Event Type: Online

In this session, we will examine the procedures available to contracting authorities under the Procurement Act 2023. This will include examining government intention from the Green Paper through to the letter of the Act and the associated guidance. This session will also look at the new notice and transparency requirements and the impact these have on the flexibility of the procedures. Finally, we will cover some key practical points including designing a competitive flexible procedure and managing below-threshold procurements.

Who should attend?

Procurement officers, commissioning/service officers and legal officers.

Speakers

Mark Cook, partner

Alex Lawrence, senior associate

 

 

 

 

This free webinar will explore the new exclusion and debarment regime being introduced by the Procurement Act 2023.

This will include looking at the new grounds for excluding suppliers from public procurements, particularly those relating to past poor performance. It will also cover the new debarment list that is being established by central government including what steps will need to be taken by contracting authorities when excluding suppliers, the procedures that will apply when adding a supplier to the list and when a supplier wishes to appeal a debarment decision.

The session will be hosted by Dr Steven Brunning, partner and head of public procurement and Amy Callahan-Page, a senior associate who specialises in contentious public procurement.

Who should attend?

Procurement managers, officers, in-house lawyers and others in contracting authorities and suppliers to the public sector.

Speakers

Dr Steven Brunning, partner

Amy Callahan-Page, senior associate

Strong and effective governance is central to success for housing providers, alongside creating and maintaining high-performing boards, committees and stakeholder groups. All organisations need to consider the rise of remuneration for non-executives (because it’s no longer simply restricted to board members), even if they choose not to pay.

For this session, we’re delighted to be joined by one of the sector’s leading governance and strategy advisers, Angela Lomax, director at DTP. Angela has advised numerous boards on their non-executive recruitment and remuneration strategies. We’ll be pulling from her knowledge and experience as we talk about whether, who and how (much) to pay, the essential link to board member contribution and performance, how remuneration (or lack of) impacts recruitment and retention and crucially, the implications of remuneration to expanding customer involvement in non-executive governance.

Who should attend?

Company secretaries, heads of governance, heads of legal, and executive directors.

Speakers

Victoria Jardine, partner, Anthony Collins

Angela Lomax, director, DTP

The cost of the session is £250 plus VAT per delegate. You will be invoiced upon booking.

Love them or loathe them, the tribunal service has made it clear that video hearings (full hearings and preliminary matters), referred to as CVP hearings are here to stay.

Practical and interactive, this training is based on a recording of a fictional CVP hearing with commentary and advice on specific issues that unfold.

Our Mock CVP training will equip your team to prepare for and participate in virtual hearings, whilst also giving an overview of the Employment Tribunal claims process and of hearings more generally; helping you to understand the main differences between hearings by video and in person.

Who should attend?

HR professionals who are involved in overseeing tribunal cases and supporting those who may be called as witnesses and preparing them for the hearing, or anyone in an organisation who may need to attend a CVP as a witness.

Speaker

Jackie Morris, senior associate

Feedback from previous sessions

‘It was fascinating to see how the process is different under the virtual platform, and the video hearing was very beneficial in making it all real.’

‘Brilliant! A real understanding of what the process looks like, what to do and what not to do. Seeing the actual mock tribunal, this gave a real insight into the process, and what may happen.’

‘I really enjoyed the training session, found it easy to understand, good balance of video material and slides. Very interesting case presented and very good acting!’

‘A great course which allows you to watch the role-play of a ‘real’ CVP hearing. The course gave my team insight into the logistics and mechanics of a CVP hearing and therefore plenty of tips on how to best prepare/attend one on behalf of the Company. The storyline is well designed, and includes many of the things to watch out for at a real hearing. Also great at helping managers understand how an ET works, and what their role could be as a witness.’

If health and social care employers are to provide workplaces which retain their workers, there are many and varied challenges. With input from Care England about the demographic of the sector’s workers, we will use workplace scenarios to address these challenges and provide practical advice and suggestions on building workplaces where workers feel valued and supported.

Who should attend?

HR professionals across all levels.

Speakers

Jackie Morris, senior associate

Hannah Bollard, associate

Anna Dabek, partner

The RSH’s new consumer standards bring the introduction of major changes to the regulatory environment for registered providers from 1 April 2024. In this webinar, we will cover the key changes and implications which are being set out, as well as the likely impact for registered providers on their regulatory arrangements.

Who should attend?

This session is designed for CEOs, executive directors, company secretaries, and heads of governance.

Speakers

Peter Hubbard, managing partner

Victoria Jardine, partner

Sarah Patrice, partner

The Government has commenced its consultation on the new Competence and Conduct Standard and mandatory qualifications for housing managers, which has put some much-needed flesh on the bones of the undetailed training requirements that were trailed in The Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023.

The long-awaited consultation which was launched on 6 February 2024 is now open until 2 April 2024 and we are encouraging all of our registered provider contacts to have their say!

To get yourself prepared to respond, join us at our next ACsess Governance Club where we will explore:

• Who needs to be trained (including certain employees of service providers)
• Who will be responsible for meeting the costs of both the training of staff and staff absence when the relevant staff are being trained
• What the training deadlines are (particularly when considering the availability of training)
• The requirement to have a written policy on managing and developing staff behaviours, skills and experience needed to provide good quality services and a code of conduct firmly embedded in the organisation to drive accountability, transparency and greater control

In the context of all of this, we will also look at the board’s responsibility for compliance with the standard at a time when they are already having to get to grips with the new proactive consumer regulation regime and complying with the Housing Ombudsman’s new Complaint Handling Code.

Who should attend?

Company secretaries, heads of governance, heads of legal, and executive directors.

Speakers

Katherine Sinclair, legal director

Catherine Simpson, senior associate

The provisions of the Charities Act 2022 have been brought into force in three tranches during autumn 2022, spring 2023 and now 7 March 2024. This live session will look at the third and (nearly) final set of provisions which are in force from 7 March 2024. We will cover:

• The changes to the way charities will amend their governing documents
• Changes to the restrictions on disposing of and mortgaging charity land
• The information which must be included in documents disposing of charity land
• New powers relating to the appointment of charity trustees
• New powers relating to the remuneration of charity trustees
• The changes in relation to charity mergers

Who should attend?

This session is designed for charity trustees, senior managers and anyone involved in charity governance who would like to understand the latest tranche of technical changes brought about by the Charities Act 2022.

Speakers

Edwina Turner, legal director
Laura Mynott, senior associate
Catherine Gibbons, associate

Findings of maladministration by the Housing Ombudsman have been one of the highest profile risks for the housing association sector during 2023. With proactive consumer regulation and the statutory Complaints Handling Code due to come into force on 1 April 2024, we will hear from Richard Blakeway, the Housing Ombudsman, on the key risk areas for providers under the new code and how they should respond.

Attendees to this confidential, client only session will benefit from hearing how best to prepare for the statutory code and what emerging good practice looks like.

Who should attend?

Company secretaries, heads of governance, heads of legal, executive directors

Speakers

Peter Hubbard, managing partner

Richard Blakeway, Housing Ombudsman

Both the RSH and the Housing Ombudsman expect landlords to collect and collate relevant information about their tenants, their services and their performance and to use this to deliver excellent homes and services compliantly with the law and regulation. But what does this look like in practice? One of the housing sector’s leading independent consultants, Andy Roskell of the David Tolson Partnership, will explore with us how to ensure the board cuts through to understand the data it receives, challenges appropriately what it shows and demonstrates how this is hard-wired into its decision-making, as expected by the RSH under the new regulatory regime.

Who should attend?

Company secretaries, heads of governance, heads of legal, executive directors

Speakers

Victoria Jardine, partner and member of the governance, funding and corporate team

Andy Roskell, managing director of the David Tolson Partnership