header-logo header-logo

Home Login E-newsletter About us
01 November 2018 / Nicholas Dobson
Issue: 7815 / Categories: Features , Public
printer mail-detail

Taking care in the public interest

© Copyright LexisNexis 2026. All Rights Reserved.

Accountable Care Organisations: a new model for the provision of health & social care? Nicholas Dobson reports

  • The proposals by the Secretary of State and the NHS for Accountable Care Organisations are lawful.
  • The policy development point has not yet been reached where the principles of transparency and clarity apply.

What are Accountable Care Organisations (ACOs) and why should public lawyers be interested? Perhaps because on 5 July 2018 Green J gave an important judgment on what he thought was ‘an issue of great public interest’. This was whether the Secretary of State and NHS England could lawfully introduce the ACO as a new model for the provision of health and social care.

A House of Commons Briefing Paper (issued 6 July 2018) indicated that an ACO is ‘an area-based model of healthcare provision, where a single body takes responsibility for the health needs of its entire population’. According to the paper, ACOs usually involve one or more providers collaborating to meet the needs of a defined area and taking responsibility for a budget to deliver a range of services. ACOs also

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Read All
Sponsored by
Hogan Lovells—Lisa Quelch

Hogan Lovells—Lisa Quelch

Partner hire strengthens global infrastructure and energy financing practice

Sherrards—Jan Kunstyr

Sherrards—Jan Kunstyr

Legal director bolsters international expertise in dispute resolution team

Muckle LLP—Stacey Brown

Muckle LLP—Stacey Brown

Corporate governance and company law specialist joins the team

NEWS
Read All
Legal notice: Notice under the Trustee Act 1925

NOTICE UNDER THE TRUSTEE ACT 1925

HERBERT SMITH STAFF PENSION SCHEME (THE “SCHEME”)

NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND BENEFICIARIES UNDER SECTION 27 OF THE TRUSTEE ACT 1925
Emergency lawyers on call as international regulatory actions soar
Law firm HFW is offering clients lawyers on call for dawn raids, sanctions issues and other regulatory emergencies
NLJ this week: Employment law’s fine margins
From gender-critical speech to notice periods and incapability dismissals, employment law continues to turn on fine distinctions. In his latest employment law brief for NLJ, Ian Smith of Norwich Law School reviews a cluster of recent decisions, led by Bailey v Stonewall, where the Court of Appeal clarified the limits of third-party liability under the Equality Act
NLJ this week: Promises broken on non-molestation orders?
Non-molestation orders are meant to be the frontline defence against domestic abuse, yet their enforcement often falls short. Writing in NLJ this week, Jeni Kavanagh, Jessica Mortimer and Oliver Kavanagh analyse why the criminalisation of breach has failed to deliver consistent protection
NLJ this week: Assisted dying under the legal microscope
Assisted dying remains one of the most fraught fault lines in English law, where compassion and criminal liability sit uncomfortably close. Writing in NLJ this week, Julie Gowland and Barny Croft of Birketts examine how acts motivated by care—booking travel, completing paperwork, or offering emotional support—can still fall within the wide reach of the Suicide Act 1961
Copyright © 2026 LexisNexis
back-to-top-scroll