Authority Update

Adult Social Services	Fire & Rescue Authorities
Anti-Social Behaviour	Libraries
Children's Services	Performance
Community Engagement	Police Authorities
Economic Development	Procurement
Efficiency	Shared Services
Education	Structural Change
Employment	Wales
Equality and Discrimination
Bevan Brittan's Local Government Training Programme

Adult Social Services

R (Mwanza) v Greenwich LBC and Bromley LBC [2010] EWHC 1462 (Admin) (Admin Ct): M, a Zambian national, sought judicial review of the local authorities' decisions not to provide him with accommodation and financial support following his discharge from the Mental Health Act 1983 s.3. M contended that the duty to provide aftercare services under s.117 of the 1983 Act included an obligation to house him; alternatively, if no duty were owed to him under s.117, then the local authority owed a duty to accommodate and support him under s.21 of the 1948 Act.
The court held that a local authority's responsibility to provide aftercare services under s.117 of the Mental Health Act 1983 was restricted to those services necessary to meet a need arising from the former patient's mental disorder. The local authority had been correct to find that there was no need for accommodation and support as an aftercare service, as M's need for accommodation did not stem from his mental condition. The duty to provide accommodation under s.21 was conditional upon the applicant being in need of care and attention which was not otherwise available to him. In any event, because M's wife (and hence M) did not have leave to remain in the UK, M's claim clearly fell within the scope of Sch.3 to the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002, so that the local authority was forbidden from granting s.21 assistance unless support were necessary to avoid a breach of human rights. (15 June 2010)

DH: The Mental Capacity Act (LAC (DH)(2010)3): the Mental Capacity Act 2005 requires a review of much existing policy and practice in relation to enabling people who lack capacity to be assisted to make decisions and access services. This circular covers 2010-11 resources for the implementation of the Act. (28 June 2010)

If you wish to discuss any of the items noted in this section please contact Caraline Johnson. 

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Anti-Social Behaviour

TSA: Taking action against anti-social behaviour: this report sets out the findings of a survey on anti-social behaviour. It identifies which activities are priorities for housing, what work is currently being undertaken, the effectiveness of existing partnership arrangements and the main barriers within the housing sector to developing long-term solutions to anti-social behaviour. (22 June 2010)

If you wish to discuss any of the items noted in this section please contact Kane Kirkbride.

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Children's Services

Ofsted: Guidance on inspecting and regulating childrens homes with accommodation for adults: seeks to clarify for providers Ofsted's policy on how it will inspect and regulate a children’s home that also provides care and accommodation for adults. (18 June 2010)

Improvement Network: Children and young people - tools: to support improvement in children's trusts, two new tools have been developed:

• the Improving Children's Trusts resource pack helps local children’s trusts review their effectiveness. It shows how they can develop stronger partnerships, improve their governance, and develop their resource and performance management; and
• the Value for Money Resource pack offers an easy way for children's trusts to assess the cost-effectiveness of local services for children with additional educational needs (AEN) and special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

(25 June 2010)

If you wish to discuss any of the items noted in this section please contact Caraline Johnson. 

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Community Engagement

DCLG: Eric Pickles to stop 'propaganda on the rates' killing off local newspapers: announces that the Government is to consult on amending the Code of Recommended Practice on Local Authority Publicity so as to tighten the rules governing council newspapers. The proposed changes to the statutory code will stop unfair competition, ensure a tougher value for money test, and prevent municipal literature passing itself off as independent journalism. The aim is to ensure that a robust and healthy independent local press can continue to scrutinise the activities of local councils. (28 June 2010)

DCLG: Call to arms in battle against red tape: the Government has launched a new Your Freedom website that asks the public how they want the Government to redress the balance between the citizen and the state. It asks the public to suggest ideas on restoring liberties that have been lost, repealing unnecessary laws and stripping away excessive regulation on businesses. In addition, the Communities Secretary Eric Pickles will shortly be asking councillors and council staff to suggest how the amount of outmoded, outdated and obsolete secondary legislation can be reduced. (1 July 2010)

If you wish to discuss any of the items noted in this section please contact Peter Keith-Lucas. 

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Economic Development

DCLG: Councils and businesses to rebalance local economy: announces plans for Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) that will replace the current RDAs. Business Secretary Vince Cable and Communities Secretary Eric Pickles have written to councils and business leaders, asking them to consider forming new LEPs that can provide strategic leadership in their local areas and create the right environment for business success and economic growth. LEPs will tackle issues including planning and housing, local transport and infrastructure, employment, enterprise and supporting business start-ups. Partnerships of local authorities and businesses interested in forming LEPs should submit outline proposals by 6 September 2010. Legislation to abolish RDAs was announced in the Queen’s Speech and is expected to be introduced to Parliament in the autumn.
The Government has also launched the Regional Growth Fund, first announced in the Budget, which will operate in 2011/2012 and 2012/2013 and will help areas most dependent on public sector employment as the country makes the transition to private sector-led growth and prosperity.  Both private bodies and public-private partnerships will be able to bid for funding by demonstrating that their proposal will bring in private investment and support sustainable increases in private sector jobs and growth in their area. Full details of the Regional Growth Fund, including who will be eligible to apply, and the criteria and process for assessing bids, will be set out in the forthcoming White Paper on local and regional growth. (29 June 2010)

If you wish to discuss any of the items noted in this section please contact Bethan Evans. 

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Education

DBIS: Colleges to bid for funding for building projects: announces that 150 Further Education colleges which have yet to benefit significantly from the capital programme will each receive a share of a new £30m Renewal Grant. A further £20m will be made available to colleges through an Enhanced Renewal Grant through which colleges will be able to bid on a project basis for up to £1m and will be expected to raise significant further private investment. The criteria for FE colleges wishing to submit a bid for a share of the funding include: condition of the college and its facilities; the benefits to learners; and adding to regeneration of local communities. (21 June 2010)

DfE: Further freedoms for schools and colleges: announces further moves to free up colleges and schools and remove bureaucracy from the education system:

• schools and colleges will be allowed to choose how many, and which, Diploma lines of learning they offered;
• the development of the Extended Diploma will be stopped;
• routine Ofsted inspections of sixth form colleges rated “outstanding” will end;
• sixth form colleges will no longer be forced to do “surveys of learner views”; and
• plans to introduce in-year adjustments to 16-19 budgets will be dropped, giving greater certainty to institutions.

 (24 June 2010)

DfE: Guidance on management committees for Pupil Referral Units - Constitution and roles and responsibilities: guidance on the requirements in the Education (Pupil Referral Units) (Management Committees etc.) (England) Regulations 2007 regarding the constitution and roles and responsibilities of Pupil Referral Units' (PRU) management committees. From 13 November 2007 local authorities need to choose a constitutional model and formally adopt this by making an Instrument of Government for their PRUs. The guidance is mainly intended for local authority officers responsible for provision and for the clerks and chairs of management committees. (2 July 2010)

DfE: Internal exclusions guidance: internal exclusion is an internal process within the school and is used when the objective is to remove the pupil from class, not from the school site, for disciplinary reasons. It may be a formal process within the school but it is not a legal exclusion so exclusions legislation and the DfE's guidance on exclusion from school does not apply. This guidance on internal exclusion is aimed at all schools and offers advice and good practice that schools may find helpful. There is no requirement for schools to follow this guidanc; it should be used as a guide as to what internal exclusion should look like. (2 July 2010)

DfE: School discipline and pupil-behaviour policies: this guidance aims to help schools understand their overall legal powers and duties as regards establishing a school behaviour policy and disciplining pupils. It also provides more specific advice on certain key sanctions (detention and confiscation). It focuses particularly on provisions in the School Discipline chapter of the Education and Inspections Act 2006 , which came into force on 1 April 2007. The guidance replaces earlier guidance provided by the National Strategies on school behaviour and attendance policies. (2 July 2010)

If you wish to discuss any of the items noted in this section please contact Caraline Johnson. 

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Efficiency

HM Treasury: Budget 2010: presents the first Budget of the Coalition Government, based on the Government’s stated values of responsibility, freedom and fairness. The Budget shows how the Government will make the tough choices required to tackle Britain’s record deficit.  It sets out a plan to get the public finances back under control, and provides a springboard for a private sector-led recovery with balanced growth across sectors and regions. Statements that particularly affect local government include:

• the Spending Review, scheduled for 20 October 2010, will set spending plans for the four years to 2014-15. The Spending Review will set Departmental Expenditure Limits (DEL) for every department and for the devolved administrations which could see real cuts to departmental budgets of around 25% over the four years;
• there will be no further cuts in capital spending totals beyond those announced as part of the £6.2bn of savings in 2010-11, in order to protect the most productive public sector investment;
• the Government will work in partnership with local authorities in England to freeze council tax in 2011-12. The Government will clarify the terms under which local authorities that commit to freeze or reduce their council tax will be compensated; 
• to ensure the fiscal risks around local authority borrowing decisions are better understood, the Government will monitor lending from the Public Works Loans Board more closely, and consider the approach taken in Scotland to increase transparency around borrowing undertaken more than two years in advance of expenditure;
• VAT rate increased to 20% from 4 January 2011;
• a two year freeze in public sector pay, except for those earning less than £21,000 p.a.;
• an independent commission chaired by John Hutton will undertake a fundamental, structural review of public service pension provision by Budget 2011 and consider the case for short-term savings in the Spending Review period, by September 2010;
• a new Regional Growth Fund in 2011-12 and 2012-13 to support increases in business employment and growth;
• the Public Bodies Bill will abolish RDAs. A White Paper later in the summer will set out details of these proposals. As part of this, the Government will:
• • support the creation of strong local enterprise partnerships to enable improved coordination of public and private investment in transport, housing, skills, regeneration and other areas of economic development;
  • consider the most appropriate framework of incentives for local authorities to support growth, including exploring options for business rate and council tax incentives; and 
  • promote the role for a simplified planning consents process in specific areas where there is potential or need for business growth, through use of Local Development Orders;
• confirms legislation to waive £175m of backdated business rates demands levied on businesses including some in ports;
• the standard rate of landfill tax will increase by £8 per tonne each year from 1 April 2011 until at least 2014, as announced in the March Budget.

See also the LGA's Budget - on the day briefing.  (22 June 2010)
The Finance Bill was introduced into Parliament on 28 June. It enacts the key tax measures at the heart of the Emergency Budget package. There will be a further Finance Bill in the autumn that will introduce minor, technical measures announced by the previous Government. That Bill will be published in draft later this month, to allow thorough pre-legislative scrutiny.

HM Government: Public sector spending challenge: as part of the Spending Review set out in the Budget, the Government has launched a ‘Spending Challenge’ aimed at engaging the country in thinking about public services and how they are provided. The Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister have written to public sector workers asking for their ideas on how the Government can do more for less. The first phase of the challenge aims to harness the expertise of those working on the front line, including NHS workers, police officers and civil servants. They say that all serious ideas will be considered by the Cabinet Office and Treasury and passed to departments to consider how they might be implemented. People can submit their ideas to the Spending Challenge website and a summary of the submissions will be published later this year. The public sector phase of the Spending Challenge will end on 9 July and the process will then be opened up to the general public. (24 June 2010)

CIPFA: After the manifesto - delivering the plan: this publication sets out the actions that CIPFA believes the Government needs to take to build an effective strategy for restoring order and balance to public finances. It urges the Government to act early to prepare the ground for the longer term strategy, which must create simple, well-designed and lasting structures for public service delivery. It also argues that what needs to happen now is for the Government to deliver a complete picture of its plans to fully inform debate within Parliament, the public and the markets. (25 June 2010)

If you wish to discuss any of the items noted in this section please contact Bethan Evans. 

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Employment

HM Treasury: Chancellor announces John Hutton to chair commission on public service pensions: announces that John Hutton has agreed to chair the independent Public Service Pensions Commission, which will undertake a fundamental structural review of public service pension provision by Budget 2011. The Commission will produce an interim report in September 2010 ahead of the Spending Review. (20 June 2010)

HM Treasury: Hutton Review of fair pay in the public sector: announces that the Government has commissioned economist and commentator Will Hutton to conduct an independent review of fair pay in the public sector. The Review will investigate pay scales across the public sector, and make recommendations on how to ensure that no public sector manger can earn more than 20 times the lowest paid person in the organisation. The Review will produce an interim report in the autumn, with a final report to the Prime Minister and the Chancellor in March 2011. (21 June 2010)

If you wish to discuss any of the items noted in this section please contact Sarah Lamont. 

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Equality and Discrimination

R (Harris) v Haringey LBC; Grainger Seven Sisters Ltd and Northumberland and Durham Property Trust Ltd (Interested Parties); Equality and Human Rights Commission (Intervener) [2010] EWCA Civ 703 (CA): H applied to quash the council’s decision to grant permission for the development of a site that was in an area predominantly made up of local independent traders with a mix of Turkish, Cypriot, Colombian and Afro-Caribbean influences. The site also incorporated an indoor market, and 64 per cent of the stallholders were from Latin America or were Spanish speaking. During the consultation process, a number of individuals expressed concern at the increase to business rents that would have been charged following the redevelopment. The council itself estimated they would have risen threefold. There were also concerns about the cost of the residential part of the development.
The court held, granting the application, that the council, when granting permission, had not met its duties under s. 71 of the Race Relations Act 1976 which required the council, in taking its decision, to have due regard to the need to eliminate unlawful racial discrimination, and to promote quality of opportunity and good relations between persons of different racial groups. The council's policies might have been admirable in terms of proposing assistance for ethnic minority communities, but they did not address specifically the requirements imposed upon the local authority by s.71(1): not only was there no reference to s.71 in the report to the committee, or in the deliberations of the committee, but the required duty in s.71 to have "due regard" for the need to "promote equality of opportunity and good relations between persons of different racial groups" was not demonstrated in the decision making process. (22 June 2010)

If you wish to discuss any of the items noted in this section please contact Bethan Evans. 

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Fire & Rescue Authorities

DCLG: Leading a lean and efficient fire service: transcript of a speech given by the Fire Minister Bob Neill at the Fire and Rescue 2010 Conference, in which he talks about the Government's vision for fire and rescue services. He discusses: the economic challenge; the Government's vision; challenges facing the fire & rescue service; changes to the delivery of services; and review of the FiReControl project. (29 June 2010)

If you wish to discuss any of the items noted in this section please contact Bethan Evans. 

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Libraries

Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA): Community engagement in public libraries - an evaluation as part of the Big Lottery Fund's Community Libraries programme: this report highlights emerging themes and lessons for public libraries, particularly around their role in civic engagement in local communities through volunteering, and their ability to work in partnership with voluntary and community based organisations, as well as local authorities. (1 July 2010) 

MLA: Culture Minister launches support programme for libraries: announces a new support programme led by the MLA and the LGA. They will work together to support councils as they adapt to the current economic challenge, helping them to deliver the key services valued by communities while driving down costs. The programme will initially undertake intensive, proactive work with around 10 library authorities. The best learning from those projects will then be shared throughout the wider public library network so that everyone can benefit from the work. (1 July 2010)

MLA: Library users' charter: the MLA has welcomed the publication by a grouping of library users of a public Charter for Library Users, describing it as "timely and significant". The Charter is intended to influence the development of better library services for people and communities. It calls for recognition that library users and the wider public are the first and principal stakeholders in the library service. This press release includes the wording of the proposed Charter. (1 July 2010)

If you wish to discuss any of the items noted in this section please contact Penny Rinta-Suksi. 

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Performance

DCLG: Pickles strips away pointless Town Hall red tape targets: announces that the Communities Secretary has instructed the Audit Commission and five other local inspectorates to stop Comprehensive Area Assessment reports. Ending the CAA process will not affect the inspectorates' statutory powers to carry out inspections at their discretion such as when councils are failing. The SoS is aware that scrapping CAA will not remove all red-tape burdens so he has asked Greg Clark, Minister for Decentralisation, to lead on further reducing the Whitehall burden across the board.
The Audit Commission's Chief Executive has issued a statement on CAA abolition. (25 June 2010)

If you wish to discuss any of the items noted in this section please contact Bethan Evans. 

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Police Authorities

Home Office: Central police target abolished: announces that the public confidence target and the policing pledge are to be scrapped with immediate effect. The Home Secretary is to examine the entire top-down model of accountability, replacing it with more local control. Each force should have a directly  elected person setting the force budget, agreeing local strategic targets, handling issues of community safety, and appointing local chief constables. (29 June 2010)

If you wish to discuss any of the items noted in this section please contact Peter Keith-Lucas. 

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Procurement

J Varney & Sons Waste Management Ltd v Hertfordshire CC [2010] EWHC 1404 (QB) (QBD): V was one of the unsuccessful tenderers for the contracts for the operation of the local authority's 18 Household Waste Recycling Centres for the five year period from 2008 to 2013. V was the incumbent operator at three sites for 2003 - 2008; it tendered for the contracts to operate 17 of the sites, but was awarded none. The invitations to tender consisted of instructions for tendering, drafts of relevant documentation and the conditions of contract, the return schedules and various appendices to the new contract. The return schedules set out the standard of service expected and were used by the local authority to assess the bids as regards customer satisfaction. V claimed damages against the local authority for breach of its obligations under the Public Contracts Regulations 2006. It claimed that the local authority: 

• was in breach of its statutory obligations of transparency, equal treatment and non-discrimination in that each of the return schedules was a separate award criterion and that neither the fact that they were award criteria nor the weightings attached to each had been disclosed; 
• had erroneously accepted tenders as "most economically advantageous" when they included prices which were abnormally low and unsustainable over the life of the contracts; 
• had unilaterally amended the contracts after they had been in operation for some time, thereby creating new contracts for which it had no opportunity to tender; and
• was in breach of the terms of an implied contract that it would give fair, reasonable and objective consideration to the tender.

The court held, dismissing V's claim, that the local authority was not in breach of its obligations of transparency in respect of the return schedules. The schedules were not award criteria but rather, they contained sub-criteria of the stated award criterion of customer satisfaction. Local authorities did not owe a general duty to investigate "suspect" tenders that appeared abnormally low. There was nothing in V's suggestion that the local authority should have appreciated that some of the tenders were abnormally low, and the suggestion that it was in manifest error in failing to investigate them was wholly without merit. There was no unilateral amendment of the contracts by the local authority, but even if there had been, and that that was a breach of public procurement law, it did not follow that there would have to be a competition for the new award. There was no implied contract between V and the local authority:  the Regulations created their own regime imposing duties on the local authority in relation to any tender submitted, and it was therefore unnecessary to imply a contract. Obiter, in the context of procuring public contracts the local authority had no discretion or "margin of appreciation" in relation to its compliance with its obligations of equal treatment and transparency, though it did have such a margin in relation to matters of judgment or assessment. (16 June 2010)

Montpellier Estates Ltd v Leeds City Council [2010] EWHC 1543 (QB) (QBD): M's claim concerned the local authority's procurement of a development agreement for a concert arena and related facilities. M owned one of four sites identified by the local authority as potentially suitable. It submitted a bid and also expressed its concerns to the local authority that the local authority itself would bid; the local authority assured M that the competition would be fair and open and that it had no intention to bid. A few months later, the local authority told M that it had decided to terminate the competition, and on the same day it announced that it was going to develop a site that it and a university owned. M contended that for at least a year the local authority had been secretly planning a public development option, and that it was in breach of statutory duty and the implied contract between them. M also sought an injunction preventing the local authority from entering into any contract for the development of the arena. The authority argued that the parts of the particulars of claim complaining about the introduction of the public sector comparator and the way the process was terminated should be struck out as they fell into the trap of failing to distinguish the duties that existed in respect of the disclosure and application of award criteria from the less onerous duty that arose in relation to terminating a procurement procedure.
The court held, refusing the authority's application for summary judgment, that there was force in the authority's argument that a public authority had a wide discretion to terminate a procurement process; however, on the facts it would not be right to strike out, or grant summary relief in respect of, parts of M's particulars of claim. M's case was not directed solely to the circumstances of termination but to the parallel process leading to the formulation of the local authority's alternative plan, which had been continuing, albeit undisclosed, during the procurement process itself. An implied contract could arise in a procurement context even where the Public Contract Regulations 2006 applied. (24 June 2010)

DCLG: Councils pledge to raise bar on procurement: reports that the Secretary of State has co-chaired a meeting with LGA Chairman Dame Margaret Eaton to discuss how to help councils improve value for money and protect frontline services. This marks the start of a major programme to be lead by the LGA that will help identify ways councils can deliver better value for money for taxpayers, e.g. by addressing the fragmentation of local government spending to secure further savings and encouraging more collaborative working. (25 June 2010)

If you wish to discuss any of the items noted in this section please contact Susie Smith. 

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Shared Services

IDeA: Setting up HR shared services: this guide, produced in partnership with the Institute for Employment Studies, examines some of the key issues councils should consider when introducing shared HR services. Through combined dispersed HR administrative activities, shared services can deliver cost and quality benefits for councils. Shared services can be delivered in-house, outsourced to an external provider, or executed in partnership with another organisation. Though likely to be a focus of government public sector saving, shared services need careful design and excellent implementation. This guide presents possible options, offers the big questions to ask – for councillors and senior managers – and provides some practical suggestions on where to start. (21 June 2010)

If you wish to discuss any of the items noted in this section please contact Bethan Evans. 

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Structural Change

Devon CC and Norfolk CC v Secretary of State for Communities & Local Government; Exeter City Council and Norwich City Council (Interested Parties) [2010] EWHC 1456 (Admin) (Admin Ct): the two county councils applied to quash the SoS's decisions that Exeter and Norwich should become unitary authorities. The Boundary Commission recommended that the proposals by Exeter and Norwich should not be implemented, because of doubts about whether they could meet the affordability criteria and also whether Norwich could meet the value for money criterion, and instead recommended alternative proposals. However, the SoS rejected those recommendations, but considered that in light of the economic downturn and the recent government Total Place initiative there were compelling reasons to depart from the presumption that where a unitary proposal did not meet all five criteria it should not be implemented. The councils contended that the basis on which the decisions were taken was radically different from that upon which the statutory consultation had been carried out and from that which Ministers had always said would underlie their decisions; hence the consultation was unfair and did not comply with the requirements of the 2007 Act. They contended that the SoS changed the "value for money on services" criterion by taking a Total Place approach, and that the Government recognised that the proposals did not meet the criteria as laid down in the guidance.
The court held, granting the county councils' application, that although the factors which the SoS took into account were legally relevant, and the view he reached was obviously not irrational, his handling of the consultation was so unfair that his decisions were unlawful. The whole consultation process was conducted on the basis that the criteria were unchanged and their role remained just as it had always been described. On the face of it, the decisions taken by the SoS simply made a mockery of the consultation process. Whether the two specific factors, the economic downturn and Total Place, fell inside or outside the criteria, the unfairness lay in the change to the role of the criteria so that failures were no longer decisive against a proposal, without any opportunity being given to deal with that change or with the merits of the recession and Total Place as factors to warrant such a change. Neither the recession nor the new government policy could have alerted the consultees to the SoS's change in approach to the criteria. This change in approach was unfair and deprived the county councils of the opportunity to make their case in the consultation process. (21 June 2010)

Local Government Bill: this Bill has received its 2nd Reading in the Lords, after the Examiners decided that it was not a hybrid Bill. The purpose of the Bill is to prevent the implementation of existing proposals to revoke the Exeter and Devon (Structural Changes) Order 2010 and the Norwich and Norfolk (Structural Changes) Order 2010; and to make provision consequential on that revocation: however, it may be unnecessary following the Administrative Court's ruling that the Orders should be quashed (see above). (30 June 2010)

If you wish to discuss any of the items noted in this section please contact Peter Keith-Lucas. 

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Wales

Health Protection (Part 2A Orders) (Wales) Regulations 2010 (SI 2010/1544 (W.142)): these regulations, which come into force in Wales on 26 July 2010, provide for local authority applications for orders under Part 2A of the Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984 relating to the protection of public health. (8 June 2010)

Health Protection (Local Authority Powers) (Wales) Regulations 2010 (SI 2010/1545 (W.143)): these regulations, which come into force in Wales on 26 July 2010, confer discretionary powers on local authorities (including powers to impose restrictions and requirements) for the purposes of preventing, protecting against, controlling or providing a public health response to the incidence or spread of infection or  contamination which presents or could present significant harm to human health. The regulations also place an obligation on third parties who have charge or control of premises in which a dead body is located to cooperate with a local authority in a particular circumstance. (8 June 2010)

Health Protection (Notification) (Wales) Regulations 2010 (SI 2010/1546 (W.144)): these regulations, which come into force in Wales on 26 July 2010, place obligations on various persons to disclose information to specified third parties for the purpose of preventing, protecting against, controlling or providing a public health response to the incidence or spread of infection or contamination. (8 June 2010)

National Assembly: Proposed Rights of Children and Young Persons (Wales) Measure: this proposed Measure imposes a duty upon the Welsh Ministers and the First Minister to have due regard to the rights and obligations in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and its Optional Protocols when making decisions of a strategic nature about how to exercise functions which are exercisable by them. This central duty is coupled with a duty to make a children’s scheme, setting out the Welsh Ministers' arrangements for complying with the due regard duty and for identifying those decisions which are decisions of a strategic nature about how to exercise functions. Legislation Committee No.5 is undertaking Stage 1 scrutiny on the general principles of the proposed Measure. The Committee must report by 22 October 2010. (14 June 2010)

If you wish to discuss any of the items noted in this section please contact Bethan Evans. 

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Bevan Brittan's Local Government Training Programme

Bevan Brittan has developed a well-recognised programme of training designed to assist local authorities in successfully implementing legal change. Led by key members of our local authority team, each session will clearly explain the key aspects of the law and the implications for local government. Using case studies and carefully selected complementary speakers, they will assist attendees in realising the full benefits of implementation and the dangerous pitfalls in failure to act.

The full Local Government Training Programme is available on our website. Forthcoming seminars in 2010 include:

• 7 July (London): Re-negotiating contracts (organised by Local Government Group)
• 7 July (Birmingham): Shared services, joint ventures and outsourcing
• 21 July (London): Structures for shared services (organised by Local Government Group)
• 7 September (Birmingham), 9 September (London) and 23 September (Bristol): Employment update
• 15 September (Bristol): Standards and Code of Conduct update
  

 If you wish to attend any of these sessions please contact our Events team.

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