Andersons promotes health care partnership
24 Aug 05
Seminar discusses new vehicles for public-private ventures
Edinburgh legal firm Anderson Strathern has hosted a seminar which explored new joint venture approaches to delivering community-based health and social care facilities.
The Scottish Executive’s strategy is to encourage improvements in primary and social care, through joint ventures to deliver the infrastructure to support these. The Executive is to invest £65 million across Scotland to provide modern facilities for staff and patients.
The seminar focused in particular on how the strategy will be developed in Scotland. One method is LIFT (Local Improvement Finance Trust), a joint venture vehicle launched in England in 2001. There are currently 42 LIFT projects operating, and the Scottish Executive wishes to build upon the experiences learnt in England.
The Smoking, Health & Social Care (Scotland) Act 2005 enables ministers and health boards to participate in similar joint ventures in Scotland. The Executive has established a Joint Premises Project Board to consider and develop appropriate new models for Scotland.
Karyn Watt, construction and projects partner at Anderson Strathern, said: “Joint venture vehicles will allow health boards and the Scottish Ministers to form joint venture companies with local authorities, other care providers and the private sector to deliver modern, fit-for-purpose facilities.”
Anderson Strathern was joined at the seminar by solicitors from the English firm Addleshaw Goddard, who have acted on both sides of numerous LIFT schemes, the Scottish Executive, NHS Ayrshire and Arran, Cyril Sweett and the Royal Bank of Scotland.