CRN North Thames funding model 2023/24
- Published: 22 August 2022
- Version: V1.0
- 3 min read
Background
The NIHR Clinical Research Network (CRN) is directly funded by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC).
CRN North Thames, which is part of the NIHR CRN, received £32.1 million in 2023/24 as part of this funding.
Previously CRN North Thames introduced a performance element to the funding allocation model for our Partner Organisations (POs). At the same time, the POs were given more autonomy to manage their resources and CRN funding.
Since March 2020, clinical services and research at POs have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. This has made standard performance metrics (weighted recruitment and cost per weighted recruit) difficult to measure relative performance across our POs and therefore difficult to apply.
In 2022/23, the DHSC provided £500,000 of one-off additional funding to alleviate cost pressures from the additional pay increase awarded to the NHS. CRN North Thames received additional funding of £900,000 in 2023/24.
2023/24 approach
DHSC has directed all Clinical Research Networks to ring-fence a minimum of 2% of their budget for delivering initiatives to help increase access of research to the underserved communities in their local regions. The increase to pensions for NHS employees will be funded centrally by the government.
After cost pressures, CRN North Thames received the same funding as last year. Due to this and the unique situation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the CRN North Thames Executive Group recognised that implementing a performance measure would be extremely difficult, even though this group recognises the importance of promoting and rewarding efficient use of public funds. The proposal for this year is to keep the PO allocations unchanged from 2022/23.
Cap and collar: These are in place to protect the amount of funding allocated to our POs by ensuring any change in year-on-year funding is limited. They will remain unchanged at +10% (cap/increase) and -20% (collar/decrease).
2023/24 Budget
This year's allocation for CRN North Thames of £32.1 million from the DHSC is £500,000 above last year. The increase is made up of £400,000 to support the increased pay award and £100,000 for Proton Beam Therapy support at University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. We are expecting the final pay increase will be higher than the £400,000 provided to support this and we will manage this when we know the actual risk.
How the Annual Financial Plan (AFP) is split
How the Annual Financial Plan (AFP) is split | 23/24 allocation (£ million) | 22/23 allocation (£ million) |
---|---|---|
Core | 31 | 30.6 |
Top slice | 0.2 | 0.1 |
Transforming research | 0.8 | 0.8 |
Public Health prevention research | 0.1 | 0.1 |
AFP total | 32.1 | 31.6 |
Annual Financial Plan 2023/24
Annual Financial Plan 2022/23 allocations by NHS trust/site
NHS trust/site | Allocation (£) |
---|---|
Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust | 945,865 |
Barnet, Enfield and Haringey Mental Health NHS Trust | 239,206 |
Barts Health NHS Trust (Delivery) | 6,176,482 |
Camden and Islington NHS Foundation Trust | 610,811 |
Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust (North Thames) | 521,425 |
East London NHS Foundation Trust | 394,401 |
Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust | 469,662 |
Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust | 1,683,839 |
Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust | 70,472 |
Homerton University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust | 615,459 |
Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust | 2,488,532 |
Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust | 737,814 |
North East London NHS Foundation Trust | 878,254 |
North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust | 388,649 |
The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust | 458,770 |
Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust | 2,518,962 |
Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Trust 208,751 | 223,424 |
Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust | 79,178 |
University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust | 5,711,466 |
West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust | 511,567 |
Whittington Health NHS Trust | 421,845 |
Trust Total | 26,146,053 |
Primary Care allocations
How primary care funding is split, by region
Primary care location | Allocation (£) |
---|---|
Primary Care - London | 967,449 |
Primary Care - Luton, Essex and Hertfordshire | 316,188 |
Primary Care Total | 1,283,647 |
Other allocations
How funding is split across other areas not covered above
Other allocations | Allocation (£) |
---|---|
Barts Health NHS Trust (Host) | 3,137,216 |
Direct Delivery Workforce | 833,3333 |
Local Specialty Leads | 363,064 |
National Specialty Leads | 20,234 |
National Contract Value Review | 56,151 |
Proton Beam Therapy | 125,320 |
Local Authority Support | 87,510 |
Total | 4,622,828 |
The total allocation across NHS trusts/sites, primary care and other services is £32,052,518. This is in line with the figure presented in our 'How our Annual Financial Plan (AFP) is split' table.