Paper BSO 5/2016
To: / BSO BoardFrom: / Director of Customer Care & Performance
Subject: / Update Summary Position on Provision of BSO Services to NIFRS
Status: / For Noting
Date of Meeting: / 28 January 2016
1. Background
With effect from April 2014, amendments to the Health and Social Care Act (Northern Ireland) enabled the BSO to provide services not only to the HSC, but also to the wider DHSSPS family, including the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS). A number of services are already provided by BSO to NIFRS with work underway during previous business planning cycles to scope the potential for the provision of others. There was some uncertainty about proceeding with plans to expand the range of BSO services provided to NIFRS following a statement made to the NI Assembly on 2 March 2015 which reported decisions reached by the Executive on the names and allocations of functions of future departments. Under these arrangements, it was proposed that sponsor arrangements for NIFRS would transfer to the new Department of Justice in 2016. As a result, a number of plans drawn up under proposed Service Level Agreement arrangements between BSO and NIFRS were stood down.
On 17 November 2015, the NI Executive published A Fresh Start, the Stormont Agreement and Implementation Plan, the purpose of which was “to consolidate the peace, secure stability, enable progress and offer hope’ for the citizens of Northern Ireland. Under this agreement, NIFRS is to remain under the jurisdiction of the new Department of Health. As a result, NIFRS contacted BSO with a view to re-establishing discussion onproposed provision of services. BSO Board members were apprised of this position at the meeting on 26 November 2015.
2. Summary of BSO Service Provision to NIFRS
NIFRS / Service / Cost(2015/16) / Comment/Future Provision
CurrentProvision / Internal Audit / £110,500 / A full service is provided. The current SLA covers the 2014/16 period. It is anticipated that theInternal Audit service will continue in 2016/17 at a slightly reduced level and with largely similar costs.
PaLS / £51,800 / BSO PaLS currently provides an oversight/advisory service. The current SLA covers the 2014/16 period. Discussions regarding the provision of a largely enhanced service have recommenced. . It is likely that a future enhanced PaLS service will cost in the region of at least £170k per annum, plus set up costs.
ITS / £119,500 / Two senior BSO ITS staff costed to NIFRS are reviewing current services and planning and providing business case support for the future. Proposals to move NIFRS to a managed IT service and the agreement of an SLA were put on hold when the move to DoJ was proposed, but these have re-commenced. .
Leadership Centre / £51,000 / Consultancy, management development and short courses were provided in 2015/16. Arrangements are in place to agree 2016/17 requirements.
Pensions / There is currently an oversight service provided by BSO, with an agreement in principle that BSO will provide a complete service (subject to investment in NIFRS system upgrades).
Potential New Provision
Counter Fraud / - / NIFRS has expressed an interest in exploring the potential for commencement of a service.
Legal Services / - / NIFRS has expressed an interest in exploring the commencement of a service no earlier than 2017/18.
Shared Services / - / No discussions have taken place and would be dependent on the necessary systems being put in place within NIFRS. NIFRS has expressed an interest in opening discussions in the longer-term.
More detail with regard to the services summarised above is outlined below.
3. Internal Audit
BSO took responsibility for providing a full Internal Audit Service to NIFRS from 1 April 2014, with the support of the DHSSPS Sponsor Branch. The service was scoped and planned in the knowledge that a number of recommendations had been made by independent bodies regarding the strengthening of the NIFRS Internal Audit function.
Under a Service Level Agreement (SLA) arrangement, BSO has provided 420 audit days per annum to provide a risk-based Internal Audit service to NIFRS which is compliant with Public Sector Internal Audit Standards during 2014-16. It is anticipated that the Internal Audit service will continue in 2016/17 at a slightly reduced level as agreed by NIFRS Audit Committee and with largely similar costs.
4. Procurement and Logistics
BSO currently provides a basic Procurement and Logistics service to NIFRS. This includes provision of advice and guidance, including CoPE coverage for those procurements covered by BSO PaLS; administrative support to E-sourcing NI and relevant training.
A proposal for an enhanced service with a recommended option of a partial transfer of procurement to BSO (sourcing procurement only, with transactional procurement remaining the responsibility of NIFRS) was drawn up in February 2015. There were a number of advantages to the recommended proposal for partial transfer of procurement to BSO. A risk to BSO within this proposal would have been that BSO PaLS would be accountable as a CoPE, but have no authority over transactional staff in NIFRS. This could potentially have been mitigated by agreed controls on NIFRS transactional staff and regular review of transactional data by BSO PaLS staff. However, consideration of the proposal was stood down with the proposed transfer to the Department of Justice and communication regarding the exact nature of an enhanced service to NIFRS has re-opened. It is likely that a future service would cost in the region of at least £170k per annum plus start-up costs.
5. Leadership Centre
Consultancy, management development and short courses were provided in 2015/16. Arrangements are in place to discuss 2016/17 requirements and it is anticipated that these will be similar to 2015/16.
6. IT Services
Stage1(current). Two senior ITS staff paid for by NIFRS are currently carrying out a review of current state and planning/business case support for the future. The business cases are at approval stage. Subject to funding, it is envisaged that delivery of equipment would take place prior to commencement of the next stage (projected start date of April 2016). During the currentstage NIFRS is carrying all risk identified with IT equipment and systems. Consideration of existing NIFRS ICT staff transferring under TUPE as early as possible in the implementation of a managed IT service is on-going.
Stage 2(projected to commence 1 April 2016). This stage will involve implementation of servers, network links and other equipment and migration from old to new systems. There is a shared risk scenario but high risk overall should either the existing or new equipment not work. BSO IT staff are currently planning and costing this stage with NIFRS.
Stage 3 (date and costing to be confirmed in planning). This stage will involve the implementation of IT service desk, incident and problem management, availability and capacity planning. Policies and procedures implemented.
7. Pensions
A two year SLA for the provision of Pensions Service by BSO to NIFRS, including a risk assessment with mitigation/controls was signed for the period September 2015 to August 2017. This was following approval of a business case submitted by NIFRS to DHSSPS and DOJ. Now that NIFRS is no longer moving to DOJ, a revised business case in relation to the purchase of the system has been submitted by NIFRS to DHSSPS and approval is awaited. In the interim an oversight Pensions service has been provided to NIFRS with re-charges based on a percentage of senior Pensions staff costs. BSO Pensions has indicated that it should be possible to move to implementation of a complete service within a month of business case approval. The cost of the complete service related to staffing (£ 60k for a full year), with all costs in relation to system implementation paid directly by NIFRS to the supplier.
8. Recommendation
BSO Board is asked to note the current update position with regard to the provision of BSO Services to NIFRS.