Welsh Public Sector

Geldards has extensive experience advising the Welsh Government, Welsh Government Sponsored Bodies, Local Government and other public sector bodies in Wales and we are regarded as one of the leading providers of legal services to the public sector in Wales.

Our Public Sector Team in Wales includes lawyers across all the key legal disciplines, all of whom are very familiar with providing legal advice in the unique context of the devolved Welsh landscape. The team can advise across a wide variety of different areas, including on powers and vires and other public law issues, planning CPO and highways, public procurement, subsidy control, judicial review and compliance with statutory duties such as those under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, the Equality Act 2010 and the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015.

We advise on a wide variety of public sector transactions including public-to-public co-operations, outsourcing contracts, procurements, IT projects, infrastructure projects, housing projects, regeneration projects, the establishment of new corporate entities, shared service structures and alternative service delivery. The breadth of experience of our team means we can provide seamless advice on projects from inception, through the planning stage, identification of the options and any risks and through to implementation and completion.

We are renowned for our ability to deliver critical and politically sensitive advice to governmental and public sector bodies to protect their interests and those of their constituents and taxpayers, often in highly contentious circumstances. For example, with a track record of delivering supportive and constructive solutions, we are regarded as the ‘go to’ employment lawyers when a particularly sensitive or challenging workplace issue arises, especially if senior officers are involved. We navigate through seemingly intractable problems, such as the potentially financially crippling and destabilising equal pay challenge in Local Authorities in Wales and the modernisation and equality proofing of terms and conditions of employment. We advise on the role of effective governance in organisational culture, and decision making and work closely with Welsh Government and the Wales Audit Office when appropriate to ensure solutions are aligned with the Principles of Public Life and are defensible.

We have a number of fluent Welsh speakers who are confident leading correspondence, calls and meetings in Welsh. This means that we can facilitate our clients’ own compliance with the standards under the Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011.