Local authorities are planning budget reductions ranging between 14 and 20 per cent over the next 12 months. With councillors and the public understandably anxious to protect front line services many local authorities have embarked on business transformation reviews and are adopting shared services, whether through public-public arrangements, or with private partners through incremental service partnerships or outsourcing.
The UK "no challenge culture" has gone.
Recently more contractors are challenging procurement processes in the courts and winning substantial damages awards and halting contracts.
The European Remedies Directive was implemented in the UK in December 2009. The implications of this are twofold. Firstly, greater obligations are placed on contracting authorities and the remedies available to economic operators are more extensive. The Courts may also, in certain circumstances,
Local authorities will need to make difficult decisions in the current economic climate regarding resources and select key deliverable regeneration schemes. In our experience the private sector will respond to the right offer, and this offer can be set up to assist the local authority and plug those short term revenue gaps. This bulletin outlines options for local authorities making tough financial decisions.
As a result of changes made under the Companies Act 2006, private companies may reduce share capital (which for these purposes includes share premium and any capital redemption reserve) by the directors making a declaration as to the company's solvency, known as a solvency statement, and the shareholders of the company approving the reduction.
Increasingly residential developers are finding that there is a need for a Combined Heat and Power system (more commonly referred to as a CHP) as part of their scheme, whether as a requirement of planning or to meet sustainability objectives.