Issue - meetings

That the Committee notes the progress made on the proactive budget management of outstanding invoices raised by the Council for payment by Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board.

The Chief Officer (Social Services) and Senior Manager (Safeguarding and Commissioning) presented an update on progress with the outstanding debt with Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board (BCUHB) in respect of the delivery of NHS Continuing Health Care (CHC) packages in Flintshire.

Work was continuing through agreed actions, escalations and meetings to resolve any delays in the processing of outstanding invoices raised by the Council for payment by BCUHB.  As at 6 December 2022, £0.835m of CHC invoices were outstanding, some of which were due to be paid in the next few weeks.  The remaining £0.441m were unresolved invoices to be taken forward for resolution through independent arbitration at the suggestion of the Executive Director of Finance for BCUHB.  Since publication of the report, further progress had helped to reduce the amount of long-term debt to £0.251m.

In response to questions from Councillor Alasdair Ibbotson, the terms of the independent arbitration process were clarified by officers and Councillor Christine Jones spoke about her involvement and the reporting mechanism.

Councillor Paul Johnson welcomed the update and thanked Council officers and BCUHB colleagues for their joint efforts to reach this position.

On further updates, the Chief Officer (Social Services) suggested that the next report be brought in February 2023 to allow time for the arbitration process.  It was agreed that the Chairman would liaise with the Democratic Services Manager to schedule accordingly.

The Chairman welcomed the progress made since the item was first raised.  He asked that the next update indicate whether outstanding invoices were new or historical and that the list shared at the previous meeting be updated and circulated to show the latest position.

The Senior Manager provided a breakdown of the approximate dates and values of current outstanding invoices.

The recommendation was moved by Councillor Bill Crease and seconded by Councillor Sam Swash.

RESOLVED:

That the Committee notes the progress made on the proactive budget management of outstanding invoices raised by the Council for payment by Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board.