皇冠体育app

Date: Wednesday 13 September 2023

Sponsor: Andrew Sanderson, Chief Financial Officer

Purpose of the paper

This paper gives an overview of the UK Health Security Agency鈥檚 finance as at month 4 of financial year 2023 to 2024 (the end of July 2023).

Recommendation

皇冠体育app Advisory Board is asked to note UKHSA鈥檚 financial position.

Summary of in-year 2023 to 2024 financial performance (at end of July)

皇冠体育app tables below show resource and capital departmental expenditure limits (RDEL and CDEL) for 2023 to 2024.

皇冠体育appy are split by the parts of core agency costs, COVID-19 and non COVID-19 vaccines and countermeasures and the COVID Vaccine Unit (CVU).

皇冠体育appy show year to date (Table 1) and forecast full year outturn (Table 2) against budget. Figures shown reflect thousands (拢鈥�000).

Table 1: Year to date resource departmental expenditure limits (RDEL) and capital departmental expenditure limits (CDEL)

	Budget	Actual	Variance
Core RDEL	128,245	124,066	4,180
COVID RDEL	89,668	61,775	27,893
CVU RDEL	130,081	131,117	(1,036)
Vaccines and countermeasures response RDEL	132,270	138,894	(6,624)
UKHSA total resource	480,264	455,852	24,412
Core CDEL	30,779	15,866	14,913
COVID CDEL	0	(9,703)	9,703
CVU CDEL	0	0	0
Vaccines and countermeasures response CDEL	0	3,245	(3245)
UKHSA total capital	30,779	10,038	20,740
UKHSA total	511,043	465,890	45,152

听

Table 2: Full year resource departmental expenditure limits (RDEL) and capital departmental expenditure limits (CDEL)

	Budget	M4 forecast	Variance
Core RDEL	392,570	397,761	(5,191)
COVID RDEL	449,781	442,317	7,464
CVU RDEL	939,000	929,530	9,470
Vaccines and countermeasures response RDEL	568,137	606,662	(38,525)
UKHSA total resource	2,349,488	2,376,270	(26,782)
Core CDEL	83,029	95,532	(12,503)
COVID CDEL	0	(18,112)	18,112
CVU CDEL	0	(78,719)	78,719
Vaccines and countermeasures response CDEL	0	97,855	(97,855)
UKHSA total capital	83,029	96,555	(13,526)
UKHSA total	2,432,517	2,472,826	(40,309)

Core resource and capital budget

UKHSA鈥檚 core resource budget is shown net of a 拢3 million reduction on the agreed settlement of 拢395 million. 皇冠体育app change comes from a reduction of 拢11 million, which was ringfenced by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) as contingency against a shortfall in royalty income which now seems unlikely. This is offset by an increase of 拢8 million to deliver official development assistance work.

皇冠体育app year-to-date core resource position shows an underspend and based on the current monthly run rate would project an underspend of circa 拢25 million. However, the current full year forecast shows a small pressure which includes ambitious recruitment plans especially in recruiting to planned workforce in front-line scientific and clinical areas.

皇冠体育app financial performance of each group is reviewed quarterly with the Executive Committee (ExCo) leads where forecasts are scrutinised. Following the quarter one reviews, emerging underspends formed the basis of an in-year prioritisation exercise completed in August, where ExCo agreed bids to fund spending on in-year projects which bring forward spend from future years or will deliver spend to save initiatives.

皇冠体育app core capital budget has been over programmed for the year to be offset by credits generated on COVID-19 capital budget. 皇冠体育app phasing of the core capital budget is a known issue which will be revisited in quarter 2. Capital spend is from major projects that are one-off in nature and the time taken to gain approvals and go through planning stages will see an acceleration of spend in quarters 3 and 4.

皇冠体育app replacement laboratories programme is developing the strategic review of the Programme Business Case, requested by the Secretary of State. A key component of the work is establishing options for reducing costs closer to the 拢2 billion envelope agreed in 2018. Internal reviews and the preferred option are to be finalised by October ahead of submissions to the Secretary of State and HM Treasury.

COVID-19 resource and capital budget

皇冠体育app allocation for the final year of COVID-19 funding was confirmed in June. Of the 拢575 million total it was agreed that 拢125 million will transfer to NHS England to support COVID-19 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing in NHS settings for 2023 to 2024.

For the full year, there is a small emerging underspend as a priority is to bring down spending while continuing to deliver the government鈥檚 Living with COVID-19 strategy. Work is currently under way to understand further detail on potential cost pressures for 2024 to 2025 from residual COVID-19 activity.

COVID-19 Vaccine Unit resource and capital budget

皇冠体育app full year forecast shows a break-even position. Forecasts are based on Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) draft recommendations for the autumn vaccination campaign on cohort size and prioritising new or in stock vaccines.

皇冠体育app capital credit is generated by a refund on a contract from the previous financial year to procure vaccines which will not be delivered.

Vaccines and countermeasures

This budget is ring-fenced by DHSC and is currently managed on the basis that UKHSA should neither gain nor lose.

Annual Accounts and the Finance and control improvement programme

皇冠体育app draft UKHSA 2022 to 2023 Annual Report and Accounts were reviewed by the UKHSA Audit and Risk Committee in June and submitted. 皇冠体育app National Audit Office鈥檚 external audit has started as planned and is in progress.

皇冠体育app Audit and Risk Committee were updated on progress on 5 September 2023 and a verbal update will be given at the Advisory Board meeting.

皇冠体育app current phases of the Finance and Control Improvement Programme cover a broader set of control and financial management improvements with 12 workstreams in line with good practice and government standards, including implementing and embedding system and process improvements

Andrew Sanderson
Chief Financial Officer
September 2023