Work that had to hold up
These representative studies show the experience informing Devol Legal’s approach. They draw on work undertaken by the principal during earlier public-sector and consultancy roles, as well as current advisory practice. Organisations are anonymised and the circumstances are described at a level consistent with confidentiality obligations. The nature of the work and the practical issues addressed are materially accurate.
Regulatory informationDecision-Making Assurance & Equality Duty Compliance
The pressure
Like many authorities setting a budget under acute financial strain, the council faced a specific legal exposure: savings decisions affecting frontline services can be quashed on judicial review where the authority cannot show that it discharged the Public Sector Equality Duty under section 149 of the Equality Act 2010, or where consultation falls short of the Gunning principles. Its decision-making framework had grown inconsistently, and the evidential trail behind major decisions was weaker than the risk demanded.
Our role
The work involved reviewing how significant budget and service-change decisions were taken and recorded, then developing a single, defensible model that officers and members could follow under time pressure.
What we delivered
- Reviewed the governance architecture and decision pathways for budget and service-change decisions
- Assessed equality duty compliance and the strength of the supporting evidence base
- Designed a proportionate equality impact assessment framework and standard decision templates
- Built consultation guidance aligned to the Gunning principles, with a compliance checklist
- Delivered member and officer training on lawful, well-evidenced decision-making
Deliverables
- Equality impact assessment framework and proportionality guidance
- Member decision-report and cabinet-report templates
- Consultation compliance checklist (Gunning principles)
- Half-day training pack for members and statutory officers
Outcome
The resulting model gave major budget and service decisions a clearer equality and consultation audit trail, replacing case-by-case improvisation with a repeatable framework.
Why it mattered: A lawful decision that is badly evidenced is almost as vulnerable as an unlawful one. The work gave the authority a defensible foundation under scrutiny, not merely better paperwork.
City-Wide Markets & Street Trading Modernisation
The pressure
High-street recovery and town-centre regeneration depend on markets that are vibrant and well run. The authority’s street trading regime, built up under the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982, had become a patchwork of historic consents, inconsistent conditions and legacy instruments.
Our role
The work involved rationalising and modernising the framework to produce a coherent regime suited to efficient administration and aligned with the council’s economic objectives.
What we delivered
- Reviewed the historic and current regulatory architecture and consent categories
- Identified the legal and administrative friction points slowing the service
- Drafted a modern street trading policy with rationalised consent categories
- Produced model consent conditions and a defensible fees structure
- Aligned the regulatory framework with the wider regeneration strategy and scheme of delegation
Deliverables
- Consolidated street trading policy
- Model consent conditions and fees structure
- Scheme of delegation for trading decisions
- Officer administration handbook
Outcome
The council moved from a fragmented inheritance to a single, coherent regime: faster consent processing, consistent enforcement, and a regulatory framework that works with the regeneration strategy instead of against it.
Why it mattered: Markets and street trading are economic and political questions as much as regulatory ones. The engagement mattered because it treated all three together rather than producing a tidy policy that ignored delivery.
Licensing & Illegal Working Enforcement Alignment
The pressure
Under the Immigration Act 2016, licensing authorities are responsible authorities for illegal-working considerations in alcohol, late-night refreshment and taxi and private hire licensing. In practice the approach varied widely between areas, information-sharing between licensing teams and immigration enforcement was inconsistent, and decisions risked being taken on an unclear legal and data-protection footing, a poor position from which to defend a refusal or revocation.
Our role
The work involved bringing consistency and legal clarity to the interface between local authority licensing and immigration enforcement in a form capable of wider adoption.
What we delivered
- Mapped the legal and operational interfaces between licensing and immigration enforcement functions
- Identified where local practice and statutory expectations were misaligned
- Drafted a multi-agency operating protocol for consistent cross-agency working
- Built an information-sharing framework compliant with the UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018
- Produced licensing decision templates and practitioner guidance suitable for wider adoption
Deliverables
- Multi-agency operating protocol
- Lawful information-sharing agreement (UK GDPR / DPA 2018)
- Licensing decision and reasons templates
- Practitioner guidance note
Outcome
Participating areas moved to a consistent, defensible approach with a clear lawful basis for sharing information and reaching decisions. The framework provided a disciplined foundation for cross-agency coordination and a model suitable for broader rollout.
Why it mattered: This is a sensitive area where inconsistency invites challenge. The value lay in making a difficult statutory framework lawful, consistent and genuinely usable by frontline officers.
Taxi Licensing Reform & Driver Standards Framework
The pressure
The council’s taxi licensing regime had grown incrementally over more than a decade without a comprehensive review and sat uneasily against the Department for Transport’s Statutory Taxi and Private Hire Vehicle Standards. Driver standards, vehicle conditions and enforcement thresholds varied in practice, while contested decisions had exposed weaknesses in how reasons were reached and recorded.
Our role
The work involved identifying the root causes of procedural weakness and designing a modern, safeguarding-led licensing regime built to withstand challenge from the outset.
What we delivered
- Conducted a full policy and procedural audit across hackney carriage and private hire licensing
- Analysed both judicial review decisions and pinpointed the governance weaknesses behind them
- Drafted a revised licensing policy covering driver standards, vehicle conditions and enforcement escalation
- Redesigned the committee decision-making process with structured decision and reasons templates
- Delivered training for licensing committee members and officers
Deliverables
- Revised hackney carriage and private hire licensing policy
- Driver fit-and-proper assessment framework
- Committee decision templates and scheme of delegation
- Member and officer training programme
Outcome
The authority was left with a modernised regime, clearer committee procedures and a more disciplined basis for recording defensible decisions.
Why it mattered: The council had been reacting to challenges without addressing their cause. The work mattered because it replaced a fragile regime with one designed to hold up under scrutiny.
Regulatory Services Restructure & Operating Model
The pressure
Against acute financial pressure, the council needed to reduce the cost of regulatory services while maintaining statutory functions across environmental health, trading standards and licensing. Earlier restructuring attempts had stalled because legal risk and confidence in the proposed model had not been resolved.
Our role
The work combined legal and operational analysis to design an operating model capable of reducing cost without losing sight of statutory duties.
What we delivered
- Mapped the full regulatory services function across three directorates
- Identified duplication, over-specification and misaligned resource allocation
- Designed a consolidated, risk-based operating model across all regulatory functions
- Built a governance framework with escalation pathways and performance indicators
- Supported the formal consultation process through to go-live
Deliverables
- Risk-based target operating model
- Governance and escalation framework
- Performance indicator set
- Consultation and implementation plan
Outcome
The risk-based model gave the authority a clearer basis for prioritising work, allocating resource and monitoring statutory service risk through implementation.
Why it mattered: This was not a headcount exercise. The challenge was to redesign how regulatory services worked so the reduction was absorbed through better design rather than reduced capability.
Procurement Remediation & Procurement Act 2023 Transition
The pressure
An internal audit identified significant weaknesses in procurement governance (incomplete documentation trails, inconsistent evaluation and weak oversight of contract variations) at precisely the moment the Procurement Act 2023 came into force, bringing new transparency, debarment and contract-management duties. The authority had to remediate the audit findings and transition to the new regime at the same time, without stalling live procurements.
Our role
The work involved coordinating the remediation programme and aligning the authority’s procurement framework with the new statutory regime.
What we delivered
- Reviewed procurement procedures, documentation and governance arrangements end to end
- Addressed each audit finding with a specific remediation plan and timetable
- Redrafted standing orders and procurement procedure rules to reflect the Procurement Act 2023
- Introduced risk-based supplier tiering and a transparency-notice workflow
- Delivered training for procurement officers and budget holders
Deliverables
- Revised standing orders and procurement procedure rules (Procurement Act 2023-aligned)
- Evaluation and contract-management protocols
- Supplier risk-tiering model and transparency-notice workflow
- Officer and budget-holder training programme
Outcome
The programme produced a clearer audit trail, updated governance instruments and a practical route for closing identified control gaps while live procurement activity continued.
Why it mattered: Procurement failures in the public sector carry real consequences: legal challenge, wasted public money and reputational damage. The work converted a crisis into a stronger system that was already fit for the new statutory regime.
Statement of Licensing Policy & Cumulative Impact Assessment
The pressure
The authority’s Statement of Licensing Policy under the Licensing Act 2003 required substantive review. It no longer reflected current case law and lacked a sufficiently evidenced cumulative impact assessment for contested decision-making.
Our role
The work involved reviewing and redrafting the Statement of Licensing Policy and building an evidence-based cumulative impact assessment for defined areas.
What we delivered
- Reviewed the existing policy against current legislation, statutory guidance and case law
- Engaged responsible authorities, residents’ groups and the licensed trade
- Built a cumulative impact evidence base from crime, environmental health and public health data
- Drafted a revised Statement of Licensing Policy covering all four licensing objectives
- Supported the formal consultation and committee adoption process
Deliverables
- Revised Statement of Licensing Policy
- Cumulative impact assessment and evidence base (two areas)
- Consultation framework and responses analysis
- Committee report and adoption pack
Outcome
The revised policy and cumulative impact evidence provided a materially stronger foundation for contested licensing decisions in the defined areas.
Why it mattered: A weak licensing policy undermines every decision made under it. The work gave the authority a defensible foundation for its licensing function rather than a document that existed only in name.
Fitness to Practise Governance & Process Review
The pressure
A professional regulator’s fitness to practise function faced rising caseloads, lengthening resolution times and concern about procedural consistency. The framework had to be strengthened without disrupting live casework.
Our role
The work involved identifying procedural and structural weaknesses driving delay and inconsistency, then designing an improved operating model.
What we delivered
- Reviewed the fitness to practise process from referral through to panel hearing and disposal
- Mapped decision pathways and pinpointed inconsistency, duplication and unnecessary delay
- Redesigned the triage and case-allocation framework to reduce bottlenecks
- Built escalation protocols, quality-assurance mechanisms and performance indicators
- Supported phased implementation through staff engagement across all practice teams
Deliverables
- Redesigned triage and case-allocation framework
- Escalation protocols and quality-assurance mechanism
- Performance indicator set
- Phased implementation and staff engagement plan
Outcome
The revised framework created a clearer triage, escalation and quality-assurance structure, giving the regulator a more consistent basis for managing live casework.
Why it mattered: Regulatory bodies exist to protect the public, and delay or inconsistency in fitness to practise work undermines that mission directly. The work strengthened the regulator’s ability to discharge its core function more effectively and fairly.