Quality Assurance meaning

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) has released an assessment of the Combined Heat and Power Quality Assurance (CHPQA) programme, evaluating its advantages, effects on operators’ investment choices, decarbonisation pathways, and stakeholder insights...

In this issue: Local government finance Governance Social housing Education Children's social care Adult social care Public procurement Planning Healthcare Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Local government finance MHCLG confirms £78bn final local government finance settlement with fairer funding reforms The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has announced a £78bn Final Local Government Finance Settlement, alongside a £440m Recovery Grant boost to support the councils facing the greatest pressures, addressing deprivation and enhancing local services. The package offers multi-year certainty and features measures including writing off 90% of historic SEND deficits, a £272m increase for homelessness services, and £39.6m in mayoral capacity funding to protect people at risk of homelessness and improve local outcomes. Using an evidence-led approach, drawing on the latest indices of multiple deprivation, MHCLG says the reforms will direct a fair share to communities most affected by past reductions. See: LNB News 10/02/2026...

The Department for Education’s response to the consultation sets out the particulars of these proposals. From this point, the government will refer to the sector as ‘non-school alternative provision’. Looking forward, ministers intend the role of non-school alternative provision to be time-limited and to ‘supplement learning delivered in school, re-engage children with the school system and provide the skills and confidence needed to move successfully into education, training or employment after leaving school’. The consultation response notes that, in many local authorities, there are already arrangements in place to quality assure the non-school alternative provision those LAs commission. The government wishes to build upon that good practice, while remaining worried that ‘some already vulnerable children are placed for indefinite periods in non-school alternative provision with adequate child safeguarding measures, health and safety checks or attendance monitoring’. The onus will fall on local authorities to make sure provision in their areas complies in full with the new national standards before it can be commissioned by their officers. The effectiveness, reach and...

The legislative framework The Pension Schemes Act 2017 The Pension Schemes Act 2017 (PSA 2017) is designed to strengthen safeguards for members of master trusts by tightening oversight of master trusts and addressing risk areas inherent in the master trust model when set beside other occupational pension schemes (such as profit-driven objectives, large cohorts of disengaged savers, and the potential jeopardy to pension pots if a master trust collapses). In summary, from 1 October 2018: master trusts must secure authorisation from the Pensions Regulator to operate as a master trust (with existing master trusts given until 31 March 2019 to submit an authorisation application, subject to any extension of the deadline granted by the Pensions Regulator). Five conditions must be met before the Pensions Regulator will grant authorisation—see: Authorisation criteria, below the Pensions Regulator has responsibility for the ongoing supervision of master trusts—see: Ongoing supervision and The Pensions Regulator’s proposed approach to supervision and enforcement, below master trusts must identify and manage ‘triggering...

Communicating your viewpoint with calm assurance is vital for any legal professional, yet many of us at times feel far from assertive. This Practice Note sets out what may trigger fluctuations in your assertiveness and what you can do to support yourself. What is assertiveness? People often speak about assertiveness without clearly stating what they mean. Collins defines it as ‘the quality of being able to express one’s opinions or desires in a clear and direct manner’. Assertiveness involves trusting yourself and standing up for your own rights while still respecting the rights of others. It is founded on the belief that other people’s needs and rights are just as important as our own. Assertive individuals can express themselves confidently, explain their position and what outcome they want, without slipping into passive, aggressive or manipulative behaviour. Those with strong assertiveness skills show genuine interest in and care for others. They have high self‑esteem and faith in themselves, which they project without overwhelming anyone. Such people communicate their...

Background The term ‘MMC’ The Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government’s specialist sub-group has produced a definition framework for MMC, setting out seven categories: Category 1-Pre-Manufacturing-3D primary structural systems Category 2-Pre-Manufacturing-2D primary structural systems Category 3-Pre-Manufacturing-Non systemised structural components Category 4-Pre-Manufacturing-Additive Manufacturing Category 5-Pre-Manufacturing-Non-structural assemblies and sub-assemblies Category 6-Traditional building product led site labour reduction/productivity improvements Category 7-Site process led labour reduction/productivity improvements The framework seeks to standardise and clarify how MMC is described, capturing the wide array of innovative construction approaches now used across the market. Further details can be found here. For practitioners, establishing whether your scheme uses MMC and how extensively it influences delivery is valuable-particularly for key contractual risks such as structuring payments, title or insolvency exposure, programme, design responsibility, addressing climate change, and handling issues like materials shortages or fire safety. Construction Sector trends The construction industry has witnessed marked progress in off-site delivery, reflecting MMC’s increasing...

1 Management commitment Person accountable for the Product Safety Incident Plan (PSIP) [ Insert name and contact details of senior person in the organisation responsible for leading, developing and periodically reviewing the policy, and reporting on its operation to the Board ] Plan Review Date [ Insert date of next plan review ] 1.1 [ Insert organisation name ] aims to ensure every product it [ produces AND/OR distributes ] is safe, of high quality and meets all applicable legislation and standards. [ Insert organisation name ] evaluates those products and acts to remove, or, where that is not achievable, to reduce, any identified safety risks. 1.2 [ Insert organisation name ] achieves this through quality assurance, ongoing product monitoring [ , review of customer complaints and product returns, ] and risk assessment, in accordance with the relevant section of the PSIP. 1.3 The PSIP has been shaped with contributions from across the business, including [ eg design, production, quality assurance, customer services,...

Client’s needs Check | Outcome | Person responsible | Date Have we located and completely addressed each query raised in the brief? ☐ Yes ☐ No If not, which questions were overlooked and for what reason? Have we shown compliance with all elements of the selection criteria? ☐ Yes ☐ No If not, which criteria remain unmet in our submission and why? Does the client employ specific jargon or preferred terms? ☐ Yes ☐ No If so, what are they, and have we woven them into our proposal? Does the brief highlight any pain points or concerns for the client? ☐ Yes ☐ No If so, what are they, and have we offered remedies and/or evidenced our expertise? Do we have insight into the client’s values? ☐ Yes ☐ No If so, what are they, and how have we shown alignment with them? Have we engaged with this client recently, or are we presently delivering work for them?...

This Agreement is entered into on [ date ] Parties [ insert name ], a company incorporated in England and Wales, with registered number [ insert company number ] and registered office at [ insert address ] ( Licensor ); [ insert name ], a company incorporated in England and Wales, with registered number [ insert company number ], and registered office at [ insert address ] ( Licensee ) (Each of the Licensor and the Licensee is a party and, collectively, the Licensor and the Licensee are the parties.) Background The Licensor is the [ registered ] owner of certain trade marks [ , copyright ] [ and designs ] concerning [ insert character name ], the well-known fictional character[ s ] as appearing in [ insert details of relevant film, cartoon, comic book, computer game etc ]. The Licensee is [ insert background to licence/relevant transaction ]. The Licensor has agreed to grant a...