UNDERSTANDING LAAs

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UNDERSTANDING LAAs

• AN OVERVIEW OF THE CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES
• 7th November 2007

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Going to cover.

• The role of the Government Office and regional
  priorities
• Local Government White Paper and new performance
  framework
• LAAs
• New framework
• What will an LAA look like?
• Negotiation process and timeline
• Challenges and risks
• Opportunities

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How GO-East Works
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• The National Agenda in the
• Region
• Sustainable growth and prosperity
• Children, Young People and skills
• Healthier communities and older people
• Stronger, safer communities and improved quality
  of life

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Sustainable Growth Prosperity

• Raise the productivity of the UK economy
• Promote world class science and innovation in the
  UK
• Deliver reliable and efficient transport networks
  that support economic growth
• Deliver the conditions for business success in
  the UK
• Improve the economic performance of all English
  regions and reduce the gap in economic growth
  rates between regions
• Maximise employment opportunity for all
• Increase long term housing supply and
  affordability
• Lead global effort to avoid dangerous climate
  change
• Secure a healthy natural environment for today
  and the future

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Children, Young People and Skills

• Improve the skills of the population, on the way
  to ensuring a world-class skills base for 2020
• Halve the number of children in poverty by
  2010-11, on the way to eradicating child poverty
  by 2020
• Raise educational achievement of all children and
  young people
• Narrow the gap in educational achievement between
  children from low income and disadvantaged
  backgrounds and their peers
• Improve the health and wellbeing of young
  children and young people
• Improve children and young peoples safety
• Increase the number of children and young people
  on the path to success

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Healthier Communities and Older People

• Address the disadvantage that individuals
  experience because of their gender, race,
  disability, age, sexual orientation, religion or
  belief
• Increase the proportion of socially excluded
  adults in settled accommodation and employment,
  education or training
• Promote better health and wellbeing for all
• Tackle poverty and promote greater independence
  and wellbeing in later life
• Ensure better care for all

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Stronger Safer Communities Better Quality of
Life

• Ensure controlled, fair migration that protects
  the public and contributes to economic growth
• Build more cohesive, empowered and active
  communities
• Deliver a successful Olympic Games and Paralympic
  Games with a sustainable legacy and get more
  children and young people taking part in high
  quality PE and sport
• Make Communities safer
• Deliver a more effective, transparent and
  responsive Criminal Justice System for victims
  and the public
• Reduce the harm caused by alcohol and drugs

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THE LGWP STRONG AND PROSPEROUS COMMUNITIES

• a stronger role for local authorities to lead
  their communities, shape their areas and respond
  to local needs
• more space for local authorities and other local
  service providers to innovate and respond to
  local needs
• In exchange for
• more bottom-up accountability
• stronger local authority leadership
• better and more efficient services
• tougher intervention when things go wrong

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LAAs - Mark 1

• 2004/05
• 21 pilot areas Suffolk and Peterborough
• In East of England
• 2005/06
• Round 2 Beds, Cambs, Essex, Herts, Luton,
  Norfolk
• 2006/07
• Round 3 Southend and Thurrock

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LAAs - Mark 1

• 10 Local Area Agreements up and running
• Partnership working being improved across the
  region.
• Improved governance and performance management
  arrangements being put in place.
• Improved relationships between the GO and local
  areas.

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LAAs - Mark 1

• But-
• Promised reduction in bureaucracy still to
  materialise.
• Disappointment at the number of Enabling Measures
  (Freedoms and Flexibilities) that have been
  granted.
• A reluctance to pool funding.

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The New LAA Framework

• LAAs will continue to be the result of
  negotiations between central and local government
  about outcomes and targets to implement
  priorities for local areas.
• But changes are being made to give LAAs a more
  central role, in effect becoming the main way in
  which local and central government can work
  together.

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Sustainable Communities Strategy the LAA

• Local Strategic Partnerships produce a 20 year
  vision
• LAA a delivery mechanism for that vision over a
  three-year period
• Local areas define priorities and high level
  outcomes
• Indicators in place to deliver outcomes
• Stronger emphasis on cross-cutting themes

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New LAAs
Negotiation and agreement
Local targets monitored by LSP
'Designated targets monitored by LSP and GO
Local accountability to citizens
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The new Performance Framework

• No duplication in reporting systems LAAs will
  be the only place where central government will
  agree targets.
• New framework of around 200 indicators, down from
  approximately 1,200!
• A dramatic reduction in targets No more than 35
  targets ( 16 statutory education and early years
  targets) in each LAA drawn from a new national
  set of around 198 indicators.

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DCMS Agenda

• Encourage more widespread enjoyment of culture
  and sport
• Adult participation in sport
• Use of public libraries
• Visits to museums or galleries
• Engagement in the arts
• Consultation on indicators in Nov/Dec
• Final list published early in New Year

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The New LAA Framework - Finance

• Less ring fenced grants there will be a new
  un-ring fenced area based LAA grant, with a
  presumption that all area based funding will go
  through this route, unless it can be included in
  mainstream funding, or where there are strong
  arguments for retaining a ring fence.
• Greater freedom in spending decisions there
  will no longer be a link between funding and
  targets, so local authorities and partners are
  able to make decisions about spending priorities
  locally.

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The New LAA Framework

• Strengthened community leadership role a
  statutory requirement for the local authority to
  develop an LAA and for named partners to
  co-operate in its development and to have regard
  to LAA targets.
• A single annual review taking into account the
  information provided by the Comprehensive Area
  Assessments.

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Comprehensive Area Assessments

• CAAs will focus on the performance of an area and
  on how partners are working together to improve
  that performance
• CAAs will link closely to LAAs and will provide a
  further incentive to areas to develop
  comprehensive and effective LAAs
• The first CAAs will take place in 2009

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LAA Negotiation Timetable

• Ongoing - Identification of priorities work
  within GO
• September Phase 1 Guidance
• 1st October High level launch event
• Early October CSR announcement
• October/November High level meetings
• October - Publication of new Performance
  Framework

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LAA Negotiation Timetable

• Late October Phase 2 Guidance
• 14th November Practitioners event.
• OctoberDecember Initial submissions from areas
  based on Sustainable Community Strategy.
• November onwards Negotiations begin.
• March 08 Negotiations completed.
• June 08 Ministers sign off new LAAs

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Key challenges and risks

• Clear view of priorities across the whole area
  and evidence base to support this
• Needs to have support and full input of partners
• How does the LAA address local issues in a large
  two-tier area?
• Managing Whitehall expectations
• Local Government Restructuring
• Timescales

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Opportunities for LAAs

• Cross-cutting outcomes and move away from block
  structure
• Funding flexibilities and funding targeted at
  priorities
• Outcome focussed monitoring and inspection
• Improved quality of life for all