Defence firms claimed £61m of ‘non-allowable’ costs, says watchdog – BBC News

Posted July 14th, 2016 in armed forces, contracting out, contracts, costs, defence, expenses, news by tracey

‘Defence companies have claimed £61m of expenditure from the taxpayer that was “potentially” not allowed under contract rules, a watchdog has said.’

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BBC News, 14th July 2016

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

The Armed Services and the Conflict of Laws: What Law Applies to Services Personnel Injured Abroad? – Old Square Chambers

‘In Rai v Ministry of Defence (HH Judge Mark Gargan sitting as a Deputy High Court Judge, judgment handed down on 9 May 2016), the Court had to determine whether the Rome II Regulation 864/2007 applied and to identify what was the proper law of the tort (Alberta law being the law of the place of the accident, or English law). The Claimant was a serving Ghurkha who, as part of Adventurous Training, was sent to Canada. In Canada he received training provided by a Canadian company (“Lazy H Trail Limited”) contracted to provide services, under a contract governed by Alberta law, for the benefit of the British Army. The circumstances of the accident were that the Claimant was kicked by a horse on the first day of training, as he attempted to clean the horse’s hoof, thereby suffering a head injury. The Claimant brought a claim for breach of a non-delegable duty of care in negligence against the Ministry of Defence.’

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Old Square Chambers, 16th June 2016

Source: www.oldsquare.co.uk

Yarl’s Wood detention centre staff replaced by ‘self-service kiosks’ – The Guardian

Posted July 8th, 2016 in budgets, contracting out, detention, immigration, news by sally

‘Staff are being replaced by “self-service kiosks” at the troubled Yarl’s Wood immigration detention centre as the main way of driving through a £42m cut in the costs of a new Home Office contract to run the centre, it has been disclosed.’

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The Guardian, 7th July 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Public interest report calls for all legal advice to be commissioned by legal team – Local Government Lawyer

‘Derby City Council should ensure that all legal advice is commissioned through its chief legal officer or her staff, and departments should not commission legal advice direct, auditors Grant Thornton have recommended in a public interest report.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 21st June 2016

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

EAT: workers must be engaged in ‘principal purpose’ immediately before TUPE transfer – OUT-LAW.com

‘Whether a group of workers consists of an “organised grouping” which will automatically transfer to a new service provider when the work that they do is taken over by that provider will depend on their activities “immediately before” the transfer, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has confirmed.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 17th June 2016

Source: www.out-law.com

Home Office refuses to reveal whether women in Yarl’s Wood have been raped in case it ‘damages the commercial interests’ of companies – The Independent

‘Last year, the chief prisons inspector called Yarl’s Wood ‘a place of national concern’ following concerns over alleged sexual abuse and intimidation of women detained there.’

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The Independent, 13th June 2016

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Thousands of court cases adjourned due to failures in interpreting services – The Guardian

Posted May 5th, 2016 in adjournment, contracting out, delay, interpreters, news by tracey

‘More than 2,600 court cases have been adjourned over the past five years because of failures in the interpreting service, according to figures released by the Ministry of Justice.’

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The Guardian, 4th May 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Watchdog savages Government’s ‘disastrous’ privatisation of probation services – The Independent

Posted May 3rd, 2016 in contracting out, criminal justice, news, probation, reports by tracey

‘Serious failings in the Government’s privatisation of the probation services have been exposed in a damning report amid warnings that David Cameron’s “half-baked and reckless” policies have left the criminal justice system in a mess.’

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The Independent, 2nd May 2016

Source: www.independent.co.uk

G4S fined 100 times since 2010 for breaching prison contracts – The Guardian

Posted April 15th, 2016 in contracting out, contracts, fines, news, prisons by tracey

‘G4S has been fined at least 100 times for breaching its contracts to run prisons since 2010, according to data obtained by Labour.’

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The Guardian, 15th April 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

London borough gets enforcement agencies procurement challenge struck out – Local Government Lawyer

Posted April 14th, 2016 in bailiffs, contracting out, local government, London, news, public procurement by sally

‘The London Borough of Waltham Forest has successfully applied to the High Court for a procurement challenge to be struck out.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 13th April 2016

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Service Provision Changes and Multiple Organised Groupings – Littleton Chambers

‘Nicholas Siddall analyses the recent decision of Simler J(P) in Arch Initiatives v GMW Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust & Others [2016] UKEAT/0267/15/RN and seeks to analyse the wider importance of the decision.’

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Littleton Chambers, 5th April 2016

Source: www.littletonchambers.com

G4S to sell controversial youth jail contracts – The Guardian

‘The private security firm G4S is to sell its UK children’s services business, including its contracts to run two youth prisons, weeks after damning footage emerged of its staff using excessive force on children.’

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The Guardian, 26th February 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Inside Oakwood prison: the private jail struggling to prove bigger is better – The Guardian

Posted February 24th, 2016 in contracting out, news, prisons by sally

‘The Guardian has been granted unprecedented access to two prisons. In the second of two reports, Amelia Gentleman finds a supersize G4S-run jail grappling with a lack of profit, inexperienced staff and suicidal inmates.’

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The Guardian, 23rd February 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Barristers who outsource work must avoid referral fees, Bar Council warns – Legal Futures

Posted February 22nd, 2016 in barristers, contracting out, fees, news, paralegals by sally

‘Barristers who outsource work must not “ask for or accept” any payment from third parties, the Bar Council has warned.’

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Legal Futures, 22nd February 2016

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

TTIP deal poses ‘real and serious risk’ to NHS, says leading QC – The Guardian

Posted February 22nd, 2016 in contracting out, doctors, hospitals, news, public interest, trade unions by sally

‘The controversial transatlantic trade deal set to be agreed this year would mean that privatisation of elements of the NHS could be made irreversible for future governments wanting to restore services to public hands, according to a new legal analysis.’

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The Guardian, 22nd February 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Outsourcing and use of litigation assistants – Bar Council

‘Purpose: To assist barristers regarding the rules and their ethical obligations relating to outsourcing and the use of litigation assistants.’

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Bar Council, 17 February 2016

Source: http://www.barcouncil.org.uk

Close legal loophole which means public services contractors don’t have disclose their work, say campaigners – The Independent

Posted January 26th, 2016 in contracting out, disclosure, freedom of information, news by sally

‘Companies who operate everything from prisons to parking services and prosecuting TV licence evaders must be made more accountable, campaigners say.’

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The Independent, 25th January 2016

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Organisations should learn lessons on outsourcing from BT Cornwall case, says expert – OUT-LAW.com

‘Both customers and suppliers can learn lessons on outsourcing from a recent dispute ruled on by the High Court in London.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 7th January 2016

Source: www.out-law.com

Privatise Britain’s border controls, says new report – Daily Telegraph

Posted January 4th, 2016 in contracting out, immigration, news, reports by sally

‘Think-tank says UK Border Force – set up only four years ago – is failing and should have passport control functions put out to contract.’

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Daily Telegraph, 3rd January 2016

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Judge questions ‘astonishing’ £1.3m for consultancy fees – Law Society’s Gazette

‘The High Court has sent a strong signal to law firms ‘sub-contracting’ disclosure work to third parties.’

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Law Society’s Gazette, 2nd December 2015

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk