Frequently asked Questions FAQs on Financial Matters

Frequently Asked Questions: Finance

Yes. The 2011/12 Autumn Assessment is a collection approved by the Review of Central Returns Steering Committee (ROCR). The licence number is ROCR/0R/2134/001VOLU (formerly ROCR/OR/0193/001VOLU).

Adult mental health services (for working age adults), and Older People mental health services, commissioned by PCTs and Local Authorities.

Yes. Exclude Drug and Substance Misuse services, Learning Disabilities and High Secure services from the planned 2011/12 spend. CAMHS services are NOT required in the 2011/12 collection.

LIT Leads can request copies of last years Excel returns if they so wish, on email application to Mental Health Strategies to finmap@mentalhealthstrategies.co.uk  and should be made in sufficient time for LIT Leads to complete their submission. Previous returns should be requested  asap.

Finance managers should ensure that staff completing this exercise  have been appropriately briefed.

NHS Trusts who directly provide services should report investment commissioned by Specialist Commissioning Agencies on the DATA page of their FM-NHSLA return for the LIT using one of the available commissioner columns selecting “Specialised Services Agency” as the commissioner from the drop down boxes.

The only direct return required from the NHS Specialist Agency relates to the mental health investment commissioned from non statutory bodies such as private health care firms or the voluntary sector.  Specialised Services Agencies investment with non statutory providers should therefore be reported on a FM-NONSTAT return as would PCTs but showing the commissioner as "Specialised Services Agency" which can be selected from the commissioner drop down box. 

Arrangements may vary locally as to whether this is directly returned by the Specialist agencies themselves or returned by the PCTs using figures supplied by the Specialist Teams. The important thing is that such investment with both NHS Trusts and non statutory providers is recorded.

If one of your areas, no longer has a LIT lead., then please return your files for LITs without a LIT Lead directly to Mental Health Strategies, together with an email  stating which of your LITs no longer has a LIT Lead. Send files back directly ONLY for those LITs without a LIT Lead.

For this year, some organisations may already have the Actual Outturn figures. If you do already have these during the time of the collection period, and they would NOT cause you any significant extra work, then insert these Actual Outturn figures in. This is obviously more accurate although the difference between Actual and Expected Outturn at this stage should be minimal. If you haven't got the Actual Outurn figures then please use the Expected Outturn figures as in previous years.

The terms are very important and you need to understand the difference between them.

The provider is the organisation who physically delivers the service in question whilst the commissioner is the one "buying" that service. e.g. a Local Authority may commission services from either directly from its own staff ( in which case it is both commissioner and a provider at the same time) or it might "buy" it in from an independent sector provider. In this latter case the Local Authority is the Commissioner and the independent sector organisation is the provider since they are the ones physically delivering the service.

The Local Implementation Team or LIT, is best considered as a convenient geographical identity. The population of the LIT are the people who benefit from the services commissioned.

Yes - the Commissioner List includes the following types of commissioners alphabetically in this order - PCTs then Local Authorities. The Local Authorities include Non Shire Councils (shown like "Chester LA"), County Councils (which are shown like "CHESHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL") and Unitary Authorities. All Local Authorities allocated a Star Rating for Adult Social Services for 2007 have been included in the commissioner list.

Yes - please use the FM-NHSLA for those services you directly provide (e.g. from your own social services department - in effect these are both commissioned and provided by the Local Authority)

Use the FM-NONSTAT return for those services the Local Authority commissions from the Non Statutory sector ( e.g. work the Local Authority "buys in" from a private care home)

e.g. if a Local Authority buys services from ten local independent sector care homes, then the investment with those ten providers can be added together and recorded against the service type on a single FM-NONSTAT.xls form – in other words only a single FM-NONSTAT file per LIT would normally need to be completed.

This differs from Service Mapping – which does require identification of individual non statutory care providers. Finance mapping does NOT require it.

By referring to performance against Service Level Agreements within Local Delivery Plans will provide some assistance, combined with local knowledge.

This would be difficult, so only allocate to PCTs those of your services that are directly commissioned by PCTs.

Services provided for statutory sector commissioners within England by: Voluntary organisations, other independent (non-profit making) organisations, and Private sector (profit making) organisations.

Sometimes, you may also have to complete the "page" on the FM-NONSTAT.xls called "NGMS"

"NGMS" stands for Non General Medical Services. These are mental health services provided by Primary Care (GMS) but funded from PCT's mainstream revenue allocations hence the term Non General Medical Services e.g. counselling in GP practices, Primary Care mental health workers (line 76 in Adults)

Yes, but only in so far as they refer to mental health services.

Care Trusts combine investment from both NHS and Local Authorities. In order to identify how much is commissioned from PCTs, and how much from Local Authorities, please complete separate commissioner columns e.g. one for investment by each PCT "element" and one for each of the Local Authorities commissioners to that Care Trust.

NHS Out of Area placements are often long term, usually expensive placements of individuals from the LIT area in remote statutory or voluntary/independent sector organisations outside the LIT. These placements may/may not be covered by the normal service level agreements within Local Delivery Plans between PCTs and their mental health providers. Nor would they include routine episodes of treatment for LIT residents who happen to become ill when away from home. The key point to consider is that In/Out of Area are both essentially geographical terms.

Costs of these services should be entered in the appropriate service category on the Trust or Non-statutory Provider workbooks. Note that it is no longer necessary to complete separate workbooks for each individual provider organisation. Social Services departments also place people in facilities outside the boundaries of the local authority. Where these are spot purchased because there is a shortage of capacity within the boundaries or where the facility is conveniently situated for use by a locality within the boundary and the placement is otherwise of a routine nature the cost of these placements should be included within the normal Local Authority or Non-statutory Provider workbooks. Where placements are made in remote providers because clients have complex/special needs that cannot be met locally they should be shown on the Non-statutory Provider Out of Area workbook, and it is not necessary to complete separate worksheets for each individual provider organisation. It is expected that these placements will be expensive ones but costs per annum will vary within a wide range according to the level and nature of support provided.

The rule is simple dependent on who directly provides the service.

If the service is directly provided by an NHS Trust, the NHS Trust should record it on their FM-NHSLA form for the appropriate LIT. E.g. If the Trust provides secure services for the benefit of 2 LITs, the secure investment should be recorded on the 2 separate FM-NHSLA forms required - one per LIT.

If the PCTs or other commissioners,  buy it in from an independent provider, the PCT should record the investment on their FM-NONSTAT form.

PCTs should be able to provide forecast outturn costs of secure placements which are normally outside the LDP arrangements between commissioners and providers. If any commissioners need further clarification on how to report regional secure services please contact Ralph Tingle at Mental Health Strategies (0161 785 1001) to discuss the issues.

Please include these on Line 143 within the Older People part of the Excel sheet. Although the Line title says "Inpatient care - Older Adult Continuing Care", the definition in the Service Definitions (ServDef1112.pdf)  file includes "treatment and rehabilitation of older people". All previous Service definitions are unchanged from 2010/11. For the purposes of this exercise, please include rehabilitation within the Older People Continuing Care label.

Where the NHS is funding continuing care placements of people in private residential care facilities or nursing homes, include the costs in line 164 or line 165 as appropriate for Older People, or in line 51 for working age adults. In these cases, the actual direct provider would be the Non Statutory Sector.

Where the NHS is funding nursing services for people with Dementia in care homes, the cost of these should be included in line 173.

Prescription costs from GPs have never been included within the scope of the Finance map. Therefore, continue to exclude these costs.

There is no specific line for Direct payments for Older People and we recommend that you put it in Line 182 Self  Help and Mutual Aid Group. It is not ideal but is probably the nearest service type within the CSIP designed older people service groups. Not only is this the simplest way of dealing with it, but also the alternative is to try to apportion it out but that would be impractical since these monies are given to the end service user to use as they see fit.

Exclude these costs which are outside the scope of the Financial Mapping exercise although such monies do constitute additional income for the Trust from no statutory commissioners.

If it is returned as "undeliverable" please check that you have not typed in the email address before the @ sign incorrectly as "FIMMAP" as opposed to the correct "FINMAP".

Alternatively, you can email the returns directly to tony.ingham@mentalhealthstrategies.co.uk