Olwen advises on governance and standards; the local government and health integration agenda; devolution, reorganisation and restructuring; and shared services and trading opportunities for councils. She has previously held roles including Chief Executive at West Midlands LGA and West Midlands Regional Assembly; Corporate Director at Staffordshire County Council; and Associate Director at the Audit Commission, and most recently, partner at Bevan Brittan. She is also a non-executive director of Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust.
Olwen joins a local government sector leadership team that includes partners Mark Cook, Richard Brooks and Jon Coane, and associates Gayle Monk and Cynyr Rhys.
Mark Cook , partner at ACS commented: “Having Olwen join the team is good news for local government and fantastic for ACS. Her local government pedigree and wealth of experience will help to shape and lead our already successful team to achieve our goal to be a leading law firm for local government and an indispensable resource for council members and officers.”
Olwen added: “This is a great time to join a unique firm like ACS and I’m looking forward to working with Mark and the local government team. I am excited to help develop the excellent work that has already been done and continue to build the reputation of the firm. Our offer will be to help councils navigate safely through the many challenges they face, including meeting their duties to support the vulnerable, and become self-funding by 2020.”
Please contact Kate Granger
As we enter a recession, we have been here before, and a key question is what did we learn and how can we benefit from that learning?
It is anticipated that as lockdown restrictions ease, and particularly with children and young adults returning to education, cases of meningitis will start to rise.
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.
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