The Royal Pharmaceutical Society has drawn up
a budget for 2001 which gives priority to meeting the opportunities presented
by the National Health Service pharmacy plan for England.
The Society announced on November 14 that the Council and the Society’s management
team have produced a budget designed to allow the Society to play a full part
in implementing the Government’s pharmacy strategy while at the same time fulfilling
its statutory functions and protecting its financial reserves. But the Society
has warned that, because resources will need to be carefully targeted towards
this prime objective, the Society’s income stream in 2001 will not meet all
the aspirations of the Council and the membership.
Commenting on the need to prioritise its budget, the Society says: "Factors
affecting income include significantly fewer new pharmacists entering the register
in 2001 and a corresponding reduction in fee income - a knock-on effect of the
introduction of the four-year degree course in 1997. Members’ fees, which support
the Society’s statutory functions, now account for only 25 per cent of the Society’s
income. The growth in the Society’s professional development and communications
activity is principally funded from the Society’s international publishing operation,
which, although highly successful, must operate in a very competitive and uncertain
market.
"In addition, the Council has committed itself to a considerable level
of financial support from its reserves for the case to preserve resale price
maintenance on medicines, currently before the courts.
"Inevitably, the Council has had to make hard choices but, after lengthy
and constructive debate, the resources to underpin its strategy for 2001 have
been agreed. To balance the budget, a number of economies have reluctantly been
accepted in both administration and operation. A number of the Society’s traditional
ways of working are to be reviewed with the objective of improving effectiveness
and efficiency to meet contemporary aspirations. Some new ideas for income generation
are also to be explored. The final budget based on the decisions made will be
agreed at the December Council meeting."
While acknowledging the need to prioritise activity, the Council accepted a
recommendation from its Resource Management Committee that it would be unacceptable
to seek to make major economies by no longer funding the British Pharmaceutical
Conference, the branch and regional network or the Society’s museum or by reducing
the pharmacy inspectorate. However, a business plan is being prepared for the
conference with a view to developing its commercial potential. The objectives
and administration of the branch and regional network are to be the subject
of a consultative review, recently discussed with branch and regional secretaries
and shortly to be launched to the members, which aims to make better use of
the resources invested in it.
The Society’s Treasurer, Mr David Allen, said: "There have been some hard
decisions to make but we have shown that, by working as a team, we can arrive
at solutions that will allow our organisation to take the profession forward
at this crucial time on a sound financial footing. We are now engaged in discussing
with all the stakeholders concerned the best way to implement the decisions
that have been made."
Mr Allen pointed out that, following the decisions made for the 2001 budget,
there would need to be further and ongoing review of priorities and funding
in order to support the Council’s strategy over the long term. To support the
Society’s future financial planning, zero-based budgeting had been introduced
across all directorates, he said. The newly constituted Audit Committee was
examining financial instructions and controls to ensure that there was a sound
financial structure in place.
Main budget decisions
The following are among the main decisions arising from the Society’s budget
process.