PLC Public Sector reports:
We are told that the time when the public sector cost cutting starts to bite will depend on who wins the forthcoming General Election. However, one thing that is certain is that the cuts will come, whoever wins, and that the bite is likely to be fierce. This need to make savings will not relieve public sector bodies from their duty to maintain and improve standards of service delivery. Therefore, new innovative models of service delivery will need to be developed that are capable of delivering more for less.
One way of achieving this will be through closer working between the public and third sectors. In this post, we look at the latest Government guidance on successful commissioning from the third sector and also detail the materials we are developing to assist public bodies looking to work in this area.
With a focus on the financial relationship between the public and third sectors, the National Audit Office has recently published guidance aimed at helping local commissioners in the public sector get better value for money from third sector organisations.
The stated aims of the guidance are to:
- Clearly set out the main issues for effective financial relationships with third sector organisations.
- Make use of existing guidance in an accessible and practical way.
- Dispel some of the “myths” that exist around commissioning with the third sector.
- Improve practices to achieve greater value for money.
With the backing of, among others, the Audit Commission, the Commission for the Compact, the Department of Communities and Local Government, the Department of Health and HM Treasury, it is likely that the new guidance will need to feature more prominently in local government decision making than some guidance that emanates from central government. Of particular interest to local government lawyers will be the detailed consideration of whether partnering with the third sector should be based on a grant structure or follow a formal public procurement process with a contract ultimately let. Understanding the underlying issues in making this decision should give lawyers a greater knowledge of the context of the legal advice they are giving. In turn, this should assist them to improve the quality, and usefulness, of that advice. In a similar vein, the guidance also includes sections on how service delivery can be structured and also how it should be monitored. Both of these sections will be relevant when drafting a contract (if this is the delivery structure chosen).
The guidance provides a good insight for local authority lawyers, who in the current economic climate must, more than ever, take all available steps to understand the wider context and implications of the legal advice they give. To help give this legal advice, we are developing various new materials in this area, such as:
- Three new practice notes on:
- Partnership working between the public sector and third sector.
- Social enterprises.
- Local authority companies and joint ventures.
- An overview of the legal issues involved in shared services projects.
- A grant agreement.
All of which will be published shortly. These will supplement our existing materials, such as practice notes on partnerships between local government and NHS bodies and community interest companies.
We are also always keen to get user feedback on new areas that you think we should cover. If there is any document, in this or any other area, which we do not currently provide that you think would be useful to local government lawyers, please do not hesitate to click on the feedback button in the top right hand corner of the screen and let us know. Our future content plans are driven by user feedback and your thoughts will be taken into account.