Birmingham Prison taken over from G4S by government – BBC News

Posted August 20th, 2018 in contracting out, news, prisons by sally

‘Birmingham Prison is being taken over by the government from the private firm G4S, after inspectors said it had fallen into a “state of crisis”.’

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BBC News, 20th August 2018

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Council to re-evaluate bids for 0-19 public health services after High Court defeat – Local Government Lawyer

Posted August 17th, 2018 in contracting out, health, local government, news, tenders by sally

‘Lancashire County Council has announced that it will re-evaluate the two existing bids for public health services for 0 to 19 year olds from Virgin Health Care and a joint bid between Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust and Blackpool Teaching Hospitals Foundation Trust.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 16th August 2018

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Government to face IWGB union in landmark court case for outsourced workers’ rights – The Independent

‘The government is taking on a union in court in a landmark case that could have huge ramifications for the UK’s army of 3.3 million outsourced workers, many of whom have fewer rights and face worse pay and conditions than in-house colleagues doing the same jobs.’

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The Independent, 7th August 2018

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Private probation companies to have contracts ended early – The Guardian

Posted July 27th, 2018 in contracting out, news, probation by sally

‘The monitoring of offenders in the community faces another shake-up after disastrous reforms introduced by Chris Grayling forced the government to bail out failing private probation companies by more than half a billion pounds.’

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The Guardian, 27th July 2018

Source: www.theguardian.com

Legal challenge to the new model of health and social care bodies – Community Care Blog

Posted July 13th, 2018 in community care, contracting out, contracts, health, news by tracey

‘In the recent case of R (Hutchinson & Anor) v Secretary of State for Health and Social Care & Anor the Administrative Court considered a challenge to the creation of a new model for the provision of health and social care in England.’

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Community Care Blog, 10th July 2018

Source: communitycare11kbw.com

Losing out on loss of bargain when terminating in reliance upon contractual rights – Practical Law: Construction Blog

‘In the wake of the Carillion insolvency, many sub-contractors are likely to be investigating their rights to terminate their contracts with a now defunct main contractor. Looking for a clean break, they may be tempted by the explicit termination rights that standard form building contracts often contain, and that may be deployed in the event of main contractor insolvency. On the surface, terminating appears as simple as writing to the liquidator citing the relevant provision, and declaring the contract to be at an end. However, a potential trap awaits the unwary. Unwitting sub-contractors may inadvertently forfeit any right to claim loss of bargain damages, that is, the loss of profits that would have been made had the contract carried through to completion. This is potentially a highly lucrative right, particularly if the sub-contractor is at the start of a multi-year project that was expected to generate significant future earnings. This result arises from the case of Phones 4U Ltd (in administration) v EE Ltd.’

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Practical Law: Construction Blog, 4th July 2018

Source: constructionblog.practicallaw.com

People risk unjust prison sentences due to lack of court healthcare – The Guardian

Posted July 4th, 2018 in contracting out, courts, detention, health, news by sally

‘Innocent people are at risk of being given unjust prison sentences and suffering physical harm because of a lack of healthcare in courthouses, according to the outgoing head of the independent body charged with monitoring the care and welfare of those brought to court in England and Wales.’

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The Guardian, 4th July 2018

Source: www.theguardian.com

NHS trusts win legal challenge over contract award by council to Virgin Care – Local Government Lawyer

Posted June 25th, 2018 in contracting out, health, hospitals, local government, news by sally

‘Two NHS foundation trusts have won a High Court challenge over Lancashire County Council’s decision to award a contract to Virgin Care for the provision of public health and nursing services to children and young people.’

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Local Government Lawyer, June 2018

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Government must overhaul ‘mess’ of privatised probation system, inquiry finds – The Independent

Posted June 22nd, 2018 in contracting out, news, probation, select committees by tracey

‘The government must overhaul its “mess” of a botched programme to privatise probation that is failing against every measure and may threaten public safety, MPs have said.
An eight month inquiry by the Justice Committee found that the controversial Transforming Rehabilitation scheme had created a “two-tier” service seeing vital services outsourced to loss-making contractors.’

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The Independent, 22nd June 2018

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Capita faces legal action after hitting graduates with bills for thousands when they try to leave – The Independent

Posted June 4th, 2018 in contracting out, fees, news, penalties by sally

‘Naive or desperate graduates subjected to ‘desperate unfairness’ under ‘astonishingly asymmetric’ contract, says barrister leading case.’

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The Independent, 2nd June 2018

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Ex-offenders face bleak future after reforms fail, report says – The Guardian

Posted April 17th, 2018 in charities, contracting out, news, probation, reports, volunteers by tracey

‘Ex-offenders trying to turn their lives around face a bleak future, a probation inspector has warned, as ambitious government plans to boost the role of charities and volunteers in the probation service have failed to materialise.’

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The Guardian, 17th April 2018

Source: www.theguardian.com

English court delivers landmark judgment on project insurance coverage – OUT-LAW.com

Posted March 29th, 2018 in construction industry, contracting out, insurance, news by tracey

‘The High Court has handed down a judgment deciding that a sub-contractor on a construction project was not entitled to coverage from the project insurance policy.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 28th March 2018

Source: www.out-law.com

Home Office subcontractors force asylum seekers to share bedrooms in breach of council policy – The Independent

Posted March 23rd, 2018 in asylum, contracting out, housing, news by tracey

‘A company subcontracted by the Home Office to run housing for asylum seekers is continuing to force residents to share bedrooms despite the local council banning the practice.
Newcastle City Council banned forced bedroom sharing, which sees unrelated asylum-seeking adults forced to share bedrooms with one another, in March 2017 following widespread public outcry.’

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The Independent, 23rd March 2018

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Staff without security clearance monitor offenders – BBC News

Posted March 6th, 2018 in bail, contracting out, employment, news, prisons, probation, release on licence by sally

‘Staff without security clearance are being allowed to monitor high-risk offenders living in approved premises – commonly known as bail hostels or probation hostels – the BBC has learnt.’

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BBC News, 5th March 2018

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Police outsource digital forensic work to unaccredited labs – The Guardian

Posted February 12th, 2018 in contracting out, forensic science, news, police by tracey

‘More than a dozen police forces have outsourced digital forensic investigative work to unaccredited private laboratories in the past year, at a time when a series of rape cases have been abandoned because of problems with digital evidence.’

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The Guardian, 12th February 2018

Source: www.theguardian.com

Private probation companies letting convicts commit more crime and allowing them to disappear, report finds – The Independent

Posted February 9th, 2018 in contracting out, news, probation, rehabilitation, reports by tracey

‘Private companies are failing to enforce the sentences handed down by courts, leaving convicts to commit more crime or simply disappear, a damning report has found. HM Inspectorate of Probation said firms commissioned in a 2014 overhaul of the service are “stretched beyond their capacity”.’

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The Independent, 9th February 2018

Source: www.independent.co.uk

GPOC – Local Government Law

Posted February 8th, 2018 in consultations, contracting out, housing, local government, news by tracey

‘The General Power of Competence (“GPOC”) in Section 1 of the Localism Act 2011 (“LA 2011”) and its exclusion, by Section 4 of LA 2011, when an authority is acting “for a commercial purpose”, but not through a limited company, has been considered in Peters v Haringey LBC (2018) EWHC 192 (Admin). The case is concerned with the Haringey Development Vehicle (“the HDV”). The purpose of the HDV is to create a partnership, by way of a limited liability partnership (“LLP”), between the Defendant Council, and a private sector body, Lendlease, and to bring private sector finance, experience and expertise to the task of developing the Council’s land for its better use, and so achieving the Council’s strategic aims in housing, affordable housing and employment. The Claimant challenged by way of judicial review a decision made by the Council through its Cabinet, on 20 July 2017, to confirm Lendlease after a procurement process as the successful bidder to become the Council’s partner in the HDV, and also approved the structure of the HDV.’

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Local Government Law, 8th February 2018

Source: local-government-law.11kbw.com

Council fined £100k after vulnerable employee hit by reversing dust cart – Local Government Lawyer

Posted February 8th, 2018 in contracting out, fines, health & safety, local government, news, waste by tracey

‘A London borough has been fined £100,000 after a vulnerable employee was crushed by a reversing dust cart, suffering significant injury. Waste company Veolia ES (UK) was meanwhile fined £250,000 for its role in the incident, which took place on 9 May 2016.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 6th February 2018

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Private probation firms fail to cut rates of reoffending – The Guardian

Posted February 5th, 2018 in contracting out, criminal justice, news, probation, recidivists by sally

‘The vast majority of companies set up to tackle reoffending as part of a controversial drive to privatise the probation service have failed to meet their targets, in a substantial embarrassment for the government.’

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The Guardian, 3rd January 2018

Source: www.theguardian.com

Council faces legal challenge over award of children’s public health contract – Local Government Lawyer

Posted February 2nd, 2018 in children, contracting out, health, local government, news, young persons by sally

‘Two NHS trusts have brought a legal challenge over Lancashire County Council’s award of a contract for public health services for children aged 0 to 19.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 1st February 2018

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk