Page 724 - Week 03 - Tuesday, 12 March 1991
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The inquiry - that is the Enfield inquiry - will seek an explanation of the present situation, and will have the following terms of reference:
To inquire into the management practices of the ACT Board of Health and recommend measures that should be taken to remedy any deficiencies identified. In particular the inquiry should concentrate on
. the extent and quality of projections of revenue and expenditure available to management in the preparation of annual budgets
. the level, quality and frequency of financial reporting during the year, including revenue and recurrent and capital commitment and expenditure
. the extent to which budget preparation and financial reporting is informed by current and projected information on human resource usage and any other consumption trends.
This task should take no more than two months to complete, including time to write and release the report. I remain concerned that I cannot discount the possibility that overexpenditure may occur again, until the inquiry has been completed and the measures it recommends are implemented. Accordingly, I have asked Mr Jim Service, the chair of the ACT Board of Health, to take personal control of all health finances. Mr Service and I agree that, until the board can be satisfied that proper financial controls are in place, it is appropriate that the board control expenditure. Mr Service advises me that he proposes to appoint a financial comptroller to assist him in this task and be responsible for handling all commitments and expenditure until the board is satisfied that the control can be returned to line managers. I welcome his initiative.
The proposals that I have outlined to the Assembly today are those of a responsible government. They identify those issues that can best be addressed by an open and impartial inquiry, and also put in place measures to ensure that the problem will not recur again. I am pleased that Mr Service has agreed to take personal control of the finances of the health system because this is an essential step in ensuring that health expenditure is controlled until the board is satisfied that proper resource management practices are in place. I present the following paper:
Health Services budget - Ministerial statement, 12 March 1991.
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