This information will enable the commencement of the monitoring process.

Savings will be made by improving productivity and use of existing resources through reductions in cycle times, process times and efficiencies, and better use of existing capacity.

Specific information will follow in due course.

9.2 What action is critically needed to secure delivery of this saving? Be specific, and name the key action managers if they are outwith your immediate management chain (e.g. in an NDPB.)

NHSScotland Health Board Chief Executives and Directors of Finance have given their full commitment to the process and the delivery of the savings. The achievement of savings will be monitored using the financial monitoring templates already in use.

Boards will build agreed savings into their 5 year plans.

10. Impact on Staffing to achieve the efficiency gain

If there are to be any changes in staff numbers (at activity level) to achieve the efficiency gain, please indicate how many full time equivalents and how far you expect savings to be achieved by natural wastage (show additions as + and reductions as -).

2005- 06

2006- 07

2007- 08

+

-

Net

Explanation

N/A

11. Benefits

In general, the benefits of the Scottish Executive Efficiency Plan are the enhanced outputs from the resources Ministers have been able to allocate in SR04. But if there is a direct connection between this efficiency saving and the enhancement of a particular service please describe it here.

There is no direct link with a specific new initiative. The objective is to achieve more or better services for the same money.

12. Gross/Net Cash Savings

12.1 Please set out the gross recurring saving and any offsetting recurring expenditure.

It is unlikely that there will be offsetting recurring expenditure to underpin any of the savings generated.

12.2 Against what budget does this saving fall?

Budget savings will fall against Clinical/Non-Clinical Service Costs.

12.3 Has this saving been built into your budget?

This saving has been built into the budget.

12.4 If so, what is the maximum allowable expenditure against the published budget data, in each year, for that saving to be delivered?

Using the current year as the base, the Revenue Resource Allocation (RRL) is the maximum level of expenditure, i.e. 6.3bn (2004/05).

12.5 If not, how do you propose to invest the additional cash back into public services?

N/A

12.6 What plans do you have to exceed the required saving? Explain by how much in each year?

This is currently under review with the expectation that an increase in the level of savings will be achieved.

13. Time - release savings

13.1 Please explain any time-releasing savings indicated at question 3.

N/A

13.2 Please describe the method you plan to use to calculate the cash equivalent of those time release savings.

N/A

14. Measurement and Monitoring

14.1 How are you proposing to measure the expected efficiency benefits (e.g. in terms of costs, level of output or quality of service)?

The expected efficiency benefits will be measured purely on a financial basis.

14.2 What monitoring & reporting procedures will be put in place to measure the efficiency savings (How often will progress towards the target be monitored? Who will have lead responsibility for reporting progress and what procedures will be in place?)

This process will be aligned with current reporting/monitoring information. This will be on a monthly basis commencing month 3 of any given fiscal year.

Lead responsibility for monitoring will be Directors of Finance in conjunction with Chief Executive Officers.

In practise this will be completion of a monitoring schedule by individual NHSScotland Health Boards/Special Health Boards.

Once received, this information collated and forwarded to the Health Department Management Board.

14.3 Monitoring Data: Sources, validation and risks

  • What data will be used to measure progress? Is all the required information quantifiable and readily available? If not what action willl be taken to rectify this?

  • What measures will be in palce to validate the accuracy of the data? Who will take responsibility for this?

  • Are there any issues or risks relating to how you plan to use the data? (eg accuracy, difficulties in collection).

    Financial information will be used to measure progress. Finalised detailed information will be available by 31 March 2005.

    Full Ministerial involvement will include these savings as part of the annual review process of Performance Management.

    Validation will be part of the normal financial monitoring process (including meetings with key NHSScotland staff) and ultimately feeding into an audited set of annual accounts.

    Ministers will ultimately hold NHSScotland Health Boards and Special Health Boards to account for the delivery of these savings.

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Page updated: Thursday, March 31, 2005