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01 November 2018 / Nicholas Dobson
Issue: 7815 / Categories: Features , Public
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Taking care in the public interest

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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

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

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Firm appoints head of intellectual property to drive northern growth

NEWS
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NLJ this week: No such thing as a ‘Welsh seat’
Talk of a reserved ‘Welsh seat’ on the Supreme Court is misplaced. In NLJ this week, Professor Graham Zellick KC explains that the Constitutional Reform Act treats ‘England and Wales’ as one jurisdiction, with no statutory Welsh slot
NLJ this week: Jury reform risks justice for efficiency’s sake
The government’s plan to curb jury trials has sparked ‘jury furore’. Writing in NLJ this week, David Locke, partner at Hill Dickinson, says the rationale is ‘grossly inadequate’
NLJ this week: Crypto fightback offers ‘new frontier for law’
A year after the $1.5bn Bybit heist, crypto fraud is booming—but so is recovery. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Holloway, founder and CEO of M2 Recovery, warns that scams hit at least $14bn in 2025, fuelled by ‘pig butchering’ cons and AI deepfakes
NLJ this week: Time to revive the duty to report crime?
After Woodcock confirmed no general duty to warn, debate turns to the criminal law. Writing in NLJ this week, Charles Davey of The Barrister Group urges revival of misprision or a modern equivalent
NLJ this week: When are experts truly ‘necessary’?
Family courts are tightening control of expert evidence. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Chris Pamplin says there is ‘no automatic right’ to call experts; attendance must be ‘necessary in the interests of justice’ under FPR Pt 25
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