One of Health Education England’s four core functions is ‘allocating and accounting for NHS education and training resources and the outcomes achieved’.
HEE will develop an allocation policy for distributing the Multi Professional Education and Training (MPET) funding to Local Education and Training Boards (LETBs) which recognise existing patterns of training, are not unnecessarily disruptive, are equitable in allowing access to a trained workforce in the NHS across England, ensure economies of scale in commissining where that is appropriate, for example for small specialist groups, support high quality education and training and an education and research interface.
Currently the MPET allocation amounts to £4.9billion. The scope of what the MPET allocation covers will be set out in the strategic education operating framework but includes flexibility for education for the current and wider workforce as well as the future professional workforce.
HEE will implement a tariff based system for education and training. Standard tariffs already exist for contracts with higher education and new national tariffs for education placements with service providers will be implemented from April 2013 with an appropriate transition period. There will be different tariffs for different professions and these will be developed through the inclusion of education within the annual reference costs exercise.
Over time parts of both tariffs will be aligned to quality payments similar to the Commissioning for Quality and Innovation (CQUIN) payments for service tariffs.
In the longer term, MPET may be funded through a levy on all providers. This would enable the collection of a contribution from current independent providers of NHS and non NHS healthcare who employ and benefit from professional staff trained by the NHS.
The size of the MPET budget from 2013/14 onwards will be determined during 2012/13 through discussion with the Department of Health.
As a new statutory body HEE will require the setting up of full financial systems. Although there will be a central finance function with HEE to deal with the strategy, systems, annual accounts, audit requirements and treasury management, there will be local financial management and local finance staff accounatble to the LETBs.
Health Education England