Its board will consider a 63-page document outlining the NHS Commissioning Board’s future structure. It will have an “hour glass” shape – an 800-strong central office, four commissioning sectors (based on SHA cluster locations) and, at least initially, 50 local offices (covering PCT cluster areas). Each commissioning sector and local office is expected to have about 50 staff.

Whilst there is logic behind the structure, some might question how lean this structure really is. However, it seems that the NHS Commissioning Board’s budget represents a reduction of about 50% compared to the running costs of the functions transferring to it.

The board will also be asked to approve and adopt Clinical Commissioning Group guidance that has been in circulation (some in draft form) for a few months. Don’t ignore the board papers accompanying each item either, as they also contain some useful information.

Posted by Jonathan Hayden, specialising in: advising health and social care clients including clinical commissioning groups, primary and secondary care contracting, commercial contracts, joint ventures, statutory powers/duties and governance.

Jonathan Hayden
0121 237 4551
jhayden@brownejacobson.com

With it she announced a policy to increase the uptake of cloud computing throughout Europe through the creation of common standards and regulation, together with an initial investment of Euro 10 Million from the European Commission to make it happen.

Personally I’m always a little concerned by announcements to boost the economy through greater regulation. If however the policy results in greater uptake of cloud computing by the public sector (whether through true “public” clouds or through the greater use of “private” clouds), as common standards are agreed and accepted then there is a real chance of (much-needed) cost savings, which must be welcome.

Let’s hope an agreement on standards can be reached more quickly than agreement on the debt crisis, even if it does involve putting up with unnecessary repeated references by politicians to becoming “not just Cloud friendly but Cloud active”.

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

The purpose of new league tables, due out next week, is to incentivise schools to raise standards and teaching for all pupils, instead of encouraging them to jump through hoops to avoid intervention. The revised tables will show more accurate and detailed statistics of grades, offering a comparison between the schools that take on high achievers and those that started at a lower base. They will carefully monitor the improvements made in each school.

It is hoped that this will further the government’s agenda to close the attainment gap between different backgrounds. This is coupled with the extra Pupil Premium funding to support poorer children. The theory is that in return schools should deliver the same level of achievement for all children, regardless of background.

Laura Richards
0115 976 6249
lrichards@brownejacobson.com

Some schools believe these changes are a result of recent claims that schools attempt to portray a stronger impression during Ofsted inspections by sending “bad” pupils home or drafting in staff from other schools. There are also concerns that shorter or no notice inspections may stop schools properly engaging with the inspection process.

Ofsted has carried out 1,500 no notice inspections over the last 18 months and defends the new system by assuring that the sole aim is to provide a true picture of school performance. Schools should be able to trust the inspection process but no notice inspections may just aggravate the feeling that Ofsted is trying to catch them out.

Laura Richards
0115 976 6249
lrichards@brownejacobson.com

The Commission produced a green paper proposing reform which the Government responded to in July last year. Some of the responses made have clearly been incorporated into the current proposals and the Government has stated its intention to continue negotiations throughout 2012 with a view to protecting the UK’s position. If the Government can continue to push for simpler, more flexible procurement regulations then this will be welcomed by both the public and private sectors.

Alex Kynoch
0115 976 6528
akynoch@brownejacobson.com

The report, Relationship Counselling, surveyed around 200 senior leaders from local government, healthcare, uniformed services and universities.

The report highlights growing opposition and resentment to closer ties with the public sector amid increasing concerns over risks to service delivery.

This is an issue that is clearly taxing the minds of public sector managers as was evidenced at our December Claims Club session on shared services, outsourcing and private sector delivery of local government services.

With the report predicting public-private sector collaborations will double over the next three years these are unsettling findings.

Then again following the very public failure of private sector providers of care services in 2011 perhaps we ought not to be that surprised by the research findings.

Posted by Bridget Tatham, specialising in: high value complex litigation relating to disease and stress and bullying at work; experienced in regulatory matters including advocacy, investigations and inquests.

Bridget Tatham
0121 237 3916
btatham@brownejacobson.com

The limit for supply and services and design contracts has increased to £173,934 and the limit for works contracts is now £4,348,350.

Whilst any rise in the thresholds will be welcomed by most public bodies, the increase of approximately 3% is unlikely to have a significant impact on the nature of works or services which trigger the requirement to conduct a public procurement exercise. Current UK inflation stands at 4.8% meaning that even a 3% increase may equate to a reduction in ‘real terms’ here in the UK, but public bodies can at least take comfort in the fact that the thresholds have not been decreased as was the case in January 2008.

Alex Kynoch
0115 976 6528
akynoch@brownejacobson.com

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

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

An employer is usually entitled to assume that the employee can withstand the normal pressures of the job unless he knows of some particular problem or vulnerability. However, given the continuing uncertainty and changes in the workplace that are being forced upon employers due to budget restraints, it is important for employers to revisit their strategies and policies in place (to possibly include counselling) to deal with employees who are not handling the changes in the workplace.

Posted by Jonathan Cook, who specialises in defendant public liability work including employers’, occupiers’ and highways liability cases from initial instruction to trial. Including small claims, fast and multi track work.

Jonathan Cook
0115 976 6150
jcook@brownejacobson.com

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

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

In overturning this ruling, the Supreme Court has given comfort to public bodies seeking to share services. This comes at a time when case law in Europe is moving in the same direction – holding that public to public arrangements, with no profit or private involvement, are less likely to be covered by the procurement regulations.

Shared services can take a number of forms, and the Supreme Court has just removed one of the biggest risks to councils taking an enterprising approach to protect front line services.

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

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

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

The announcement focuses on Academies recovering VAT which they incur on incoming supplies of goods and services, which are then used by the Academy for its non-business activities. Since providing education free of charge is generally a non-business activity, this is a very relevant point for Academies.

At the moment, Academies don’t have the same powers as local authority schools to recover VAT which they incur in this non-business context. Additional grant funding has been available from the government to try to bridge this gap. But from 1 April 2011 the intention is for Academies to be treated in the same way as local authority maintained schools on this issue.

Posted by Andrew Noble, who specialises in corporate and real estate tax, employee share incentives, UK and cross-border; advises clients from private individuals to listed companies; Chartered Tax Adviser.

Andrew Noble
0121 237 3952
anoble@brownejacobson.com

Whatever the real cost one thing is for sure – the government’s planned austerity measures means we could see a significant increase in internal and external fraud against the public sector, according to leading accountancy firm PwC.

The greatest financial costs are incurred from high volume, low value fraud, with fraudsters being made up of a combination of staff and managers, contractors and members of the public.

With the scaling back of staff at all levels in the public sector, the use of intelligence database technology must become increasingly important. Public sector organisations need to start looking seriously at cutting edge screening and advanced data mining techniques and products if they really want to keep pace with the fraudsters.

Posted by Scott Bowers, who specialises in counter-fraud. Has worked with national and international businesses to implement counter fraud solutions to all types of litigation

Scott Bowers
0121 237 3905
sbowers@brownejacobson.com

Following a stroke in 1999, Elaine McDonald, aged 67 had restricted mobility. In 2008, she fell and broke her hip. She was subsequently assessed as needing 24 hour support to assist her using a commode and her local authority provided a sleep-in care worker seven days a week. The authority later decided that they could make a saving of £22,000 a year supplying Miss McDonald with incontinence pads to use at night instead, and she challenged this decision.

To date it has been difficult to know how far the courts will let a public authority reduce their services, but this case gives us some idea. We expect many more disputes like this, as budgets tighten across the whole of health and social care provision.

Louise Wilbrham
0115 976 6552
lwilbraham@brownejacobson.com

Longer term, this raises the question about how government targets to divert waste from landfill can be met given the funding gap that many local authorities relied on these credits to bridge.

The shape of waste projects in this new environment remains unknown. But two things remain clear. The environmental pressures and targets facing the UK are not going away and, to deal with these issues, private sector investment will be needed.

It may be that merchant facilities and smaller, more innovative diversion technologies will start to replace the large scale council – contractor waste management contracts of recent years.

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

The ‘incentives’ include: allowing councils to retain locally raised business rates, enabling local authorities to offer local discounts on business rates and new borrowing powers for councils to carry out TIF.

Free from dependency on central funding and the restrictions this entails – sounds great but, a badly thought-out framework could see more disparity between regions. What about councils that don’t collect enough business rates or indeed those who don’t collect any, how will they be supported?

It is also a small comfort that TIF will be initially introduced through a bid-based process, minimizing potential problems and risks. However, can local authorities marry their public duties with the high risks of borrowing against future additional uplift within their business rates base when this will be largely unknown at the time of borrowing? If the uplifts are not achieved it could be the taxpayer who will fund the deficit.

To have your say on the government’s proposals send your views to GrowthIncentives@communities.gsi.gov.uk by 1 December 2010.

Helene Maillet-Vioud
0115 976 6213
hmaillet-vioud@brownejacobson.com

It now appears that a review will be conducted in the new year alongside a review of the criminal records regime but as yet no firm details have been released. The outcome of any review is widely expected to take on board Lord Young’s recent recommendation to curb the excessive bureaucracy affecting schools.

Whilst the pace of the review will exasperate many the news that the scheme will most likely be scaled back to common sense proportions will be music to the ears of anyone working with children and vulnerable adults.

Posted by Dai Durbridge, who specialises in defence claims for social services,education and care providers; risk management presentations and workshops on child protection in education.

Dai Durbridge
0115 976 6578
ddurbridge@brownejacobson.com

At the same time there has been a significant rise in the number of personal injury claims by individuals claiming that local authorities children’s services failed to protect them from physical and sexual abuse.

The number of claims is expected to rise further as local authorities struggle to maintain child adequate protection services in the teeth of the cuts that are likely.
The Association of Child Protection Services said there was ‘no doubt’ that there would be fewer children’s services than before. Sadly, this is likely to mean that there will be more personal injury claims than before.

These claims can be defended if we put forward robust confident social work witnesses. In some local authorities poor morale and defensiveness will make that more difficult over the next few years.

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

This decision, combined with the abolition of Local Area Agreements, which required reporting on prescribed performance indicators to central government, is part of the Government’s Localism agenda – putting power back in the hands of local people.

The move towards local priorities does raise the question as to how matters of national interest and importance will be dealt with. The Government’s current answer seems to be that such issues should be dealt with through incentivising local authorities and local communities to provide such services – but many will question whether cash incentives (for example, those announced today around the New Homes Bonus) will really work.

Posted by Laura Hughes, who specialises in planning and environmental law for public and corporate sector bodies; experienced in judicial reviews, planning , land use and right of way matters.

Laura Hughes
0115 976 6582
lhughes@brownejacobson.com

Costs and time involved in securing protection can still inhibit invention and innovation especially for smaller companies and the taxation of IP and R&D should allow for the time and costs taken to create new IP.

There should also be greater investment in the education of small business about how to identify, protect and exploit the intellectual property which the Government is encouraging.

The UK IPO which is part of the BIS should be properly funded and new ways of expediting applications for registration of rights both in the UK and Europe should be explored.

Posted by Peter Ellis, who specialises in commercial litigation or dispute resolution; intellectual property disputes e.g. trade marks, copyright, designs issues; breach of contract and claims through interruptions to trade.

Peter Ellis
0115 976 6269
pellis@brownejacobson.com

However, the Chancellor also made clear during his announcement that there is a clear onus on NHS organisations to continue to drive reform forwards and improve savings and productivity.

Any savings will be re-invested in the NHS but greater responsibility for ensuring accountability and value for money during a period of such massive organisational change surely means there is a risk not only that any savings will be lost but also (and more importantly) that the pressure of successfully delivering the most significant structural changes in the NHS since its inception just increased.

Posted by Emily Birkett, who specialises in advice to NHS bodies ; their local authority partners and related organisations in commercial law, contracting, procurement , competition governance and all aspects of primary care.

Emily Birkett
0115 976 6175
ebirkett@brownejacobson.com

This level of cuts still represents a significant portion of current Local Authority budgets and achieving the level of cuts required will be a huge task. Ultimately, within four years, Local Authorities are going to have to either simply cease to provide more than one quarter of their services, or undertake wholesale reform across their services so that more efficient services can continue to be provided.

Posted by Laura Hughes, who specialises in planning and environmental law for public and corporate sector bodies; experienced in judicial reviews, planning , land use and right of way matters.

Laura Hughes
0115 976 6582
lhughes@brownejacobson.com

Euro MPs are nevertheless voting today on whether to require employers across the EU to increase maternity entitlement to 20 weeks’ full pay. In the UK this is currently 6 weeks at 90% pay then £124.88 for 33 weeks. The increase would, according to an impact assessment, cost the UK £2.5 billion.

This proposal could not become law for at least three years and would require Member States to agree – which the UK coalition government will not. Maybe the economic situation will have improved by then – but if it has, why not let Member States’ governments decide then whether the time is right to add further employment costs to the UK?

Posted by Edward Benson, specialising in: employment law; advises on contracts, policies and procedures, trade union negotiations; experienced in tribunals; contributes to seminars and training.

Edward Benson
0115 976 6211
ebenson@brownejacobson.com

With £1bn coming from the NHS the clear commitment to support joint working between health and social care could not have been supported in a more obvious fashion. The other £1bn is to take the form of a direct grant. Personal Budgets remain firmly on the agenda with the government looking to significantly extend their use across a range of service areas.

Unfortunately the money does not appear to be ring fenced in local authorities’ budgets. Along with cuts in other service areas and increased demand from an ageing population it begs the question whether this money will actually materialise in four years time or be enough to keep services standing still, let alone moving forward.
Targets for the delivery of care from private sector care providers sounds like good news, but with long term pressure on funding the commissioning of those services will also remain under significant pressure.

Kate Mills
0115 976 6104
kmills@brownejacobson.com

TIFs have long been talked about as a possible way of funding regeneration during the downturn. However until now, councils in England have not had the borrowing powers to get finance for schemes based on predicted increases in tax revenues.

The government will now have to start consultations with councils on how to set up the new system and changes to council powers will need to be addressed probably in the Decentralisation and Localism Bill to be published next year.

Whilst the move is welcomed by many, caution should be applied and careful consideration to the schemes where TIFs will be used should be had. What happens if the tax increment, against which the local authority has secured the loan for a scheme, doesn’t materialise according to the cashflow forecast, it could be very messy…..

Helene Maillet-Vioud
0115 976 6213
hmaillet-vioud@brownejacobson.com

But has he got the balance right? There might be some unintended consequences for future tax payers – employees may withdraw from their public sector schemes, opting out from paying higher contributions, particularly during difficult times, leaving themselves with either little or no private pension income in retirement.

This is a trend currently being seen in the private sector, this combined with the closure of many final salary pension schemes could mean that future tax payers have to pick up the tab for more pensioners without sufficient retirement income.

It will be interesting to see how this progresses.

Susan Evans
0115 976 6596
sevans@brownejacobson.com

The Government has been keen to assert that the cuts are necessary because the current budget is not sustainable and also that they will be fair affecting everyone from the rich to the poor.

However, there is no question that the cuts will be deep and the review which is widely anticipated to detail £83bn worth of spending cuts is likely to be the biggest for decades.

Even those areas which have been promised protection should be wary, whilst they may not be the subject of dramatic cuts to their budgets the CSR will set the tone for the new austerity era and is likely to have a dramatic effect on the shape of public policy for at least the next five years.

Posted by Emily Birkett, who specialises in advice to NHS bodies ; their local authority partners and related organisations in commercial law, contracting, procurement , competition governance and all aspects of primary care.

Emily Birkett
0115 976 6175
ebirkett@brownejacobson.com

With council’s facing huge cuts when the comprehensive spending review is announced later this week, it is no surprise that new shared services projects are being announced on an almost weekly basis. The latest being the merger between Bamberg DC and Mid Suffolk DC.

The history of shared services tells us that scepticism across the public sector has been its biggest Achilles heel. According to a recent survey by Browne Jacobson workforce opposition was seen by managers as a major barrier but with significant job losses already on the horizon we are seeing a sea change in attitudes and a growing realisation that shared services can play a critical part in meeting the financial challenges and limiting job losses the sector will undoubtedly face in the months and years to come.

Posted by Dominic Swift, who specialises in commercial property and 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

Those public bodies which will be retained following the review will remain at arms length from the Government who have pledged that they will continue to take appropriate steps to enable them to operate more openly.

The dramatic cull has successfully lit the touch paper for the Governments reform agenda and a week prior to the Comprehensive Spending Review this must be seen as a clear indication that the Coalition means business when it comes to burning what it deems unnecessary red tape.

Posted by Emily Birkett, who specialises in advice to NHS bodies ; their local authority partners and related organisations in commercial law, contracting, procurement , competition governance and all aspects of primary care.

Emily Birkett
0115 976 6175
ebirkett@brownejacobson.com

Under the proposals schools would be paid a ‘pupil premium’ (PP) for every child they teach from a disadvantaged background. A consultation on the PP proposals is currently underway and will close on 18 October.

What is not clear from the consultation is how much freedom schools and academies may be given to target the poorest children. They might only be permitted to offer preferential access to poorer pupils within existing catchment areas or there may be a more radical policy implemented which would allow those on free schools meals who live outside a school’s catchment area to benefit. Whatever is decided it is important that sufficient checks and measures are put in place to ensure that any additional resources benefit those that need it most.

Posted by Dai Durbridge, who specialises in defence claims for social services,education and care providers; risk management presentations and workshops on child protection in education.

Dai Durbridge
0115 976 6578
ddurbridge@brownejacobson.com

The shadow Home Secretary, Alan Johnson, criticised the government’s plans, saying they “will harm child safety networks”. And he is not alone with many feeling the high watermark for safeguarding children established under Labour is now being lowered by the coalition government.

Posted by Dai Durbridge, who specialises in defence claims for social services,education and care providers; risk management presentations and workshops on child protection in education.

Dai Durbridge
0115 976 6578
ddurbridge@brownejacobson.com

Reports have suggested that the television production company obtained a CRB check on a contestant that revealed an arrest for fraud. In fact, the company in question is reported to have said that obtaining CRB checks is ‘common television industry practice’. As the eligibility for CRB checks is strictly governed by law (and would not cover contestants on a television show) it is surprising that the production company claims it is common practice to obtain them.

Whether is does or not, it certainly raises yet more questions about the viability of the CRB scheme. Surely as part of the Independent Safeguarding Authority review the government also needs to consider the CRB process?

Posted by Dai Durbridge, who specialises in defence claims for social services , education and care providers; risk management presentations and workshops on child protection in education.

Dai Durbridge
0115 976 6578
ddurbridge@brownejacobson.com

The idea is premised on the four councils leading the way, involving local residents in designing and running their public services and pooling budgets at a community level. If successful they have the potential to prompt a significant shift in accountability which would make local public services genuinely local, both in the way funding is allocated, and decisions about services are made and accounted for.

With the Comprehensive Spending Review due on 20 October these pilots are well timed to feed into the outcomes of the Review and it will be interesting to see whether the result is the ‘radical devolution of power and greater financial autonomy to local government and community groups’ promised by the Coalition Government in their Coalition Programme.

Posted by Emily Birkett, who specialises in advice to NHS bodies ; their local authority partners and related organisations in commercial law, contracting, procurement , competition governance and all aspects of primary care.

Emily Birkett
0115 976 6175
ebirkett@brownejacobson.com

Currently, taxpayers are broadly accepting of cuts however, if planned savings do not materialise because costs are being shifted rather than cut, it is unlikely that this tolerance will continue.

It is essential that cuts are strategically planned with a view to achieving the planned efficiencies subject to the outcome of the comprehensive spending review due in the Autumn. A failure to do this could see the ‘deckchairs’ go down with the ship!

Posted by Laura Hughes
0115 976 6582
lhughes@brownejacobson.com

The Right to Request allows primary care staff the right to request to set up social enterprises and this week’s announcement includes 15 new projects which range from increasing access to psychological therapies, improving end of life care and a wider range of children services.

In an era with an increased focus on choice and effective commissioning this move has the potential to encourage the development of projects based on local knowledge. It is conceivable that this in turn may initiate different and new ways of providing personalised health and social care services which deliver greater quality and value for money and support the continued integration of these care pathways from the bottom up.

Posted by Emily Birkett
0121 237 3934
ebirkett@brownejacobson.com

The White Paper confirmed that primary care trusts and strategic health authorities will be scrapped by 2013. Responsibility for commissioning will pass to GP Consortia under an NHS Commissioning Board whilst local authorities will become responsible for assuming PCTs public health functions and leading the integration of health and social care at a local level.

Although much of the detail of the proposals has yet to be finalised the White Paper makes one thing abundantly clear: the impetus on integration and partnership working between the NHS, social care and public health is a top priority and the need for the NHS and local organisations to build partnerships to manage these service changes now and make the NHS a ‘truly world class service’ just stepped up a gear.

Posted by Emily Birkett
0121 237 3934
ebirkett@brownejacobson.com

Too many organisations seem to be re-inventing the wheel concentrating on policies without showing demonstrable improvements in environmental performance.

The austerity period now to be endured means that for the first time there is increased pressure upon the effective achievement of sustainability measures.

Innovative local authorities will adopt a Total Place approach to identifying new resources by examining their current assets and capital to design effective sustainability measures which can be introduced in their area.

However, few local authorities have embraced the need to implement community sustainability measures to date. Now that the focus on providing public services for less has been put firmly in the spotlight it will be interesting to see whether local authorities will embrace this step change in the short or long term.

Posted by Richard Barlow
0115 976 6208
rbarlow@brownejacobson.com

And this is where the Total Place agenda has the potential to deliver.

With substantially smaller budgets the most successful local authorities are likely to see the cuts as an opportunity to achieve more visible outcomes and greater value for money from the services they commission.

The key to achieving this will be the effective identification of local priorities followed by the development of bespoke new service models (in partnership with other public sector organisations) which are designed to support the effective delivery of targeted services without compromising quality.

The effect of these cuts may be deep but with Total Place there is certainly scope to engage in a successful transition to services commissioned within a Total Place framework whilst minimising the pain of the proposed cuts.

Posted by Melanie Print
0121 237 4582
mprint@brownejacobson.com

Whilst the review is a major step, one must question whether it goes far enough. There is little doubt that the registration requirements impacted upon too many people, but the management of the information held by the ISA and its role in barring individuals also requires review. A failure to automatically tell employers when their staff are barred, and an extremely low threshold for when employers are under a legal obligation to refer conduct to the ISA, are of serious concern to employers. If a review of the process is to be undertaken at all, then a full and thorough review of all aspects of the ISA’s role is in order. It is disappointing that the government’s plans do not suggest a more complete review.

Posted by Dai Durbridge
0115 976 6578
ddurbridge@brownejacobson.com

The Conservative manifesto pledged that they would give local authorities a “general power of competence”, making it absolutely clear that local authorities have the power to take any step that will help save money from the public purse. This has made it into the coalition agreement but what is now needed is clarification as to how this power will operate. Without it progress is likely to be slow and local authorities could be forgiven for proceeding with caution following the recent ruling that the formation of the London Authorities Mutual Limited was illegal.

Posted by Chris Webb-Jenkins
0115 976 6175
cwebb-jenkins@brownejacobson.com

One of the potentially most powerful tools to give a local community the ability to really change their environment is Total Place, an idea launched by the outgoing Labour government.

Some will see Total Place as a vehicle for making necessary cuts in public spending but it could be so much more, allowing communities greater control in how services can be delivered more effectively and efficiently.

Before the election the Conservatives endorsed Total Place. Last week the full coalition agreement outlined a commitment to greater decentralisation. To achieve effective devolution of budgets and power at the same time as developing the Total Place initiative will require the Coalition to ensure it strikes the right balance between giving local communities a real say in their region and ensuring that the right decisions are made even if they may be unpopular.

Posted by Dominic Swift
0115 976 6148
dswift@brownejacobson.com

Prior to the General Election both the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats publicly declared their commitment to supporting the development of further integration between public sector organisations.

Whether the new Government will choose to achieve these cuts by building on the Total Place agenda developed by Labour over the last twelve months, which supports a ‘whole system approach’ to the commissioning and delivery of public services, or whether it will seek to attain short term savings without realising any widespread public sector reform remains to be seen. What is clear is that change is on the horizon and it’s likely to be big.

Posted by Emily Birkett
0121 237 3934
ebirkett@brownejacobson.com

The document is a short one and, as with any pre-election material, has some positive suggestions in generic terms – an end to wasteful IT projects, a “right to data” policy and greater openness in most areas of public sector life, including publishing online all spending over £500 by local governments.

What might surprise some IT companies that contract with the public sector at the moment however, whatever their political persuasion, is the suggestion that contracts with local authorities that exceed certain thresholds (£500 for local authorities, £25,000 for central government and Quangos) will also be published “in full” – including in particular all performance indicators, break clauses and penalty measures. It’s a brave step and one that might highlight contracts that are overly favourable to suppliers and where the public sector is being unfairly penalised.

On the other hand – from the supplier’s perspective this raises issues of its own – “if you (large IT supplier) can provide those services and meet those service levels for that cost for the public sector, then why not for me, your prospective private sector customer?” There is a risk that too much transparency could mean public sector customers no longer get a better deal than the market.

And what about contracts provided by named “Key personnel” – will these individuals earn a celebrity of their own through contracts published online, or will data protection concerns override requirements in future legislation? Certainly the 35,000 most senior civil servants whose salaries are also required to be published online may have something to say if they can be identified from this information.

However this manifesto plays out, if, as currently predicted the conservatives are likely to be the next government, there are likely to be a few lively debates with the Office of the Information Commissioner before this manifesto becomes law.

Posted by Richard Nicholas
0121 237 3992
rnicholas@brownejacobson.com