MEDIA RELEASE

NHS Wales Finances – statement from the Chair of the Public Accounts Committee

The Chair of the Public Accounts Committee, Nick Ramsay AM, has issued the following statement in response to the Wales Audit Office report ‘Implementation of the NHS Finances (Wales) Act 2014’.

Mr Ramsay said:

“The NHS Finances (Wales) Act was introduced following concerns expressed by the previous Public Accounts Committee about the short-term financial focus of NHS Wales.

“I am pleased to see that the Welsh Government is using the Act to drive better planning in the NHS and that there are signs of a shift to longer-term thinking.

The Chair of the Public Accounts Committee, Nick Ramsay AM, has issued the following statement in response to the Wales Audit Office report ‘Implementation of the NHS Finances (Wales) Act 2014’.

Mr Ramsay said:

“The NHS Finances (Wales) Act was introduced following concerns expressed by the previous Public Accounts Committee about the short-term financial focus of NHS Wales.

“I am pleased to see that the Welsh Government is using the Act to drive better planning in the NHS and that there are signs of a shift to longer-term thinking.

“However, it is also clear from the Auditor General’s report that there is still more to do to address the underlying problems that mean four of Wales’s largest health boards have been unable to live within their means over the past three years and have therefore received qualified audit opinions on the regularity of their expenditure from the Auditor General. 

“The Public Accounts Committee will take evidence from the Welsh Government about the issues raised by the Auditor General’s report on Monday 10 July.”

Notes to editors

The full report, ‘Implementation of the NHS Finances (Wales) Act 2014’, is available from the Wales Audit Office.

For more information, interviews, photo or filming requests, please contact National Assembly media relations on 0300 200 7487, or email news@assembly.wales.

English