We carry out innovative, ground-breaking work for commissioning clients including NHS England, commissioning support units (CSUs) and more than 100 clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) nationwide.
Our experience includes advising on the establishment and merger of CCGs (including the recent merger of eight CCGs in Kent and Medway), joint commissioning arrangements between the NHS and local government, supporting personalised commissioning teams with mental capacity issues, Continuing Healthcare challenges and individual funding requests—supporting some of the most significant service transformation programmes in the NHS, such as Improving Healthcare Together in South West London—and helping our clients to develop governance structures and contractual models to implement the requirement in the NHS Long Term Plan to establish integrated care systems throughout England.
Because of the volume of commissioning work we carry out, and the geographical spread of that work from Cornwall to Tyneside, we have a team of specialist lawyers dedicated to our commissioning clients who are familiar with the key issues you face, and can share their insights from our commissioning work nationally.

How can Capsticks help?

  • Commercial and contracts

    We advise our NHS commissioner clients on a wide range of their commercial and contractual needs from standard NHS contracts to innovative procurements for integrated services.

    We are market leaders on the procurement requirements for public sector collaborations and joint working arrangements. We advise on all aspects of options appraisals for integration, section 75 partnership agreements, alliance agreements and public sector collaboration agreements.

    We ensure our clients understand the contracts that they are entering into and how they can appropriately performance manage their contractors to ensure that quality services and value for money are not just obtained at the outset, but through the life of the contract.

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  • Employment and pensions

    We advise on all aspects of the commissioning workforce (including terms of appointment for governing body members), the staffing issues arising from CCG mergers, whistleblowing and the raising of concerns, and the application of TUPE to commissioning decisions. Our employment law specialists provide a one-stop-shop for employment tribunal claims, working with our clients to prepare the case and representing them before the Tribunal.

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  • Governance

    We advise clients on the powers and duties of commissioners, arrangements for joint commissioning and delegation of functions, managing conflicts of interest, and the development of governance frameworks for integrated care systems and other system-wide collaborations.

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  • Judicial reviews

    We support CCG decision-making by reducing the risk of judicial review challenges and defending claims when issued. We have a strong track record in successfully defending judicial review applications in respect matters such as service changes; individual funding decisions; commissioning policies and CHC eligibility.

  • Personalised commissioning

    We advise on responsibility disputes, funding disputes, continuing healthcare (CHC) funding, Children and Young People's Continuing Care (CYPCC).

  • Primary care commissioning

    We support on all legal aspects of primary care commissioning including the award of contracts, contract management processes, terminations and the re-allocation of patient lists.

  • Procurement

    We regularly advise clients on all stages of the procurement process—from reviewing and amending adverts, preparing the procurement documentation, attending bidders’ days, contributing to evaluation reports to providing standard form rejection letters. We not only advise on the law, but also on how practical risks can be mitigated and managed.

  • Public involvement and consultation

    Our team advises on commissioners’ legal duties in respect of consultation with local authorities on substantial service changes, and public involvement. Our support includes advising on option evaluation; reviewing pre-consultation business case (PCBC), consultation documents and decision-making business case (DMBC); and responding to referrals to the Independent Reconfiguration Panel (IRP).   

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They understand the primary care landscape both from the commissioner and provider side.
Legal 500 UK 2021