Source · National Audit Office
Investigation into NHS Property Services Limited
Published: 1 May 2014
Recommendations: 8
Type: Value for Money
NAO confirmed: 8
Department: Department of Health and Social Care
In response to questions raised by the House of Commons Health Committee in late 2013 and wider Parliamentary interest, we conducted an investigation into five specific concerns about NHS Property Services. Our investigation established the facts relating to these concerns. May 2014
Recommendations
| Rec | Recommendation | Addressee | Acceptance | Implementation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
The Department, in collaboration with national bodies and the Service should:
a) develop a plan to ensure that the Service and all tenants of the Service’s premises will agree tenancy details and amounts by 31 March 2020; and
Ref Page 13, paragraph 17, point a
· Implemented 04/2020
|
Department of Health and Social Care | Accepted | Implemented ✓ NAO |
| 2 |
b) put in place an efficient dispute resolution process whereby all disputes are settled within 90 days of invoicing and agree a plan to clear outstanding disputes including a service-level agreement for responding to queries from tenants in a reasonable time so that there is agreement on the nature and value of the disputed amount before entering the arbitration process.
Ref Page 13, paragraph 17, point b
· Implemented 04/2021
|
Department of Health and Social Care | Partially accepted | Implemented ✓ NAO |
| 3 |
The Department and national bodies should:
c) examine ways to encourage occupiers and local health economies to take greater ownership of paying for the Service’s estate.
Ref Page 13, paragraph 17, point c
· Implemented 04/2020
|
Department of Health and Social Care | Accepted | Implemented ✓ NAO |
| 4 |
The Department should:
d) provide stronger challenge to the Service’s process for setting directors’ bonuses, so that bonuses are paid for achieving genuinely stretching and important targets; and
Ref Page 13, paragraph 17, point d
· Implemented 04/2020
|
Department of Health and Social Care | Accepted | Implemented ✓ NAO |
| 5 |
e) complete the strategic review of the Service in time to inform decision-making in the expected 2019 Spending Review.
Ref Page 13, paragraph 17, point e
· Implemented 09/2020
|
Department of Health and Social Care | Accepted | Implemented ✓ NAO |
| 6 |
The Service should:
f) build on its existing quality metrics, with input from stakeholders, so that its performance can be monitored, including the accuracy of billing;
Ref Page 13, paragraph 17, point f
· Implemented 04/2021
|
NHS Property Services | Partially accepted | Implemented ✓ NAO |
| 7 |
g) continue to reduce the time it takes to issue bills; and
Ref Page 13, paragraph 17, point g
· Implemented 04/2021
|
NHS Property Services | Accepted | Implemented ✓ NAO |
| 8 |
h) review its capacity to deal with queries in an effective and timely manner.
Ref Page 13, paragraph 17, point h
· Implemented 04/2021
|
NHS Property Services | Accepted | Implemented ✓ NAO |
Public Accounts Committee follow-up
The Public Accounts Committee examined this NAO report and published its own recommendations. The government responds to PAC recommendations via Treasury Minutes.