Public Matters - July 2021
Updates on leisure contracts, SSPs, children's social care, construction, subject access disclosure, Building Safety Bill and Japanese knotweed.
Welcome to our Public Matters Newsletter.
This month we have:
Local authority leisure provision in a time of Covid
With restrictions easing, Craig Elder looks at how local authoriites can take stock of their contractual position with leisure providers.
Special Severance Payments (SSPs)
Kerren Daly summarises the updated SSP, Best Value and wider public sector guidance and the impact on public sector employers.
Children’s social care review – Case for Change – a step towards consensus?
Views on the Independent review of children’s social care in England are mixed.
James Arrowsmith explains how the Case for Change could be a starting point to build consensus for change in children's social care.
Procurement reform: what’s in it for construction?
First published by UK Construction Online, Peter Ware and John Simons at Scape Group look at what the Transforming public procurement Green Paper might mean for the construction sector.
Confidential information and subject access disclosure
London Borough of Lambeth v AM (No. 2) [2021] EWHC 186 (QB) is critical reading for public bodies who are required to take action to restrict the use of confidential information in circumstances where that information has been inadvertently disclosed to a third-party.
First published in the ALARM journal, Matthew Alderton summarises the High Court decision in which we acted for the council.
The Building Safety Bill – what does it mean for you?
Martin Cannon considers the most significant Building Safety Bill changes and the impact they could have upon the way construction is carried out by public sector bodies.
Japanese knotweed – a diminishing risk?
Ruth Hill reviews the draft RICS Japanese knotweed guidance, and the likely impact on public bodies and local authorities.