We’re using the new year here at Practical Law Public Sector to reflect on the triumphs and traumas of the past year for us and our subscribers.
In this post we take a look at our most popular content of 2014 and start to think about what the year ahead has in store.
Looking at our most-read content, it is clear that the following areas are of particular interest to our subscribers:
- Public procurement issues.
- Judicial review.
- Freedom of information.
- Employment issues, including TUPE.
- State aid.
- Right to buy.
- Academies and other education issues.
- Shared services and partnership working.
- Housing and anti-social behaviour.
Digging deeper, we can reveal that Practical Law Public Sector’s top five legal updates for 2014 were:
- Crown Commercial Service publishes new model services contract.
- EU Procurement Directives to come into force on 17 April 2014.
- Election timetable confirms purdah to commence on 30 March 2015.
- Criminal Justice and Courts Bill 2013-14 and government response to judicial review reform consultation published.
- Government publishes draft SIs raising magistrates’ court fines.
In addition to the updates above, our Looking forward to 2014 piece was extremely popular. Watch out for the 2015 version, which will be published early in the new year and will take a detailed look at what to expect in several areas of public sector law during 2015.
During 2014, Practical Law Public Sector editors also dealt with over 1,000 feedback queries from our subscribers on issues ranging from planning, right to buy, procurement, shared services, judicial review and social housing. Examples of the type of questions we have answered include:
- What issues should a local authority operating a leader and cabinet style of governance consider when moving to a committee system under the Localism Act 2011?.
- What information can I request under the Freedom of Information Act on the reasons for the decision in a public procurement bidding process?.
- My local authority wants to sell services to local authorities, other public bodies and the wider market. Do we have to set up a company to do so?.
Our top ten maintained resources in 2014 were:
- Public procurement in the UK.
- Services agreement for use by public sector bodies.
- Judicial review procedure: a practical guide.
- Freedom of information.
- Ask the team: public procurement FAQs.
- Judicial review: an introduction.
- Public procurement case tracker.
- Public procurement in the UK: a quick guide.
- General Practice Direction on Pre-Action Conduct.
- New remedies in public procurement law.
Much of our content is written following requests from subscribers. If there are any resources that you would particularly like Practical Law Public Sector to produce, please email us using the Ask system. Our “looking forward to 2015” legal update to be published early in the new year will include details of our provisional publishing schedule for 2015.
2014 saw many public sector organisations having to deal with significant changes in the law and, inevitably, the same is expected for 2015. Whatever the outcome of the 2015 general election, it is likely to have profound implications for public sector lawyers, which will make for a busy year. We look forward to helping our subscribers stay in touch with the key developments for them, and to providing guidance on how they can deliver the best service possible.
Merry Christmas everyone, and a happy new year from Practical Law Public Sector.