1998/1999 Annual Review - Financial Report

Director of Finance Chief Executive

RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS
Clatterbridge Centre for Oncology NHS Trust (CCO) is a body corporate established by order of the Secretary of State for Health. The Department of Health is regarded as a related party. During the year CCO has had a significant number of material transactions with the Department, and with other entities for which the Department is regarded as the parent Department, viz:

CCO has also received income of £729,000 from Clatterbridge Cancer Research Trust, (CCRT) a registered charity, in support of research staff and equipment. The Chairman of CCRT and one Council member are Executive Directors of CCO.

CCO has also received revenue and capital payments from one charitable fund, all of the trustees for which are also members of the CCO Board. (The Summary Financial Statements of the Funds held on Trust are included in the annual report)

PUBLIC SECTOR PAYMENT POLICY
The target is to pay non-NHS trade creditors within 30 days of receipt of goods or a valid invoice unless other payment terms have been agreed with the supplier. The Trust’s measure of compliance is:

FULL SET OF ACCOUNTS
These financial statements are summaries of the information contained in the Trust’s annual accounts. A full set of accounts (including those for Charitable Funds) is available on request.

To obtain a copy please contact Mr P Corbett, Finance Department, Clatterbridge Centre for Oncology, Clatterbridge Road, Bebington, Wirral, Merseyside, CH63 4JY. Tel: 0151 334 1155 Extension 4177

FINANCIAL REVIEW
The Trust achieved successfully its 1998/99 financial targets of:

• achieving a capital cost absorption rate of 6%.
• achieving a break-even position on the Income and Expenditure account.
• remaining within the external financing limit which is set annually by the NHS Executive.

INTERNAL FINANCIAL CONTROL
The Chief Executive as Accountable Officer, together with the other Directors, has a responsibility for ensuring that there is an appropriate system of internal financial control within the organisation. This system must provide reasonable assurance of:

a) the safeguarding of assets against unauthorised use or disposal;
b) the maintenance of proper accounting records; and
c) the reliability of financial information used within the organisation or for external publication.

No system can provide absolute assurance against material misstatement or loss but the system should provide reasonable assurance that material errors, irregularities or fraud are either prevented or would be detected within a timely period.

The Chief Executive as Accountable Officer, together with the other Directors, has a responsibility to review the organisation's system of internal financial control as required in HSG(97)17.

In carrying out the review, as set out in EL(97)55, the Directors are required to confirm:

a) that the organisation has an appropriate system of internal financial control; and
b) that the “minimum control standards" laid down by the NHS Executive have been in existence within the organisation throughout the financial year.

The Directors confirm that they have undertaken the review and the above requirements have been met.

Date: 28th July 1999
By order of the Board. Chief Executive

AUDITORS’ REPORT ON INTERNAL FINANCIAL CONTROL
In addition to our work on the financial statements, we have reviewed the statement of Directors responsibilities on internal financial control set out above in compliance with the NHS Executive’s directions set out in EL(97)55.

We carried out our review in accordance with the approach set out in the Audit Commission’s Technical Release 37/97 relating to internal financial control. This does not require us to perform the additional work necessary to, and we do not, express any opinion on the effectiveness of the Trust’s system of internal financial control. Our review was not performed for any purpose connected with any specific transaction and should not be relied upon for any such purpose.

With respect to the Directors’ statement on internal financial control above, in our opinion the Directors have provided the disclosures required by EL(97)55 and the statement is not inconsistent with the information of which we are aware from our audit carried out under the Code of Audit Practice.

AUDITORS’ REPORT ON SUMMARY FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Our audit comprised a comparison of the statements with the full financial statements and an assessment of the presentation.

In our opinion these schedules are consistent with the statutory financial statements of the trust for the year ended 31 March 1999 on which we have issued an unqualified opinion. We have also audited the Charitable Funds accounts and issued an unqualified opinion.

Date: 28th July 1999
Auditor District Audit Service, Sumner House, St Thomas’ Road, Chorley, Lancs.