This week’s actions are:
Contract negotiations: lawyers involved in negotiating outsourcing contracts should read our recently published article on exit management to:
- Remind themselves of the issues to have in mind in pre-contract negotiations.
- Ensure that an effective exit strategy is set out in a contract’s termination provisions.
Environmental Information Regulations: the Information Commissioner’s recent decisions in FS50289581 and FS50245247 are a useful reminder to public authorities to check that their policies on handling information requests reiterate the importance of considering whether a request for information is in fact environmental information and should therefore be handled under the EIR regime rather than FOIA.
Planning: planning officers should be aware that the amended Planning Policy Statement 3 gives local planning authorities the freedom to prevent “garden grabbing” and overdevelopment of local neighbourhoods.
Procurement: when preparing PFI project agreements, procurement advisers should consider the note on data handling and the standardisation of PFI Contracts Version 4 and, if relevant to a particular project, consider incorporating (with appropriate amendments) the information assurance and security provisions in the OGC model ICT agreement.
Serious Case Reviews: Directors of Social Services should ensure that members of their Local Safeguarding Children Boards are aware that revisions to the guidance means that overview reports and executive summaries of all new Serious Case reviews, initiated on or after 10 June 2010, now have to be published in an anonymised form unless there are compelling reasons relating to the welfare of the child.
Use of school premises: the decision of the High Court in Dore and others v Leicestershire County Council is a timely reminder for local authorities and schools that a formal agreement should be entered into where school premises, or parts of such premises, are let to community groups. These agreements should set out each parties’ obligations in relation to:
- Contributing towards the upkeep and general maintenance of the premises.
- Heating, lighting and caretaking costs.
Vetting and barring: following the government’s announcement that the vetting and barring scheme is to be remodelled, employers should be aware that the registration of new employees with the Independent Safeguarding Authority has been halted, pending the government’s review.
Consultation: the draft terms of reference consulted on by the Equality and Human Rights Commission earlier in the year on whether public bodies and public transport providers are fulfilling their legal duties to prevent disability-related harassment are now being consulted on. The consultation closes on 10 September 2010.