Mr.
Chairman, we work
through the territorial health and social services act, and that lays out the relationship that departments have with the board and how FMBS can become involved in the operations of an authority.
Under the last government, initiatives were taken to bring FMBS to the table. That’s how the zero-based initiative was started: with the involvement of FMBS, the Department of Health and Social Services and the Stanton facility to come up with a program on reviewing its expenditure patterns and looking at how it was carrying on with the management of delivery of that service. That was going to be the model that is used for other authorities that are facing a similar situation.
Now, Members going back in previous supplementary appropriations would be aware that previous actions have been undertaken with the Department of Health and Social Services, coming forward with 50 per cent of the deficit of that fiscal year and having departments or the authorities come up with a plan to recover the deficit from within that year. That has been the exercise undertaken. It has now gone to another level where FMBS has become involved in looking at the collections of the authorities to ensure we are receiving our revenue from providing services to other jurisdictions or the federal government, for example, as well, and the billing system that is in place.