Archive for the ‘Public Sector’ Category
Friday, December 9th, 2011
The change in Government left auto enrolment and NEST hanging in the balance. Following the publication of an independent review earlier this week, it appears that it is full steam ahead with auto enrolment and NEST.
The good news is that a 3 month waiting period has been introduced before the auto enrolment requirement kicks in, and some of the thresholds have been increased (the earnings threshold at which an individual is auto enrolled has been increased to match the income tax personal allowance; the threshold for pension contributions to become payable matches the National Insurance primary threshold).
However the not so good news for smaller employers is that the requirements apply to all employers irrespective of size.
It still seems that many of the principles which caused concern for employers in terms of costs and administrative burden remain.
Posted by Victoria Leybourn, who specialises in advising companies and trustees in all aspects of pensions law and local authorities and contractors on their obligations regarding public sector pension schemes.
Victoria Leybourn
0115 976 6160
vleybourn@brownejacobson.com
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Rating: 10.0/10 (1 vote cast)
Tags: auto enrolment, employee pensions, income tax, NEST, Pensions, pensions law, Tax
Posted in Employment, Local Authorities, Pensions, Public Sector, Tax | No Comments »
Wednesday, November 30th, 2011
The case of Essex CC v Williams [2011] examined whether or not those over the age of 19 met the criteria under the Education Act 1996 to receive a Statement of SEN.
The Court of appeal has now released its judgement setting out that those over the age of 19 could not be considered a “child” under the Education Act 1996. This will mean that authorities do not have to maintain Statements of SEN past that age.
The court said that for most people it would be absurd to refer to a young adult of 20 years or more as a ‘child’ and that they would not extend the specific definition of child as set out in the Act.
Extending this provision would have far reaching budgetary implications, as well as raising safeguarding concerns around teaching adults alongside children. It looks like there will be a further appeal, which we will again follow with interest.
Laura Richards
0115 908 4886
lrichards@brownejacobson.com
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Rating: 10.0/10 (1 vote cast)
Tags: Education, education act, local authorities, safeguarding, SEN statements
Posted in Education, Local Authorities, Public Sector | No Comments »
Friday, November 18th, 2011
Munir Yakub Patel, an administrative clerk, made legal history today after being handed a three-year prison term for bribery and ordered to serve six years concurrently for misconduct in a public office.
Patel pled guilty on October 14 this year to requesting and receiving a bribe intending to improperly perform his functions, contrary to Section 2 of the Bribery Act. Patel was charged in relation to his employment at Redbridge Magistrates Court and was the first person charged since the Act came into force.
The imposition of a prison sentence for a relatively minor instance of bribery shows very clearly that the Act will not just be used against big corporates and sends a powerful message to individuals and smaller businesses. If businesses have not yet put in place suitable procedures to ensure compliance with the Act then this case should serve as a reminder as to why they need to so. The threat of unlimited corporate fines and prison for employees is very real.
Matthew Woodford
0121 237 3965
mwoodford@brownejacobson.com
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Tags: bribery, bribery act, browne jacobson, criminal proceedings, employment, Public Sector, Regulatory
Posted in Commercial contracts, Competition, In-house Lawyers, Public Sector, Regulatory | No Comments »
Friday, November 4th, 2011
A 12 week consultation period, fueled by an aim to overhaul the current admissions and appeals code system, has resulted in the publication of a revised code.
The new code includes 2 key changes. Firstly, from Autumn 2014, 16 April will be the day for allocating primary school places and offers will be received at the same time regardless of geographical location. Secondly, greater priority will be given to adopted children who were previously in care, benefiting around 5,000 children each year. The admissions rules will also be amended in order to make it easier for oversubscribed schools to expand.
These amendments aim to raise school standards and close the attainment gap between different economic backgrounds. The revised code may still be amended before final approval on December 1. Subject to this, the Department intends to bring this into force on 1 February 2012. We will follow this outcome and its impact on the education sector as it happens.
Laura Richards
0115 908 4886
lrichards@brownejacobson.com
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Rating: 10.0/10 (1 vote cast)
Tags: admissions code, Department for Education, education sector, primary education, primary school admissions
Posted in Education, Public Sector | No Comments »
Thursday, November 3rd, 2011
Over the last six months more than 470 UK colleges have been banned from accepting non European students with some 302 colleges having had their licences cancelled it has emerged.
Tighter restrictions for student visa applicants already mean tougher English language requirements and students at public sector FE colleges are now limited to 10 hours of work per week during term time. Students at privately funded FE colleges or language schools are not permitted to work at any time during their studies.
Further changes due to take effect from April 2012 include:
- courses offering work placements will have to have a study:work ratio of 66:33 (except at HE institutions)
- Tier 1 Post Study Work Route will be closed (but switching to Tier 2 will be allowed in certain circumstances)
The concern for the education sector is that the tighter restrictions could mean that less international students can apply to study in the UK, and those that can apply, are deterred from doing so as result if the restrictions in the opportunities to work.
Posted by Dawn Lobley, who specialises in employment law, acting for clients on matters including unfair dismissal, redundancy, restructure, TUPE, contractual issues and discrimination, plus immigration and data protection.
Dawn Lobley
0115 976 6185
dlobley@brownejacobson.com
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Rating: 10.0/10 (1 vote cast)
Tags: education sector, FE colleges, further education sector, immigration rules, non European students, Public Sector, student visa
Posted in Education, Employment, Further Education, Public Sector | No Comments »
Wednesday, October 26th, 2011
A father of a child with Down’s Syndrome is challenging a local authority’s (LA) decision to cease funding his 22 year old daughter’s education. He wants her education to continue until she is 25.
This case will hopefully clarify LA obligations around when they can lawfully cease to maintain a statement of SEN. Current guidance recommends LAs maintain statements until the age of 19. Yet the proportion of children and young adults with Down’s Syndrome staying longer in schools continues to increase. If the Court of Appeal decides that a LA should educate a pupil with SEN until they reach 25, it will force LAs to carefully examine the provision for these individuals alongside younger students, both practically (e.g. safeguarding) and financially.
The outcome of this case is awaited by many interested parties. However, the Court of Appeal have rightly reserved judgement to a later date. This case will require careful scrutiny and a sound grasp of the wide-ranging consequences on all those affected by the decision.
Laura Richards
0115 908 4886
lrichards@brownejacobson.com
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Rating: 10.0/10 (1 vote cast)
Tags: child education, downs syndrome, Education, education authorities, education rights, local authorities, sen
Posted in Education, Public Sector | No Comments »
Wednesday, October 19th, 2011
A recent DfE study shows that more than 4 in 10 allegations made against teachers and teaching staff by pupils are ‘malicious’ or unfounded. Fewer than 3% of allegations directed at teaching staff resulted in a criminal conviction.
New guidance on managing allegations against staff was issued by the Department for Education earlier this year. It replaces the guidance contained within chapter 5 of the 2007 DCSF guidance ‘Safeguarding Children and Safer Recruitment in Education’ and in line with the government’s aim to reduce red tape, the new guidance extends to a mere 10 pages. Interestingly, the threat of malicious allegations is prominent within it, with two of the five ‘key points’ dedicated to it. And the government does not intend to stop there – under the Education Bill teachers will get the right to anonymity until the time they face criminal charges.
The government’s direction of travel is clear and this study certainly supports its approach.
Posted by Dai Durbridge, who specialises safeguarding of children and vulnerable adults in education, social care and health settings; defending claims against education, social care and health providers.
Dai Durbridge
0115 976 6578
ddurbridge@brownejacobson.com
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Rating: 10.0/10 (1 vote cast)
Posted in Education, Employment, Further Education, Public Sector | No Comments »
Friday, September 30th, 2011
Hot on the heels of yesterday’s announcement (29 September 2011) that only 60 babies were adopted last year, comes the news that the number of children in care in England has increased to 65,520.
Monitoring these placements is not easy, it involves social workers working with multidisciplinary teams and families to try and work out what is best for each child. We are seeing an increasing number of claims arising out of such placements (and indeed failure to make such placements). To defend each claim we have to read lots of paper and electronic documents. We also need to spend valuable hours with practitioners so that we can explain what Social Work Practice means on the ground, and why decision making is not simple. The amount of time this involves is breathtaking yet quite often the value of the claim relatively low.
Sadly my view is that Social Workers may, like health professionals, have to become used to the idea that giving evidence in professional negligence claims is simply part of the job. Employers can make that change of culture easier by providing regular training and support.
Posted by Sarah Erwin-Jones, who specialises in social services, the care sector, education and negotiating legal costs; advises on risk management issues including data protection matters.
Sarah Erwin-Jones
0115 976 6136
serwin@brownejacobson.com
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Rating: 10.0/10 (1 vote cast)
Tags: browne jacobson, child protection, children in care, Claims, local authorities, professional negligence, professional negligence claims, Public Sector, safeguarding, sarah erwin-jones, Social Care, social work practice, training social workers
Posted in Professional Indemnity, Public Sector, Social Care | No Comments »
Friday, September 16th, 2011
A series of strikes are scheduled as a result of the proposals to increase member contributions to public sector pension schemes
The publication of the final Hutton report earlier this year brought with it rumblings of discontentment amongst recipients and future recipients of the various public sector schemes to which it outlined reforms including the NHS pension scheme
The Government clarified that although it accepted all of Hutton’s 27 recommendations for reform, implementation would only occur following consultation with unions and members. The first consultations have been opened for a number of public sector pension schemes and they relate to increasing member contributions with effect from April 2012.
This consultation is only the first issued in respect of the 27 recommendations and the reaction amongst unions and members to these initial consultations signifies that there could be a lot more strikes ahead. It remains to be seen whether the Government determine that financial pressures and the “need” for reform of the public sector schemes will outweigh the upheaval to public services as a result of the planned strikes.
Posted by Victoria Leybourn, who specialises in advising companies and trustees in all aspects of pensions law and local authorities and contractors on their obligations regarding public sector pension schemes.
Victoria Leybourn
0115 976 6160
vleybourn@brownejacobson.com
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Tags: browne jacobson, government, Hutton report, NHS, NHS pension scheme, pension schemes, Pensions, Public Sector, public sector pensions, public sector strike, public sector strike action, Victoria Leybourn
Posted in Employment, Health, Pensions, Public Sector | No Comments »
Friday, May 27th, 2011
Sharon Shoesmith, the Haringey Children’s Services Director who was sacked in December 2008 after an investigation into the death of baby Peter Connelly found failings in her department, has today in the Court of Appeal won her claim that her sacking was unlawful.
This result will be welcomed by social workers. It highlights the difficult job child protection professionals have. It recognises that in these cases, it is extremely unlikely that one individual can be singled out and blamed, however tempting it may be for politicians in order to placate the media. Making a single individual the scapegoat is both unfair on the individual, and hampers a considered analysis of the issues which do truly arise.
Child protection is multi-agency in nature, usually involving input from schools, health and charitable agencies. The old lazy assumption that any failings must lie at the door of social workers should be consigned to the dustbin of history, and hopefully today’s decision will help to do that.
Posted by Chris Webb-Jenkins, who specialises in defending claims against education and care providers and their insurers; risk management, stress, information management and child protection issues.
Chris Webb-Jenkins
0115 976 6175
cwebb-jenkins@brownejacobson.com
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Rating: 6.0/10 (2 votes cast)
Tags: baby Peter, child protection, children's services, Sharon Shoesmith, social workers
Posted in Local Authorities, Public Sector, Social Care | No Comments »
Friday, April 15th, 2011
More than 600 schools are now academies (compared to 203 in May 2010), with nearly 500 waiting to convert having already applied to the Department for Education. Nearly 550 secondary schools are now academies, representing 16.5% of secondary schools.
Until now, conversion was open only to schools judged by Ofsted to be Outstanding or Good with Outstanding Features (which have been able to convert in their own right) and other schools if applying as part of wider chains, supported by strong schools.
However, in response to demand from other mainstream and special schools wishing to become stand-alone academies, the Government will now consider applications from any school that can make a compelling case for converting to academy status. Criteria include exam performance over the last three years, and comparison with local and national exam performance.
It is clear that academy status is so far very popular amongst schools, which, it would appear, consider the greater freedoms promised by the Government to be a great incentive.
Posted by Chris Emm, who specialises in commercial property work primarily acting for local authorities and also deals with development and commercial freehold and leasehold matters.
Chris Emm
0115 908 4112
cemm@brownejacobson.com
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Rating: 0.0/10 (0 votes cast)
Tags: academies, government, Ofsted, schools
Posted in Education, Property, Public Sector | No Comments »
Wednesday, April 6th, 2011
The UK Government recently released its ICT Strategy following on from manifesto commitments made prior to the election.
It makes for interesting reading. The proposals for the sharing of IT infrastructure is one that struck a particular chord as it’s one that we recently advised on and seems a common sense approach to making ICT more efficient.
Other proposals worth picking up are the preference for open source software where possible, to make greater use of cloud computing, a presumption against large projects and an environment for SMEs in particular to be able to access contracts and to test solutions.
Inevitably, given the scope of the strategy, it is short on detail on any one area. Some areas however (cloud computing, use of open source solutions, use of many providers) will need careful management if government-held data about all of us is not to be kept securely. Data security is likely to be key to ensuring that these proposals turn out as planned.
Posted by Richard Nicholas, who specialises in commercial, IT and outsourcing agreements, complex projects for private and public sector clients, collaboration, distribution & agency contracts, e-commerce and consumer law.
Richard Nicholas
0121 237 3992
rnicholas@brownejacobson.com
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Rating: 0.0/10 (0 votes cast)
Tags: cloud computing, data, data security, ICT strategy
Posted in Data Protection, IT Contracts, Local Authorities, Outsourcing, Projects & partnerships, Public Sector | 3 Comments »
Monday, March 28th, 2011
The latest verdict of think tank the King’s Fund claims that, unless GPs are put under greater pressure to work with local authorities providing jointly-planned services, the government’s health reforms risk failing vulnerable groups.
The report criticises joint working plans under the Health and Social Care Bill, claiming they could undermine services for people with mental health problems, learning disabilities, and multiple long-term conditions, all of whom require jointly-planned services.
GPs have not traditionally had a role in tackling health inequalities; the key concern is that as councils take responsibility for public health, GPs will shun areas of care for vulnerable groups and effective joint working will fail.
The report recommends that GP performance management regimes are aligned with council targets, and that GPs should take on a new role as care co-ordinators, pointing patients towards wider forms of social care.
The effect of the reforms remains to be seen but the Government has a way to go to dispel such fears.
Posted by Dai Durbridge, who specialises safeguarding of children and vulnerable adults in education, social care and health settings; defending claims against education, social care and health providers.
Dai Durbridge
0115 976 6578
ddurbridge@brownejacobson.com
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Rating: 10.0/10 (3 votes cast)
Tags: gp, GP commissioning, Health and Social Care Bill, kings fund, local authorities
Posted in Government bodies, Health, Local Authorities, NHS, Public Sector | No Comments »
Friday, February 18th, 2011
The DH has introduced a new wave of 89 pathfinders and there are now 140 registered GP Pathfinder Groups in the country; meaning more than 50% of the population are covered by a GP pathfinder organisation.
The pathfinders will initially be responsible for managing local health budgets and purchasing services for patients but will assume the majority of the commissioning role when the PCT’s are abolished in April 2013. There have been questions raised as to whether the GP’s have the desire or, more significantly, the experience to carry out the onerous commissioning role. However, until 2013, the pathfinders will be able to work in collaboration with PCT’s and other NHS colleagues. Therefore, introducing pathfinders now, appears to be a sensible approach because it gives the PCTs and GPs two years to collaborate and for the PCTs to pass on their knowledge and experience, hopefully resulting in a successful uptake of the commissioning role by the GP’s in 2013.
Paul Olliff
0115 908 4801
polliff@brownejacobson.com
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Rating: 0.0/10 (0 votes cast)
Tags: Department for Health, GP commissioning, pathfinders
Posted in Health, Public Sector | No Comments »
Friday, February 11th, 2011
Eight months after announcing that a review of the Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) and the CRB requirements would take place, the government looks set to announce its findings as part of the Freedoms Bill later today.
Current reports suggest that the ISA and CRB systems will be merged, the registration requirement will be scrapped completely and the requirement to vet casual volunteers will be scaled back considerably. The government has also reacted to the Court of Appeal decision in Desmond –v- Chief Constable of Nottinghamshire (2001) by confirming that CRB information is sent to the individual before the employer so that errors can be corrected.
As expected, the review looks set to focus only on the vetting requirements and ignore the barring powers of the ISA and the legal duty placed on those working with children and vulnerable adults to refer conduct to the ISA.
When the Bill is published later today we will have a better idea of where the scheme is going. As soon as we see it, we will provide further comment.
Posted by Dai Durbridge, who specialises safeguarding of children and vulnerable adults in education, social care and health settings; defending claims against education, social care and health providers.
Dai Durbridge
0115 976 6578
ddurbridge@brownejacobson.com
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Rating: 0.0/10 (0 votes cast)
Tags: crb, freedom bill, independent safeguarding authority, ISA
Posted in Local Authorities, Public Sector, Social Care | No Comments »
Monday, February 7th, 2011
The localism agenda aims to decentralise power to local communities with power being exercised at the lowest practical level. Some commentators have argued that the sort of shared services arrangements seen to date are more about “local centralism”- where authorities design arrangements to retain as much power and influence as possible.
However, rather than contradictory, localism has the potential to bring new energy and a new perspective to shared services. For example, the general power of competence can give councils more confidence to deliver creative and innovative shared services arrangements. Too often the worry about whether an authority has power to implement a good idea can prevent its delivery.
For too long, shared services have been largely confined to public sector to public sector arrangements. Total Place moved things forward by challenging local public services to come together to deliver placed based solutions. Twinning localism with shared services can bring a new perspective to arrangements with local communities being built into shared service approaches.
Posted by Nick Mackenzie, who specialises in corporate law in both private and public sector, mergers and acquisitions, reorganisations, private equity, MBOs, MBIs, joint ventures, corporate governance and director’s duties.
Nick Mackenzie
0121 237 4564
nmackenzie@brownejacobson.com
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Rating: 10.0/10 (1 vote cast)
Tags: local authorities, localism, outsourcing, Procurement, Public Sector, shared services
Posted in Local Authorities, Procurement, Projects & partnerships, Public Sector, Shared services | No Comments »
Monday, February 7th, 2011
It could be argued that the delivery of shared services requires a more entrepreneurial approach, and with that comes its own challenges. Can local authorities, who are traditionally risk averse, really transform themselves into entrepreneurial organisations and do we really want our local authorities to adopt an entrepreneurial ethos that encourages risk taking?
We would do well to remember that many entrepreneurs fail time and time again and that only a few truly succeed. So if we are to encourage entrepreneurism should we not limit that extent of the services exposed to any risks and should we not try to identify a new breed of local government employee who truly embraces this ethos. Perhaps more authorities need to follow the lead set by Sunderland who recently screened thousands of their employees for entrepreneurial talent!
Posted by Dominic Swift, who specialises in commercial propertyand property development law advising on all aspects of development transactions; advises on property elements of insolvency and banking.
Dominic Swift
0115 976 6148
dswift@brownejacobson.com
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Rating: 10.0/10 (1 vote cast)
Tags: local authorities, outsourcing, partnerships, Procurement, Public Sector, shared services
Posted in Local Authorities, Procurement, Projects & partnerships, Public Sector, Shared services | No Comments »
Monday, February 7th, 2011
Our recent shared services report confirms that local authorities are increasingly seeking efficiencies through outsourcing or similar partnerships. There are undoubtedly savings to be made. But also high level risks.
For example, after several years of outsourced operations, it might be difficult and expensive to bring the services back as in-house skills may have been lost, even if the partnership with the private sector partner has been a success.
There is also an inevitable loss of control, where front line services are affected, leading to reputational and political risks that are hard to state in cash terms.
These risks can, and should, be managed through a sound outsourcing contract, but they cannot be avoided entirely and are not easy to quantify.
For many authorities, increased outsourcing will be a vital tool to save costs and adopt an enterprising approach to service delivery. A similarly enterprising approach to risk and reward will also be needed.
Posted by Craig Elder, who specialises in project finance; Projects; PFI/PPP ; commercial contracts ; waste and defence sectors; long term/complex service arrangements;public sector procurements
Craig Elder
0115 976 6089
celder@brownejacobson.com
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Rating: 10.0/10 (1 vote cast)
Tags: local authorities, outsourcing, partnerships, shared services
Posted in Local Authorities, Procurement, Projects & partnerships, Public Sector, Shared services | No Comments »
Friday, January 28th, 2011
The Health and Social Care Bill provides that the responsibility for public health will be shared between local councils, Public Health England (PHE) (a new quango), and GP commissioners. Such a significant change to the provision of health services in such a short timescale raises many challenges, and particularly so for councils.
The bill extends council scrutiny to cover all NHS-funded services and gives health and wellbeing boards powers to make sure NHS commissioners work together with town halls to improve the health of their communities. At the same time councils appear to receive less funding than the new central body PHE.
Also, when GPs take over the role of PCTs, they will be able to decide which hospitals get their business so hospitals which either cannot compete on price, or are deemed to be poor-performers, may struggle to survive. This may leave councils with the uncomfortable dilemma of deciding on the closure of local health services whilst also being responsible for how best to improve health and wellbeing locally.
Helene Maillet-Vioud
0115 976 6213
hmaillet-vioud@brownejacobson.com
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Rating: 4.5/10 (2 votes cast)
Tags: GP Commissioners, health services, Public Health England, The Health and Social Care Bill
Posted in Health, Local Authorities, Public Sector | No Comments »
Thursday, January 20th, 2011
Yesterday saw the publication of a report by Labour MP Graham Allen calling for more early intervention by the state in the childhood of deprived children. That Mr Allen should have reached this conclusion in his report comes as no surprise. This is an issue he has championed for years. Presumably the Government agrees, because it asked him to produce this report.
More interesting than the “what” question is the “how” question, particularly with budgets so tight. Graham Allen’s recommendations include regular assessments of all pre-school children, a national parenting programme in the UK, and an independent early intervention foundation to drive early intervention forward, assess policies and attract investment from the private and voluntary sectors.
The true test of these initiatives will be the extent they improve the daily lives of individual children. Every child, and every child’s circumstances, are different. National policies and programmes usually fail to penetrate that far. This is why improving the life chances of deprived children has proved so difficult. But we must continue to try.
Posted by Chris Webb-Jenkins, who specialises in defending claims against education and care providers and their insurers; risk management, stress, information management and child protection issues.
Chris Webb-Jenkins
0115 976 6175
cwebb-jenkins@brownejacobson.com
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Rating: 0.0/10 (0 votes cast)
Tags: children's services, parenting programme, Social Care
Posted in Local Authorities, Public Sector, Social Care | No Comments »
