Almost 1,000 adult social care staff have transferred from Staffordshire County Council to the new Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Partnership NHS Trust.
The landmark transfer of services, worth £230million, was supported by Anthony Collins Solicitors, which teamed up with Staffordshire County Council’s in-house legal team to improve efficiencies.
The new partnership trust is expected to save taxpayers in the region of £30million a year by streamlining and integrating care. Changes include improved use of hospital and community beds, reduced delays in transferring patients from hospital to home and an increase in the amount of care delivered in patients’ homes.
Specialists from Anthony Collins Solicitors’ public sector team advised Staffordshire County Council on areas including contracts and project management. The firm partnered with the council’s in-house legal team, which allowed the authority to generate income and save money on fees.
Chris Plumley, local government partner at the firm, said:
This was a huge undertaking for the council and NHS trust, the largest healthcare partnership of its kind in England. For us, it was a great experience to be working on a hugely significant project, particularly in the successful way we liaised with the in-house legal team.
As we continue to emerge from lockdown measures and deal with local measures and the short and long term economic impact of Covid-19, local authorities will need to re-assess how services will be delivered for years to come.
The Government first announced plans for a shared ownership right to buy in October 2019. At the time the sector raised concerns about the impact the plans would have on housing associations ability to borrow. An election and a pandemic later the Government announced, during the CIH Housing Festival last week, the return of the right to shared ownership as part of its Affordable Homes Programme (AHP).
Two final pieces of the possession jigsaw have been published on 15 September 2020. Mr Justice Knowles’ working group on possession proceedings has issued its guidance on the “overall arrangements” for possession proceedings.
One change proposed by the Building Safety Bill is the introduction of a duty holder regime, which will see statutory responsibility for the safety of higher risk buildings placed on key individuals
Throughout this pandemic, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has been publishing various “Statements on Coronavirus” (Statements) which provide guidance on consumer rights during this time.
A recent increase in COVID-19 cases in the UK means new measures are being put in place in an effort to reduce the risk of a second wave. Whilst the impact of COVID-19 continues to be felt, it is important to remain focused on the sector’s road to recovery.
Sometimes half an hour at a conference gives you the reality that has been staring you in the face all along. That was my experience watching “Change is on the Horizon”
Following our recent e-briefing on Possession Notices, Helen Tucker and Emilie Pownall from our housing litigation team discuss the impact of the changes on social landlords.
Not only has the possession stay been extended until 20 September, the notice periods to be given to tenants has been extended in certain circumstances with some important exceptions.
The Court has confirmed that a party cannot withhold its consent in order to re-write the original bargain.
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