Reprioritising of £63m stated in Emergency Budget Review: FOI release

Information requested

In the Emergency Budget Review, the Scottish Government states it is reprioritising £63m by rephasing and pausing of other health programmes, specifically "Includes Scottish Trauma Network, Genomics programmes and improvement programmes on older people, clinical audit and education and development"

Please provide detail on what exactly has been rephased, for how long and in what manner, and the savings associated with each rephrasing.

Response

The answer to your question is provided in the table below.

Programme	£m	Description
Health Board Support and Resilience	5.7	Reduction in cost estimates in relation to Anti-viral stockpiles (part of UK stockpile programme) and in the SAS Specialist Operational Resilience Team estimates. Phasing and achievement of project milestones slightly delayed as a result of other operational priorities during COVID. This resulted in revised cost estimates for 2022-23 spend.
National Treatment Centres	4.8	Slippage in recruitment plans by the National Treatment Centres means lower costs estimates for 2022-23. There is no reduction in the planned workforce to be recruited but general workforce shortages meant delay in timelines and therefore costs.
Chief Operating Officer Directorate - other	1.7	A range of other savings delivered through revised cost estimates for 2022-23.
Multiple Child Removals	1.5	This was a new programme of work for this financial year, having been announced in the 2021 Programme for Government. In-year revised budgets allow for legal and contractual commitments associated with these new programmes to continue.
Young Persons Family Fund	1.5	This budget has been reprofiled to reflect anticipated spend in 2022-23. The YPFF is a new fund, administered by NHS Boards and launched in July 2021, and original 2022-23 budgets were modelled on higher demand than has materialised.
Children & Families Directorate - other	1.4	Saving delivered through reprofiling budget to reflect anticipated spend in 2022-23.
Wellbeing	4.9	In-year revised budgets allow for legal and contractual commitments to continue. One-off payments to Health Boards and HSCPs to provide support is now being used to help table a record pay offer, and improved terms and conditions for NHS Agenda for Change Staff.
Workforce Directorate - other	12.4	Updated forecasts of training delivery costs have been lower than expected.
Scottish Trauma Networks	3.8	General slippage due to recruitment difficulties has contributed some savings and recruitment.
Thrombectomy	3.9	Forecast thrombectomy expenditure for 2022-23 (£7.9 million) represents a 19.7% increase on the last financial year (2021-22 expenditure was £6.6 million).
Genomics	1.2	Funding for genomics has increased by more than 100% in 2022-23 even after this saving. We have sustained the work of the Bridge to a Scottish Genomics Strategy which focussed on those with a rare disease and will be investing to increase our capacity in our NHS genetic laboratories to ensure cancer patients get can get access to crucial treatments that ultimately improve outcomes.
Healthcare Quality and Improvement Directorate - other	3.1	Other savings delivered through revised cost estimates and pausing of some clinical audit improvement programmes.
Palliative and End of life care	1	Both of these strategies are still in development and there has been no impact to service delivery.
AHP & HCS Policy Development	2.2	Improved forecasting tools now in place leading to a more accurate forecast and identification of savings.
Nursing Education & Training	2	Improved forecasting tools now in place leading to a more accurate forecast and identification of savings.
Nursing Directorate - Other	1.7	Reprofiling of expenditure on Rehabilitation Framework, National Falls & Fractures strategy, Healthcare Acquired Infection, 500 ANPs and developing career pathways for nurses, midwives and health support workers.
Safe Staffing	1.2	Rephasing as a result of operational priorities during COVID and delay in implementation. Reflects revised spend in 22/23.
Health research	6.1	The planned Recovery, Resilience and Growth Programme has been deferred and the uplift given to health innovation was limited to £0.5m (14%). Other savings of £0.6m delivered through revised cost estimates.
Chief Medical Officer Directorate - other	2.7	Saving delivered through reprofiling budget to reflect anticipated spend in 2022-23.
Total	62.9

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