Financial Delivery Unit work with NHS Boards: FOI release

Information requested

1. A list of all NHS Boards the Financial Delivery Unit are working with or has worked with since 1 April 2023.

2. A short summary of the work undertaken and the outcomes achieved for each Board.

3. Any guidance issued to the Health Boards in 2023-24.

Response

The Financial Delivery Unit worked with all 22 NHS Scotland Boards during financial year 2023/24.

The Financial Delivery Unit worked with NHS Boards to support the completion of Financial Performance Returns (which report on the report the financial position of NHS Boards), and Financial Plans (which forecast Boards expenditure for future years).

The Financial Delivery Unit attended Executive Team meetings and Board meetings to discuss the overall financial picture of NHS Scotland. The Financial Delivery Unit also developed benchmarking dashboards, allowing Health Boards to compare performance across various metrics. Work is ongoing with the National Supplementary Staff Task and Finish Group to reduce non-medical agency spend, and the National Medical Locum Task and Finish Group has been set up to address medical locum expenditure.

The Financial Delivery Unit provides guidance to NHS Boards on the completion of Financial Performance Returns. The Financial Delivery Unit also provides guidance to support the completion of NHS Scotland Financial Plans. Guidance in both these areas is to ensure consistency and to facilitate meaningful comparisons across NHS Scotland.

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at http://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.