
Luton Borough Council was prosecuted by the HSE late last year following an incident at a high school in which an assistant headteacher was attacked by a pupil and left with life-changing injuries.
A consultation on the revised VFM Standard was issued last week, which will inform revisions on the Standard which it is proposed will come into force from April 2018. The draft Standard demonstrates a significant shift in focus, echoing previous statements from the Regulator regarding the importance of embedding VFM within business planning and assessing whether structures are “fit for the future”.
The new VFM Standard has been trailed for a number of months by the Regulator and will, under the proposals, follow the expected path of replacing the current narrative self-assessment model with a more structured mechanism including performance against VFM Metrics proposed by the Regulator.
These proposed performance Metrics, which are contained in a separate technical note, were drawn from the Sector Scorecard pilot and would include:
The draft revised VFM Standard has clearly stated aims of encouraging investment in existing homes and the delivery of new homes, ensuring consideration of VFM is built into strategic planning and providing methods of greater comparability across the sector in relation to VFM. Key points to note within the draft VFM Standard are:
As expected, the consultation confirms the introduction of a Code of Practice to complement the Standard and provide clarity on what is expected of RPs under the VFM Standard (although, as with the Governance and Financial Viability Standard Code of Practice, the Code is for illustrative purposes only). The draft VFM Code of Practice is included in the consultation paper.
For many, and particularly in light of the previous spate of downgrades in relation to VFM reporting the moves towards greater clarity in relation to reporting and requirements of the Standard will be welcomed. However, the draft Standard does demonstrate an interesting move towards potential greater scrutiny of diversified activities, particularly with the requirement to assess VFM across the entirety of group structures. We anticipate we will see an even greater drive across the sector to reduce “wastage” in corporate structures and to consider consolidation.
The consultation, which remains open until 20 December 2017, can be found here.
The Regulator is also seeking feedback on the proposed Metrics, to be submitted by 22 November 2017.
Please contact Gemma Bell.
Luton Borough Council was prosecuted by the HSE late last year following an incident at a high school in which an assistant headteacher was attacked by a pupil and left with life-changing injuries.
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