Published: 10 February 2009
Summary
New council assessment regime will address toughest local challengesUpdate:
A new assessment regime will ensure that councils have a firm focus on hard local issues specific to each area, challenging them to address head on the toughest problems and the issues that really matter to local people, from provision of quality social care and safeguarding children to crime and anti-social behaviour to taking action to mitigate the effects of the economic downturn on local communities.
The new system set out today improves on the previous regime by ensuring councils and other local services are held to account jointly, encouraging closer cooperation between them and better outcomes for local people. The new Comprehensive Area Assessment, or CAA, will be a tougher test for councils, focusing on outcomes, how well local organisations work together to achieve them while also continuing to report on value for money. The focus will be on the needs and priorities of individual areas rather than a one-size-fits-all, process based approach.
CAA will report on how well councils and their partners are managing the challenges that come with tough economic times, supporting local businesses and ensuring that services are there for the people who need them the most, while still planning for the future.
The local public service inspectorates who carry out CAA will assess how well organisations like the local council, the NHS, police and others work closely together to improve places for all the people that live and work there - and that they safeguard the most vulnerable people, from children and adults in need of social care to homeless people or those who are unemployed.
The CAA builds on the former system of star ratings for councils, or Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA), which will deliver its last results in the coming weeks. Red and green flags will be used to highlight any issues in need of significant improvement in each area as well as good practice from which other places can learn, helping councils and other local service providers to concentrate on improving the real outcomes that matter to local people. In recognition of the diverse needs of different areas, there will be no league table-style rating system or formulaic calculation of scores for the area.
Secretary of State for Communities Hazel Blears said:
"In recent years we have seen councils performing better and better in their own area of expertise, but the time has come to think beyond the institution, to the partnerships that local people rely on in everyday life, tackling the harder local issues specific to each area - and ensuring a firmer focus on the services that need improvement.
"The new assessment approach will give councils room to plan for the future and adapt to difficult times with a common sense approach that recognises that every area in England has individual needs and priorities that matter to their communities.
"Those areas doing well will feel the freedom of less inspection and struggling councils will receive the help they need to improve. And with a more open, accessible reporting method, the public will easily be able to follow the progress of their area and get more involved in holding local services to account."
Setting the standard for councils for the last seven years, the CPA has driven real improvements in council services. In 2007 over 75 per cent of single-tier and county councils were judged to be improving well or strongly, and over 83 per cent achieved a three or four star rating for performance. With the majority of councils now performing well as institutions, a firm foundation has been laid to strengthen local delivery as a whole under the new assessment regime.
CAA will also evaluate the effectiveness of local involvement in setting priorities and taking action, and the opinions of local people on their area and local services. And people will be able to check the performance of their own and neighbouring councils and other local services.
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