Sixth report from the Select Committee on Estimates : together with the minutes of evidence taken before sub-committee D and appendices, session 1956-1957: Running costs of hospitals.
- Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Select Committee on Estimates
- Date:
- [1957]
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: Sixth report from the Select Committee on Estimates : together with the minutes of evidence taken before sub-committee D and appendices, session 1956-1957: Running costs of hospitals. Source: Wellcome Collection.
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![te 29 January, 1957.] [Continued, then divide the money up between them- selves and their Management Committees and notify the Management Committees before the beginning of the financial year. They ask the Management Committees to submit to them detailed estimates by subheads which, I suppose, they would get at about the beginning of the financial year. 134. It leaves them a little short of time for the early part of the financial year. They cannot plan quite soon enough, can they? There is not a lot of time for the Management Committee, no, before it receives its allocation. We have tried our best to cut down the time- table. We have not really succeeded. 135. The Estimates are revised, pos- sibly, in the beginning of the current financial year? Just about that time. 136. It seems to me rather pinched? It is so. The estimates reach the Regional Boards in September—they are forecasts really—and that is six months efore the beginning of the financial year. To achieve any earlier time-table to be sent to the Regional Boards earlier still, and they are not much use if sub- mitted even before September. 137. I see that. May I go back to paragraph 10 (f) on one point? Roughly how much is recovered from employed in-patients? Roughly £200,000 a year. 138. Going back to the budgets, what happens if the total sum determined for the group is exceeded? If the Hos- pital Management Committee exceeds its allocation, do you mean? 139. Yes? As far as the Ministry is concerned, we allocate a total sum to a region. 140. I quite understand that? What the Regional Board does with the Management Committee we do not con- cern ourselves with, provided that the total for the region is not exceeded. Our concern is to ensure that the total regional budget is adhered to. Captain Waterhouse. 141. What happens if the regional budget is exceeded? It depends, obviously, on the reason for the excess. One goes into it with the regional board. A relatively small excess may be quite understandable and justifiable. A larger excess may indicate bad planning. I do not think we have in recent years had on hospital maintenance any excesses that were so large we thought they indicated bad financial planning. 142. Can you under any circumstances make a surcharge on the Board? No, we have no power of surcharge. Chairman. 143. Is there ever an unspent balance of cash returned? The accounts are on an income and expenditure basis. 144. Perhaps “cash” is the wrong word, then?——-Do they sometimes under-spend? 145. Yes?_They do sometimes under-spend by varying amounts. In recent years the under-spendings have been, on the whole, very small indeed. 146. If they do under-spend, it comes back ?—If that is so, it simply means the money to meet that expenditure has not had to be provided. It remains unspent. Captain Waterhouse. 147. Are they congratulated, or given a “rocket” for not spending? IT do not think either happens, normally. Vice-Admiral Hughes Hallett. 148. I have two questions. The thing starts off with the Management Com- mittee submitting its budget? Yes, submitting a forecast. 149. Yes. Is no indication given to it in advance of how much money is liable to be available? Not at that stage, no. 150. That is the answer to my first question. My second question is this. I notice these words in paragraph 12, “Provision is made for budgets to be adjusted for wage and price changes ”, etc., etc. Are we to understand from that that these people are in the fortunate position of being insured against infla- tion in advance, and that they can disre- gard rising prices—their income will be stepped up pro rata? That is sub- stantially so. I ought, perhaps, to give the Committee a little of the history here. Some years ago the practice was to in- clude provision for things like wage in- creases and price increases in the initial](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b32182466_0043.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
