The Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA) has updated its website pulling together information and guidance on student complaints relating to Covid-19 and industrial action. This is well worth a read for anyone dealing with student complaints particularly as a new academic year starts with uncertainty over what the winter will bring in relation to Covid and as the University and College Union plan ballots for pre-Christmas strikes. We will pick up on some of the themes arising from the guidance over the coming weeks but in the meantime here is a summary of what is included: Guidance on ..read more

The Skills & Post-16 Education Bill was introduced to Parliament in the House of Lords and contains a range of provisions for further and higher education, including in respect of the role and functions of the Office for Students, the regulator for higher education in England. The explanatory notes to the Bill states that the purpose of Part 2 of the Bill is to make “explicit the ability of the Office for Students (OfS) to assess the quality of higher education provided by registered higher education providers in England by reference to student outcomes.” Clause 17 (5) of the Bill gives th ..read more

The Office for Students has recently published Prevent monitoring data. Some emerging themes are: The number of referrals to Channel is small but increasing. In 2019-20, there were 37 instances where cases were formally referred to Channel, a year on year increase from 24 instances in 2018-19 and 15 in 2017-18.  However numbers remain low given the total number of institutions (300 in 2019/20) and their students covered by the returns.  Contrast for instance 84,419 and 94,428 welfare cases referred for specialist advice and support in 2017-18 and 2018-19 respectively. The number o ..read more

In the aftermath of the Grenfell Tragedy, the government introduced a raft of proposals and measures to address both the issue of cladding as well as other fire safety issues, including: Advice on action (including the removal and replacement of cladding in some instances) that should be taken regarding certain categories of multi-occupied residential buildings with specific types of cladding and/or insulation. In some instances the guidance relates to residential buildings that are over 18 metres in height, but some of the guidance applies to residential buildings of any height with resident ..read more

The possibility of new Government policy introducing so–called “vaccine passports” requirements across the HE/student relationship has been reported through a variety of media sources this week, prompting strong views both for and against.    While it remains to be seen whether and how any such policy evolves, many institutions may already be considering requiring students to be vaccinated in specific contexts.  One obvious example is institutions active in social care, given that those working in that field  (including students and learners) must (with limited exceptions ..read more

The National Security and Investment Act 2021 (the “Act”) is the UK’s most recent piece of legislation to protect sensitive sectors of the UK economy which are relevant to UK national security.  Why does the Act matter to you? At first glance, the Act may be perceived as governing high-risk national security deals with foreign investors. However, the scope of the Act is much wider: it will apply to education and research institutions, charities and not-for-profits as well as for profit organisations of the private sector. It will apply to ‘investments’ by national and foreign parties. The ..read more

The National Microbiology Framework is a new national public health procurement scheme. It will help to ensure laboratories as well as other diagnostic and treatment services have easier and faster access to essential supplies and services with over 170 framework suppliers and their technologies. The framework is open to a wide range of public sector bodies including the NHS, academic and charitable bodies and provides access to approved suppliers of tools for sample analysis, diagnostics and research and development across the infectious disease spectrum. On 6 July (12:00 - 13:00), Mills and ..read more

The government has recently issued a couple of new Procurement Policy Notes (“PPNs”). The first PPN, PPN 05/21, sets out information and guidance for contracting authorities on the National Procurement Policy Statement. It applies to all contracting authorities – central government bodies, local authorities, universities (those that are contracting authorities), and NHS bodies. It requires all authorities to take into account three broad national priority outcomes, as follows. Creation of new businesses, jobs and skills Sub-priorities here include increasing opportunities for training and entr ..read more

TalkingHeds is an occasional conversational style vlog series where Mills & Reeve colleagues discuss a range of topics in higher education. Linked below are the discussions we’ve had so far: Staff mental health in higher education The vaccination rollout and the return to work Is the university campus dead? Sexual misconduct New vlogs are posted on the Insights section of our website and on our YouTube channel ..read more

The High Court’s decision in February 2021 not to disqualify the directors (i.e. the trustees) of the charity, Kids Company, for financial mismanagement was widely reported. Hailed as good and comforting news for trustees, the case does highlight many issues charities need to consider. One of our partners, Neil Smyth, sets out these issues including: the legal principles trustees of a charity in financial distress need to be aware of under charity and insolvency legislation; the personal liability of trustees and the role of trustees and the executive and the importance of a clear management ..read more