Moray Integration Joint Board (MIJB) is grappling with significant financial risk as demand and costs for health and social care services continue to rise.
An update on the financial pressures and the scale of the challenge to control and manage spend within the available budget, was presented to last week’s meeting of the MIJB.
In her paper to the board on Thursday (26 September 2024), Deborah O’Shea, Chief Finance Officer, reported that despite efforts to bring costs down, significant overspends are emerging.
For the first three months of the financial year, core services were overspent by £2.5m. Based on current spending trends and savings expected to be achieved, the overspend is projected to rise to £5.5m by the end of March 2025.
Members were presented with the quarterly revenue monitoring report and updated on the work of Health & Social Care Moray (HSCM) to deliver £8.3m of savings through the financial recovery plan.
Costs pressures from increasing demand for services and more people having complex care and support needs, rising energy costs and high rates of inflation, are outside HSCM’s control and have not been matched by an increase in funding.
Significant overspend has been reported in the primary care prescribing budget (£1.001m), services to support people with a learning disability (£0.551m) and in services to support older people and people with a physical or sensory disability (£0.563m). Other areas where budgets are overspent include community hospitals (£0.234m) and NHS out of area placements for people whose needs cannot currently be met by services in Moray (£0.231m). This relates primarily to specialist mental health, learning disability and acquired brain injury placements.
Actual savings of £0.520m have been achieved to date but board members were advised there is a potential risk of the £8.3m savings target falling short by £2.8m in 2024/25, leading to a worsening budget position in the following year.
To manage the gap between the cost of delivering services and the funding received from funding partners Moray Council and NHS Grampian, the MIJB approved a financial recovery plan in May.
HSCM staff are working to improve financial controls and deliver the planned savings and efficiency measures in order to transforming services and create a more sustainable and efficient operating model which achieves best value and supports people to benefit from improved health and wellbeing outcomes.
A Budget Saving Oversight Group, chaired by Judith Proctor, HSCM’s Interim Chief Officer, has been set up to strengthen financial governance and keep the recovery plan on track. Further reports on the financial position and progress of the savings plan will be presented to the MIJB throughout the year.
The agenda pack for the MIJB meeting, which includes the Revenue Budget Monitoring Quarter 1 report, is available on the Moray Council website here.
