LGA responds to interim advice on how most vulnerable could be offered Covid19 booster vaccine this autumn

RESPONDING to a Government announcement that millions of people most vulnerable to Covid19 may be offered a booster vaccination from September 2021, following interim advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), Cllr David Fothergill, Chairman of the Local Government Association�s Community Wellbeing Board, said:- "Protecting our most vulnerable has been Councils� number one priority throughout the Pandemic and it is important that measures to maintain this protection are in place as we head into autumn and winter. Councils continue to work shoulder to shoulder with our NHS colleagues on the continued successful rollout of the vaccination programme, using their unrivalled local knowledge and connections with their communities to encourage as many people as possible to get themselves vaccinated. Any decision on offering a booster jab later this year, to protect our most vulnerable from variants and flu ahead of winter, will be supported by Councils and their Directors of public health in our collective national effort to end the Pandemic."

Senior IT manager sentenced for ₤800,000 fraud against NHS and HMRC

ESSEX IT manager, Barry Stannard, was sentenced, on 30 June 2021, to 5 years and 4 months� imprisonment for defrauding the NHS and HMRC of over ₤800,000, at Chelmsford Crown Courtm after pleading guilty to 2 charges of fraud by false representation and 2 of cheating the public revenue. The total amount defrauded over a 7 year period was ₤806,229.80. The sentencing comes at a time when the NHSCFA has renewed its focus on procurement fraud, and is encouraging more people to report any suspicion of it through the established reporting lines. Barry David Stannard (53 of Chelmsford, Essex, previously of Hadleigh, Ipswich) committed the offences when he was Head of Unified Communications at Mid Essex Hospital Services NHS Trust (MEHT). MEHT has since been merged into Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust. As a band 8B Senior Manager, he was in a position of trust. Concerns 1st arose after the trust ran a data matching exercise on its payroll and accounts payable records, alongside Companies House records. After a comprehensive initial investigation by the Local Counter Fraud Specialist provider (RSM), the investigation was escalated to the NHSCFA�s National Investigation Service when it became apparent that specialist financial investigation powers would be required. While Stannard had submitted a #nil return' declaration of interests form to the trust, the investigation confirmed he was actually the Director of 2 companies that had received a large amount of money from the trust over at least 7 years (2012 to 2019) because he was submitting and then settling the invoices. While the IT manager methodically siphoned NHS money into his own pocket, no products or services invoiced for by these companies were ever provided to the NHS. The hundreds of invoices submitted by his own companies to MEHT were all individually for relatively modest amounts; meaning Stannard was authorised to sign them off without further checks. On the invoices he submitted, he also charged for VAT which was never forwarded to the HMRC. The VAT registration number quoted was false and related to another legitimate company. The VAT he charged the NHS totalled ₤132,000. This is included in the total of ₤806,229.80 that Stannard defrauded the NHS. The payments came from MEHT's IT budget, which inevitably meant there was less to spend on genuine IT. The NHSCFA works closely with other enforcement agencies, in this case alerting HMRC that Stannard had appropriated a legitimate company�s VAT number. Sue Frith, CEO of the NHSCFA, said:- "Barry Stannard abused his position in an outrageous way to line his pockets with money intended for NHS services. We are aware of the significant risk that procurement fraud poses for the NHS, which is why the NHS Counter Fraud Authority has been continually working to develop fraud prevention solutions over the last few years. Today�s sentence shows that the NHSCFA's investigative and preventative work tackling NHS fraud is vital. If you suspect NHS fraud, please report your concerns to us through either our online reporting form, or by calling our fraud and corruption reporting line."

LGA responds to interim advice on how most vulnerable could be offered Covid19 booster vaccine this autumn

Senior IT manager sentenced for ₤800,000 fraud against NHS and HMRC

Total UK cases Covid19 cases in and around Liverpool City Region