PPA -> Corporate Risk Register

Prescription Pricing Authority Corporate Risk Register

We have clearly defined business objectives within our five year strategy and business plan. A risk can be viewed as the chance of an adverse outcome from any decision or action, including the action of doing nothing, which compromises the ability to achieve these objectives. Good risk management, at all levels, is therefore critical to success in achieving goals.

We already have a wide range of systems which manage risk. Risk management provides the focus to maintain the effectiveness and efficiency of controls.

We maintain a register of risk at all levels within the PPA, together with the status of actions being taken to mitigate risk. The role of the Management Board and Audit Committee is to refine and update the risk register, particularly in respect of strategic risks, and to review reports received, overseeing the effectiveness of the risk management process. The up-to-date risk register and reports received during the year provide evidence presented in our annual report.

This list represents the key strategic risks which are managed at a corporate level, through that process.

More information on the PPA Risk Management Policy and Strategy is available as part of our Freedom of Information Publication Scheme.

	Principal Risk	High Level Action
1	The volatility in the size and complexity of prescription processing and patient services provision, whether arising from an unexpected shift in Government / Department of Health policy, or from other causes, adversely impacts on the operational services provided by the PPA.	1. Develop robust plans to ensure the provision of adequate staff and equipment to deal with forecast growth and to deal with all foreseeable contingencies. 2. Aim to provide a capability to deal with growth and complexity by implementing systems that offer productivity gains and a lower unit cost. 3. Proactively maintain a dialogue with the Department of Health and appropriate stakeholders to ensure compliance with anticipated policy changes, especially those relating to new arrangements for drug supply to the primary care sector.
2	The Department of Health/NHS is unable to clarify, with sufficient notice, its specific requirements to the Authority to implement any necessary changes to systems.	1. Ensure that the Department of Health and other stakeholders are made aware of minimum lead times for significant changes to systems, and that formal notification is made in an agreed format, with clarification sought where ambiguity is apparent.
3	Insufficient PPA resources (i.e. finance, manpower and infrastructure) to meet its strategic objectives.	1. Communicate, in advance, with policy makers and make use of the existing strategic/business planning process, to ensure that appropriate funding submissions are made in accordance with prescribed timetables, providing such supplementary information (including assumptions made) as is needed to support the sums requested. 2. Reduce the burden of central funding by continuous striving for efficiency gains and the provision of charged services to other bodies within the empowered areas contained in Secretary of State Directions. 3. Maintain and continuously review a comprehensive workforce plan.
4	The Authority fails to communicate to the Department of Health and other stakeholders on matters of substance, leading to the risk of error or unsuitable actions by stakeholders.	1. Maintain and review a communications strategy that ensures that stakeholders are regularly updated on changes being undertaken by the Authority. 2. Ensure that the Authority website is constantly updated and encourage feedback. 3. Maintain stakeholder forums to regularly review the services provided in respective areas with a view to continuous improvement, which meets changing requirements. 4. Ensure that when the responsibility for the PPA transfers to other DH officers, they are appropriately briefed on all outstanding issues.
5	Failure to put project management skills and processes in place, and to use previous experience to make informed decisions, could have an adverse impact on the Authority’s work programmes.	1. Ensure that appropriate managers and staff are trained in modern project management skills and that they are utilised as appropriate. 2. Agree realistic timescales and resources for delivery and proactively manage the potential for scope creep. 3. Conduct rigorous post implementation reviews, and implement the action plans resulting from them.
6	Changes in Legislation have a significant impact on the working practices or constitutional status of the Prescription Pricing Authority.	1. Maintain a watching brief on all national and EU legislative changes to ensure that the Authority is aware of the impact of such changes and has effective plans for implementation. 2. Implement policies and procedures which ensure that the Authority can meet its obligations in respect of legislative change and the application of NHS policies.
7	In seeking to implement nationally driven NHS directives primarily aimed at mainstream NHS Trusts (e.g. Agenda for Change), or as a result of requirements made by other external organisations, the Authority is required to introduce policies and systems that have a significant impact on the way it operates.	1. Undertake detailed reviews of national initiatives to identify those areas, which may create problems for the Authority, ensuring that appropriate discretion is exercised where permitted. 2. Instigate a dialogue with the Department of Health on any matters of substance where the lack of discretion may lead to a significant residual problem. 3. Liaise with other external organisations as appropriate, ensuring that the limitations of the Authority’s ability to deliver changes to service are fully understood.
8	Failure to maintain a sound system of Internal Control.	1. Continue the development of the risk and objectives framework, in line with “Building the Assurance Framework: A Practical Guide for NHS Boards”(gateway reference 1054)
9	The Authority’s strength in providing a consistency of service and information deriving from its national remit is undermined by the NHS strategic aim to offer more plurality of choice to patients.	1. Undertake impact analyses of policy initiatives to ensure that the overall direction of PPA strategic business direction maintains in step with current NHS underlying principles. 2. Proactively define and develop services which support the overall direction in consultation with NHS stakeholders to enable the delivery of patient care.