WIREDGOV

Following publication of the Main Estimates yesterday, the SFO can confirm changes to its funding arrangements. The changes are cost-neutral but will enable the SFO to manage its budget more flexibly and efficiently, with a significantly reduced call on the reserve.

For 2018-19 there will be:

• A fiscally-neutral increase in the SFO’s core funding from £34.3m (planned for 2018/19) to £52.7m, with sums requested from the reserve reduced accordingly.
• New arrangements for “blockbuster” funding.  Instead of applying for separate funding for the full cost of any case forecast to cost more than 5% of the core funding, blockbuster funding will cover spend in excess of £2.5m on any single case in a given year.  Modelling this arrangement indicates there are likely to be few cases which will qualify for this (and the amount of blockbuster funding as a percentage of total budget will be markedly less).
• Significantly for the SFO, the new arrangement eliminates the internal ring fences for resource allocation around blockbuster cases.  The SFO will not need to manage two separate funding streams, will be able to focus on substantially reducing reliance on temporary personnel and will be able to reallocate staff between cases as the work requires. 

Chief Operating Officer, Mark Thompson, said:

“This is a welcome consolidation of the SFO’s funding position which will enable us to manage our casework and our resources more efficiently.”

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