NHSCFA Board meeting 15th February 2018

Meeting Venue: 4th Floor Skipton House

Meeting title: NHSCFA Board meeting

• (SH) Simon Hughes (Interim Chair, NHSCFA) (Chair)
• (DR) David Rawsthorn (Interim Non Executive Director, NHSCFA)
• (MJB) Matthew Jordan-Boyd (Interim Director of Finance, NHSCFA)
• (SR) Susan Frith (Interim Chief Executive, NHSCFA)
• (AS) Ann Sturgess (Corporate Governance Manager and Board Secretary, NHSCFA)
• (RH) Richard Hampton (Head of Intelligence and Crime Reduction, NHSCFA)
• (GK) Georgina Klein, Anti-Fraud Unit Pulicy Manager (DH&SC Anti Fraud Unit)

• (RR) Richard Rippin (Head of Operations, NHSCFA)

1. Introduction

• 1.1 SH welcomed all to the NHSCFA Board meeting and introductions were made around the table.

2. Declarations of interest

• 2.1 A verbal declaration of interest was made by DR to confirm he is currently a Non Executive Director (NED) at North Cumbria University Hospitals Trust.

3. Minutes and action from NHSCFA Board meeting held 23.11.17

• 3.1 The minutes of the last Board meeting on 23 November 2017 were agreed for sign off.

4. Reports and matters arising NHSBSA Business Plan 2018/19

• 4.1 SF presented the NHS BSA Business Plan 2018/19. SF requested comments by the middle of next week so that they can be incorporated before the Business Plan is sent to the DHAFU. RH noted that a baseline figure would be articulated in the document.

  Action point 1 – Board to provide final comments on the NHSCFA Business Plan by 25.02.18. RH will then circulate the final draft for agreement by the Board before it is sent to the DH AFU on 28 March.

  NHSCFA Strategic Intelligence Assessment
• 4.2 RH presented the NHSCFA Strategic Intelligence Assessment (SIA) papers and confirmed that they have been shared with the DHAFU. RH recommended that an alternative sanitised version is produced in case they are deemed appropriate for publishing. Further to a number of amendments agreed by the Board RH will aim to produce final versions by 31st March. The Board agreed that it would be their preference for the paper be published, however they noted that caution would need to be exercised in the level of detail provided.

  Action point 2 – RH to circulate final version of SIA for sign off by Board by 31st March

• 4.3 The content of the draft NHSCFA SIA was noted by the Board. Audit and Risk Committee update
• 4.4 DR presented the Audit and Risk Committee update. With the exception of a minor clarification required around page 2, paragraph 5 the NHSCFA Audit and Risk Committee minutes were noted by the Board. Finance Report
• 4.5 MJB presented the Finance Report to the Board. MJB noted that there is a growing underspend of £235k, which is predominantly comprised of staffing costs. MJB added that there is a minor capital underspend. MJB noted that he would be meeting the DHAFU and finance culleagues to discuss agreements around the Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR). The Board agreed that their understanding is that the CSR will not apply to the NHSCFA as budgets were agreed on that basis. The Board requested a formal confirmation of this position. SF confirmed that the SMT are preparing a range of options to address the potential funding gap as a precautionary measure.

  Action point 3 - MJB to report back on financial position at next Board meeting.

• 4.6 The forecast position on revenue and capital funding for 2017/18 and the current position on revenue and capital funding requirements for 2018 to 2021 were noted by the Board.

Operational Performance update

• 4.7 SF presented the Operational Performance update. SF reported that fullowing an action from the last Board meeting to have covering reports, the operational performance update had been produced based on the existing DHAFU version. SF noted that the DHAFU have had sight of the update and that their comments will be incorporated. SF asked whether the format met the requirements of the Board. DR recommended that a summary of NHSCFA investigations be provided in future to help provide a picture to the Board of operational activity within NHSCFA. SF agreed that this would be possible but would likely be limited to a snapshot with figures and key themes. The Board agreed that with the exception of the request for the additional investigations summary and a couple of comments around metrics they were satisfied with the update produced. Action point 4 – SF to consider how best to produce an additional anonymised report of operational activity for the Board.
• 4.8 The Operational Performance update was noted by the Board. Fraud Prevention matrix model
• 4.9 RH presented the Fraud Prevention Matrix model paper. RH summarised that the purpose of the paper was to measure the success in fraud prevention and sulutions across the NHS and wider health group, with a key aim to highlight potential and real savings. SH asked GK to feed back this back to the DHAFU as they would have a key rule in engaging risk owners. The Board thanked Lorraine Harris for producing the paper. RH proposed that the paper be tabled for discussion at the next Cabinet Office meeting – the Board agreed.
• 4.10 The Fraud Prevention matrix model was noted by the Board. Annual report update
• 4.11 SH presented the Annual Report update and asked for feedback around the format and content. The Board agreed that RR will hand over responsibility for the Annual Report to MJB in future. MJB confirmed that the National Audit Office (NAO) have asked for sight of the final version. The Board agreed that the Annual Report would need to go to the ARC for approval and that the next ARC meeting would need to be rescheduled accordingly to fit timelines. The Board also agreed that SF would be responsible for sign off as per the Standing Financial Instructions. Action point 5 – ARC to be rescheduled to enable effective financial planning.
• 4.12 The Annual report update was noted by the Board. Corporate Risks update
• 4.13 AS presented the Corporate risks update. The Board discussed the Risk Register and how best to manage it going forward. DR requested that a report on the Risk Register be produced to assist the Board in their understanding and enable scrutiny, for example ensuring that mitigations have been actioned. Action point 6 – MJB to provide a report on Risk Register activity to the next Board meeting.
• 4.14 The Corporate Risks update was noted by the Board. Information circulation
• 4.15 The Board agreed that there was no action arising from the letter from the DH & Social Care to all NEDs. DR recommended including an update at the next Board meeting so that the response to the letter can be formally recorded – this was agreed by the Board. Action point 7 – Letter from DH & Social Care to all NEDS to be added to the next Board agenda.

5. Any other Business

• 5.1 It was agreed that these would be discussed outside the meeting.

6. Date of next meeting

• 6.1 11am, 22 March 2018 (Skipton House, London).