Meeting documents
Cabinet
Wednesday, 5th October, 2005
APPENDIX
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Local Area Agreement - Member Briefing Produced by the Corporate Projects Team, September 2005 |
What is a Local Area Agreement (LAA)?
LAAs aim to bring together local partners to achieve better outcomes against priorities mutually agreed between the local authority, partners and Government. Although in some cases Councils negotiate through a "single pot", most LAAs are built up through the following "blocks":
Children and Young People
Healthy Communities and Older People
Safe and Stronger Communities
Economic Development and Enterprise
Partners are able to negotiate on 93pooling94 (ie, putting into a common 93pot94) or 93aligning94 (ie, ensuring funds contribute to agreed outcomes) a range of funding streams under these 93blocks94, as well as the freedoms and flexibilities which will help these outcomes to be achieved. This may include scope to reduce the reporting associated with performance targets or altering the criteria by which funds can be spent. The agreements are signed with unitary authorities on behalf of local partners. In two-tier areas, County Councils take the lead but work closely with Districts. Agreements for the pilot areas are currently 3 years in duration.
What are the potential benefits of LAAs in Bath & North East Somerset?
A7 Better outcomes in relation to meeting Corporate Plan improvement priorities and Community Strategy ambitions
A7 A catalyst for looking at the total amount spent on public services in the area, and finding innovative ways to get better value from it
A7 An opportunity to reduce the amount of time and effort needed by agencies to get things done
A7 An opportunity to have a joint voice on local concerns, working with Government to negotiate removal of barriers
A7 Opportunities to develop partnership working further, and to ensure that partnerships are 93fit for purpose94 in delivering benefits to the community
What are the potential challenges of LAAs in Bath North East Somerset?
LAAs require robust governance arrangements where partners are satisfied with the transparency of decision making and mutual accountability. Any associated LPSA also requires discussions about how 93performance reward94 payments are to be allocated if and when targets have been successfully achieved.
LAAs are resource-intensive and do not offer any additional funding (that is for the LPSA- see below for an explanation of the difference between LAAs and LPSAs). They still require national targets to be delivered and may also require new 93delivery mechanisms94 to be established for implementation.
Which authorities are currently developing LAAs in the South West?
Cornwall, Poole, Somerset, South Gloucestershire and Swindon are all currently working with Government Office for the South West to develop their LAAs for April 2006. Devon and Dorset already have signed LAAs in place.
Are there any useful weblinks?
Bath & North East Somerset LSP's LAA webpages provide a useful starting point
http://communities.beintouch.org.uk/ui/inovemti/PSAandLAA/groupHome
LAA Toolkit
http://www.idea-knowledge.gov.uk/idk/core/page.do?pageId=817524
Improvement and Development Agency site
http://www.idea-knowledge.gov.uk/idk/core/page.do?pageId=627846
Can you give an example of what some areas have asked for in their Local Agreements?
Here is an extract from Dorset's requests for 93freedoms and flexibilities94 as part of their LAA
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1 |
Seeking new ways of tackling affordable housing for Dorset's key workers to enable care workers or other jobs that are key to delivering services in Dorset better access. For example: Seek to widen geographical coverage of the existing south west key worker scheme. Explore opportunities for the ODPM Key Worker Living Scheme (currently targeting affordable housing problems in the east of England, south east and London), to be rolled out to Dorset. |
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2 |
Increasing the definitions of a `rural' settlement to enable greater flexibility in affordable housing opportunities |
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3 |
Ability to apply 93exception site94 policies to market and coastal towns |
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4 |
Reduced common thresholds across Dorset for developer contributions towards affordable housing |
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5 |
Receiving RDA rural transport budget for Dorset as a direct allocation |
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6 |
To increase the flexibilities of use of transport budgets (reduced ring-fencing) and explore the benefits of putting some LTP funds through the LAA. |
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7 |
Enable shared user transport between social care, education health and other public sector, charitable and business organisations |
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8 |
More flexible approach to financial management with carry-forward of National Grants |
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9 |
Continuity of funding beyond 2005/6, i.e. for anti-social behaviour and domestic violence. |
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10 |
Flexibility to investigate opportunities for pooled drugs treatment budgets |
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11 |
Exclude offences that take place in prisons from crime statistics. |
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12 |
Increased flexibility in use of funds within the health and social care systems in the NHS towards preventative care for older people. |
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13 |
Freedom to include voluntary sector and health sector services in definition of intensive home care |
Do you have an explanation of LAA 93Jargon94?
We seek to make our briefings and reports within an acceptable standard of plain English. However, in reading about LAAs, you may encounter many unusual terms and acronyms. This glossary is designed to help.
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CDRP |
Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership (often known as Community Safety partnerships) |
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Freedoms and flexibilities |
Negotiated changes regulations, funding rules or other ways of working designed to improve services |
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Gershon |
Sir Peter Gershon's report on achieving greater public sector efficiency and releasing resources to frontline services was published in 2004. These types of saving are sometimes referred to as 93Gershon savings94. |
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GOSW |
Government Office for the South West |
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LAA Blocks |
Categories around which an LAA is framed and funding streams can be brought together |
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ODPM |
Office of the Deputy Prime Minister |
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Performance Reward Grant |
This is the money received by councils as a 93bonus94 for meeting LPSA stretch targets |
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PSA/LPSA |
Local Public Service Agreement -Government provides pump priming funds and 93bonus94 rewards for 93stretch94 targets over and above what would happen without the LPSA |
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PSA2/LPSA2 |
The second generation of LPSAs intended to focus more on outcomes and working in partnership. |
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93Single Pot94 |
This is when LAAs are negotiated in one large block, for maximum flexibility, rather than the four LAA blocks set out above. Telford and Wrekin was the only 93single pot94 in the first wave of pilots |
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SSCF |
This stands for 93Safer and Stronger Communities94 and is the term for arrangements with regard to community safety and related funding. |
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93Stretch94 targets |
These are targets within a LPSA which are over and above the targets that would have been aimed for if the extra resources as part of the LPSA hadn't been made available |