Transcript Slide 1

Negotiating New
Local Area Agreements
prepared by;
Matthew Beaumont
Manager, Dorset Local Area Agreement
( November 2007)
Dorset’s Broad Strategic
Challenges
“Local Area Agreements (LAA’s) are about
improving local services and
increasing economic prosperity for local
people.”
DCLG Guidance, September 2007
“...if we are to continue to improve public
services in the way communities expect and
deserve, and if we are to enable local
government to live up to its full potential,
Whitehall today needs to step back and give
it the space to lead”
Rt Hon Hazel Blears
Secretary of State
(Source: ‘The New Performance Framework for Local Authorities & Local
Authority Partnerships’ ,DCLG, Oct 2007)
The National Indicator Set
• Released with Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR07) in
October 2007
• Limited to 198 indicators
• Represent:
• all activities for which Local Authorities are responsible
for on their own or in partnership with others
• the only measures on which central government will
manage outcomes delivered by local government working
alone or in partnerships
• what Government believes should be the national
priorities for local government over the next three years
(Source: ‘The New Performance Framework for Local Authorities & Local Authority Partnerships’ , DCLG,
Oct 2007)
What is the ‘new’ LAA?
• Three year agreements
• Priorities for a geographic area as agreed by all main
public sector agencies operating in that area and
government
• Agreed priorities will have been brought together under
the umbrella of the ‘Local Strategic Partnership’ (LSP)
and encapsulated after area based consultation in the
Community Strategy for Dorset (released in June 2007).
• The LAA is based on the objectives of the Community
Strategy and translates these into improvement targets
that local people want.
• Government Office recognise Dorset’s Community
Strategy as the basis upon which negotiation can
proceed.
What is the ‘new’ LAA?
• New LAA’s will include ‘up to 35’ targets drawn from the
national indicator set (NIS) of 198 performance indicators
which local authorities and their partners negotiate with
Central Government
• In addition to the ‘up to 35’targets – all areas will also
agree 16 statutory education/early years targets ( on behalf
of Department for Children, Schools and Families) – they
are not to be viewed in isolation and represent, with the ‘up
to 35’, a single suite of targets to drive improvement to
local services and the economy
What is the ‘new’ LAA?
• The Partnership has the discretion to set additional
targets for inclusion in the LAA. These carry NO
reporting requirements, other than those established
locally
• New LAA’s will have 4 themes to guide negotiation but
funding will no longer be restricted, as previously, within
these themes
• The thematic negotiating blocks are:
– Children & Young People
– Safer & Stronger Communities
– Healthier Communities & Older People
– Economic Development and the Environment
Negotiating the LAA
• Local authorities and partners will negotiate with
Government Offices which indicators from the National
Indicator Set (NIS) they propose should have targets set
against them and these will be agreed with central
Government.
• Local authorities with partners may also agree to include
any other additional indicators and targets ( either from
the NIS or otherwise) in the LAA as local priorities for
implementation of the Community Strategy. These will
have the same legal status as targets negotiated with
Government Offices but will not need to be reported to
Government
Negotiating the LAA (1)
• Negotiations start at the local level with the Dorset
Strategic Partnership (DSP) establishing ‘the story of
place’ . This is a distinctive vision and ambition for an
area and the evidence base which makes it clear why
issues are priorities for the locality
• (This is our Dorset Community Strategy !!!)
Negotiating the LAA (2)
• First, it is critically important to establish the priorities to
be tackled in the area - these can later be underpinned
through the appropriate indicators from the national
indicator set.
– The goal is: a grouping of outcomes/performance
indicators linked to a picture of what a ‘sustainable
and cohesive community’ looks like for the area
ensuring a coherent, cross-cutting set of indicators
that are related to place, rather than in ‘indicator
silos’.
Negotiating the LAA (3)
•
Second, having agreed the local priorities that will shape
the LAA, local partnerships will then identify and agree
the most appropriate indicators from the NIS and
supplement these with local ones where the NIS does
not cover a local priority.
•
Third, negotiate appropriate targets for each indicator
with Government Office
Setting Targets
• Partnerships use the ‘story of place’ and the evidence
base to identify the local priorities to be covered in the
LAA
• Once established partnerships should use the National
Indicator Set to establish which of the indicators best suit
the priorities which have been identified locally
• Up to 35 targets can be set based on those national
indicators that are deemed to be most relevant to the
priorities agreed for the local area
The Role of Government Office
South West
•
•
•
Represent central government. Lead negotiations with
local authorities and partners
Government Office South West (GOSW) Regional
Director is responsible for recommendation that Ministers
sign up to each individual LAA.
Four areas that GOSW will want to get right:
1. Gathering evidence ( Needs to be rounded, appropriate and shared )
Will be a mix of ‘soft’ intelligence and hard data
2. Challenging and stretching ambition ( what needs doing better and
needs to continue to do well). Will look at all priorities in the round.
3. Developing and managing relationships
4. Reaching agreement. Agreement will be reached when the overall
‘shape’ of the LAA is right not simply meeting tick box guidelines
The Role of Central Government
•
Central government has three ambitions for LAAs:
• They act as a mechanism to deliver shared priorities
which support both national and local policy and
locally determined priorities
• Local Partnerships are empowered and made
accountable
• Stakeholders at every tier can make a contribution to
support local partnership arrangements
The Role of the Local Community
Partnerships
•
Involvement of District level partners in two-tier areas
should remain central to the LAA process
•
There is an expectation that Local Community (District)
Partnerships (LCP) be full partners in the county Local
Strategic Partnership and thereby in the development of
the LAA local narrative and priority setting process
The Role of Elected Members
•
Local Government Public Involvement in Health Act firmly
recognises the democratic and accountable leaders of
the County Council and partner Local Authorities
•
Negotiating LAAs requires:
– Leaders and Cabinet Members to have a critical role in
shaping priorities and articulating political ambition
– Awareness of the views of the wider Council
– Overview and Scrutiny Committees to provide a
constructive challenge to the formulation of priorities
and also ‘hold to account the implementation of the
LAA
Multi Area Agreements
• Some policies, especially around economic
development, are best addressed at the sub-regional
level. Government is committed to Multi Area Agreements
(MAA) being flexible, voluntary and responsive to local
needs
• Success will be dependent on partners sharing a
common understanding of the priorities for the sub-region
• Local Area Agreements define the priorities of a local
area. Their relationship with a MAA should be seen as
complementary – and not hierarchical
Multi Area Agreements…
• MAA should be more than just aggregating LAA outcomes
upwards, but are seeking to deliver outcomes above what
could be achieved by individual local areas
• Outcomes should be drawn from the National Indicator Set
(198). If there are national improvement targets included in
the MAA’s, these should not increase the total of thirty five
which individual local authorities report against (eg..If there
are 5 national targets in the MAA this reduces the LAA to a
maximum of 30)
Questions?
Contact: Matthew Beaumont
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 01305 224814
Information: www.dorsetforyou.com/dsp