Stephen Matthew T + 44 (0)20 7524 6301
s.matthew@nabarro.com
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Public Sector overview
The public sector is under mounting pressure to respond effectively to the agenda of the Coalition, with both central and local government finding the demands placed upon them increasingly more complex and challenging. The Coalition have decided very substantial cuts in government spending. Under the Spending Review we see reductions in social infrastructure investment, changes in the way programmes are delivered, and very heavy emphasis on efficiency savings. Against that can be seen opportunities under the localism agenda, and in areas like energy and transport. All of this will place heavy demands on central and local government. Some of these challenges involve complex legal issues and clear advice is essential for public sector decision-makers. We recognise that there will be a very clear expectation that external service providers, not least law firms, must play a part in this - offering high quality services for lower cost. We have been working with public sector clients for over 50 years: our experts understand the varied nature of government work and they have a wealth of experience to support in-house legal teams in meeting these challenges. Many of our lawyers had senior decision-making careers in government and, through our partnerships with clients, we have built a strong appreciation of how the public sector operates and the pressures faced. We are appointed to the full commercial section of the Central Government Buying Solutions Legal Panel, which means we are approved suppliers for all forms of commercial work. For more information about Nabarro on Buying Solutions, please visit our dedicated Buying Solutions micro site. We are also on the Litigation Panel of the Treasury Solicitor. We provide commercial support on PPP projects, outsourcings, and strategic partnerships and work in many sectors, including waste, housing and regeneration, healthcare, leisure and education. Our team has been at the forefront of advising clients on public procurement rules, including the use of the competitive dialogue procedure, framework agreements, dynamic purchasing systems and e-auctions. Our dedicated Public Sector team is at the heart of a wider Public Sector group of lawyers in real estate, energy, construction, corporate, employment and pensions.
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 A decision by the High Court last week has provided further confirmation on the test which determines when a development agreement will be subject to the public procurement rules and when it will be a land transfer outside of the rules. View full briefing |
Public bodies will soon be required to consider how the services they are proposing to procure might add economic, social and environmental value and how they will secure such improvements through the procurement process. The changes, introduced by the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 which received Royal Assent this week, have not received extensive coverage so are likely to catch many public bodies unaware. View full briefing |
Earlier this month the Department of Health issued guidance on the future of Primary Care Trust Estates (PCT), in particular the transfer of property comprising "service critical clinical infrastructure" to aspirant Community Foundation Trusts (aCFT), other NHS Trusts and Foundation Trusts (FT) (together Acquiring Trusts). View full briefing |
Last week the House of Commons Treasury Committee published its report on the Private Finance Initiative (PFI). The report is critical of PFI in many respects and calls for urgent reforms. View full briefing |
The Health and Safety Executive wants to recover the costs it incurs in investigating a business found to be in material breach of health and safety law. View full briefing |
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