The annual Bar Council Employed Bar Awards were held last night at Gray’s Inn.

The awards celebrated the wealth of talent and vital contributions made by employed barristers across numerous practice areas.

Our nominations included:

• Cabinet Office, Commercial Policy Team, Legal Team of the Year
• DHSC Legal Advisers, Legal Team of the Year
• National Security and Counter Terrorism Team, Legal Team of the Year
• Sam Littlejohns, Employed Barrister of the Year

Legal team of the year

GLD were proud to sponsor the Legal Team of the Year award and all those shortlisted for the category were government legal teams, showing the true of talent in GLD.

The National Security and Counter Terrorism Litigation Team were praised for their contribution to supporting the national security and defence of the UK, particularly during the pandemic. Whilst the Cabinet Office’s Commercial Policy Team were recognised for their work developing and delivering the Procurement Bill, a large technical bill which reformed the way government spends £300 billion per annum.

DHSC Legal Advisers took home the Legal Team of the Year prize for their crucial role supporting the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The team ensured the rule of law was upheld even in the face of the extreme pressure by providing nuanced, solution-focused, and accessible advice.

Working in a rapidly changing environment, they had to consider the emerging public health picture, novel public law and human rights implications and legal considerations from across all of government.

Professor Chris Whitty even endorsed the work of the team, saying:

The in-house team has been remarkable … to ensure protection for the whole population from COVID in a way which was manageable for citizens, and legally robust.

Employed Barrister of the Year

For the Employed Barrister of the Year in the Public Sector award Sam Littlejohns was recognised for his tireless work with the Department of Health & Social Care Legal Advisers on COVID-19 public health issues from February 2020 to June 2021. He showed impressive leadership, motivating a small team who were working under unprecedented pressure.

Congratulations to all those who were nominated.

It was brilliant that so many GLD teams and colleagues were recognised for their vitally important and hard work supporting the government and ensuring that they govern well within the rule of law.

A full list of winners and shortlisted teams and individuals is available on the Bar Council website.

• Move will streamline data sharing processes across the NHS – benefitting patients while ensuring rigorous data protection safeguards remain in place
• Improved data sharing will ensure patients get more streamlined care and can make more informed choices about how and where they access care

Patients will benefit from more streamlined care and be able to make more informed choices about how and where they access treatment after plans to transform NHS data sharing were brought forward.

The Department for Health and Social Care said the proposed transfer of NHS Digital’s functions into NHS England which were due to happen at the end of March 2023 would now happen in early January 2023.

The move will create a single statutory body responsible for data and digital technology for the NHS – meaning patients will benefit from:

• A streamlined experience due to a reduced need to repeatedly share information across the health system
• The ability to make more informed choices about care by providing information about length of wait for treatment, making waiting lists by speciality and by provider, more accessible – a key part of Our Plan for Patients
• Easier access to electronic patient records through accelerated digital transformation services for patients.

The move will build on the huge progress seen on digital transformation during the pandemic, driving efficiencies across the NHS as evidence suggests digitally mature providers are 10% more efficient than their less digitally mature peers.

Accelerating the transfer will lead to faster improvements in co-operation between the key digital bodies of the NHS by bringing them under one roof for the first time.  This will ensure the health and care sector is fully equipped to face the future and deliver for patients.

In line with commitments made to Parliament, NHS England will provide the same protections for people’s data as NHS Digital, whilst taking advantage of the merger to improve processes where possible. Working closely with partners, including the Information Commissioner and the National Data Guardian, DHSC and NHSE will ensure there continues to be rigorous internal controls to ensure that data is used and shared safely, securely and appropriately to:

• deliver high-quality care
• understand and protect the health of the population
• effectively plan and improve services
• research and develop innovative treatments, vaccines and diagnostics

Making effective use of the data collected by health and social care services is essential to deliver high quality care, and improving the health of the population. The transfer, which is subject to parliamentary approval and agreement with the Devolved Administration, will see the statutory role of NHS Digital move to NHS England.

This is an important change to make sure that all the expertise and activity in relation to data and digital services are together in a single organisation and meets a key recommendation of Laura Wade-Gery’s review: Putting data, digital and tech at the heart of transforming the NHS.

The changes will better support the recovery of NHS services, address waiting list backlogs, and support hardworking staff, all while driving forwards an ambitious agenda of digital transformation and progress.

• Following the merger, NHS Digital as a separate arms-length body of the Department for Health and Social Care will cease to exist.
• NHS Digital staff and assets will all transfer to NHS England before going through the wider “Creating a New NHS England” change programme which will ensure we retain the necessary talent and expertise of NHS Digital.
• We set out in Data Saves Lives how data will be used to improve care for patients and service users, outlining how we will ensure that the benefits and lessons learned from the response to COVID-19 are realised for the longer-term. The strategy including building the right foundations to achieve this – and one key action is to bring together NHS Digital and NHS England, to provide a single statutory body for data, digital and technology.