Communities and Local Government

• Local government
• Supporting improvement in Local Authorit

Local government

Supporting improvement in Local Authorities

A joint statement by Communities and Local Government, the Audit Commission and the LGA on 13 December 2005.

Since the introduction of Comprehensive Performance Assessment in 2002, the results each year have shown how local authorities have improved their delivery of services and their leadership of communities.  Both local and central government are determined that improvement should continue and recognise that the primary responsibility for delivering improvement must lie within the local government sector.  The new model CPA now being introduced provides a harder test against which to measure performance; alongside this tougher assessment is a range of practical support measures to help councils achieve improvement.

This note summarises the support which is provided to authorities by Communities and Local Government, Audit Commission and LGA, and sets out what authorities can expect to happen following the announcement of CPA categories in December 2005.  As such it is an update on the existing arrangements between the three organisations.

Principles & Context

Communities and Local Government, the Audit Commission and the LGA each acknowledge that the responsibility for achieving performance improvement rests primarily with authorities themselves. The three organisations are committed to working together in order to support improvement; each also has particular objectives:

• Central Government is concerned to make sure that arrangements are in place to support local authorities in achieving improvement, and also to respond rapidly in any circumstances where performance falls below an acceptable minimum standard (which may entail the use of powers contained in the Local Government Act 1999).
• The LGA is committed to driving and facilitating  improvement across all local authorities, challenging all councils to aim to perform at the level of the very best.  The LGA Improvement Board steers the totality of LGA and performance partnership work supporting, challenging and advising the sector as a whole to improve.
• The Commission's mission is to be a major driving force in the improvement of local public services and the delivery of better value for money. It will continue to promote proper stewardship and governance, challenge providers and commissioners from the perspective of the user,  and independently report on performance levels achieved and progress being made.

Since 2002, when the first CPA results were published, a good deal of experience has been gained in the process of improving local authorities.  Communities and Local Government, AC, LGA and its central bodies are seeking to build on that experience in how they work with local authorities to achieve further improvement.

Looking ahead, the organisations recognise the need for a performance framework built upon the principle that the local government sector is best placed to drive its own improvement.  This framework, with a greater emphasis on local priorities and locally owned support mechanisms, would necessarily involve less centrally-prescribed inspection and monitoring but will require an element of external challenge.  A consultation paper on the future of local services inspection was published by Communities and Local Government on 28 November 2005.  The arrangements described in this note, therefore, will need to be reviewed as the overall performance framework develops.

Support

A broad range of support is now available to local authorities seeking to improve their performance:

• LGA's Performance Partnership (the Improvement and Development Agency, Employers Organisation, the Public-Private Partnership Programme and the Local Authority Co-ordinators of Regulatory Services) provides an extensive offering of support programmes.  The IDeA Regional Associates work directly with local authorities to broker the contacts and support packages that are most appropriate for their needs, in order to build councils' capacity to engage in self-improvement;   they also provide front-line advice to help authorities understand the range of assistance that is available and what would best support improvement;
• Communities and Local Government capacity-building fund supports a number of national programmes open to all authorities.
• Encouraged by Communities and Local Government and the LGA, and with resources from the capacity-building fund, many authorities have joined together in Improvement Partnerships, committed to providing mutual challenge and support. 
• Authorities can and do help each other - through formal mechanisms such as the beacon scheme, peer support and the new 'local government franchising' approach, and through informal ad hoc relationships.
• Under its existing powers the Audit Commission can offer voluntary improvement work where the authority requests it and where the Audit Commission is best placed to provide it.

Actions following CPA

From December 2005, single-tier and county authorities will be receiving new CPA categorisation against the revised model.  The following section describes how Communities and Local Government, LGA and AC expect to work with individual authorities in the light of new categorisations.

All 0-star, and 1-star with a direction of travel 'not improving' or 'not improving adequately'

These authorities will normally be subject to formal engagement with Government. The exact nature of engagement will depend on the circumstances but will usually involve the following:

• Authorities will need to have clear plans for recovery.  Authorities already subject to Communities and Local Government engagement will have plans in place which may need to be reviewed in the light of this year's CPA results and assessment findings; other authorities will be required to produce plans within 8 weeks.
• Communities and Local Government Ministers will review plans and consider whether they provide a firm foundation for recovery.  Ministers will in particular expect plans to show that external support will be obtained to support rapid improvement.
• Where plans are agreed, a lead official will monitor progress, supported by a Government Monitoring Board.
• If a recovery plan is considered not to provide a foundation for recovery, the authority concerned will be encouraged to adopt an alternative approach.  If necessary, statutory powers will be used to ensure the authority takes actions required - which could include seeking external support or obtaining an external supplier of services.
• Authorities will be informed of the reasons for intervention whenever statutory powers are used ( annex A below sets out more details of the procedures which will be followed in the event that statutory powers are needed).

The Audit Commission will report on the progress being made by engaged authorities primarily through the annual Direction of Travel assessment.  Part-year progress assessments may also be undertaken in exceptional circumstances identified by the Commission and Communities and Local Government lead official.

LGA, steered by the Improvement Board, will strongly encourage authorities to discuss with IDeA regional associates at an early stage how to take forward their recovery.   Regional associates will seek to ensure that the most appropriate advice, support and challenge are given, tailored to local improvement priorities.  The LGA and IDeA will work with councils to ensure that they are able to address those priorities, and that the support they receive aids recovery rather than becoming an additional burden.

Communities and Local Government, the Audit Commission and the LGA (including through IDeA Regional Associates) will work closely with engaged authorities to support their continued improvement.  Support will be tailored to match the circumstances of each case and will take account especially of the extent to which authorities have the internal capacity to improve, and demonstrate effective political and managerial leadership in making the changes that are needed.

Other authorities with a direction of travel 'not improving' or 'not improving adequately'

• If any such authority has not recently used a peer review to support their improvement programmes LGA and IDeA will strongly encourage it to do so.
• IDeA regional associates will maintain a close relationship with authorities in this position, ensuring that support is available and maintaining communication with the LGA Improvement Board.
• Government Offices, as part of their relationship management role, will seek information from authorities on their peer reviews and improvement progress.
• Audit Commission relationship managers will undertake risk-based audit and inspection activity and select appropriate ways to help shape and drive improvement.
• Communities and Local Government does not expect to initiate formal engagement with authorities categorised as 2 star and above.

Freedoms & flexibilities

• The Government intends to consult on arrangements to ensure that existing freedoms and flexibilities are available to better-performing authorities following the move to 'star' measurements.
• Existing transitional arrangements provide for  most freedoms  to be retained for a period of at least 1 year.
• The current legislation relates freedoms and flexibilities to the word based categories: 'excellent', 'good', and 'fair'.  Until such time as the legislation is changed freedoms and flexibilities will continue to apply based on CPA results as at 18 July 2005.

Corporate Governance Inspections

This paper does not cover authorities subject to Corporate Governance Inspections which will be subject to individual measures consistent with the principles in this paper.

Annex A

Procedures to be followed in the use of statutory intervention powers

1. The Secretary of State will exercise intervention powers under section 15 of the Local Government Act 1999 and other comparable legislation only when there is clear evidence that an authority is failing either to discharge its functions adequately or failing to meet its statutory obligations.

2. The Secretary of State will inform the authority of the reasons for intervention whenever using his powers under this legislation.

3. The form and extent of engagement and intervention will reflect the type and seriousness of failure and the need for effective improvement.

4. The authority will normally be given the opportunity to make the necessary improvements itself.  In exceptional cases of serious corporate or service failure, when there is a serious risk of harm or financial loss, paragraph 7 (below) will apply.

5. Authorities will provide accurate and timely responses to requests for information (as soon as possible, but normally within 10 working days), and co-operate with such action as the Secretary of State may direct in accordance with his powers and this protocol.

6. In cases where a function is exercised by the Secretary of State or a person acting on his behalf, both the Secretary of State and his nominee will be subject to the statutory duties that the authority would normally be subject to in respect of that function.

7. Although the above arrangements for engagement and intervention will be the norm, there may be exceptional cases where the severity or persistence of failure, or the continuing risk of harm or financial loss, show that urgent intervention is necessary.  If these circumstances prevail, and an authority could reasonably be expected to be aware of these problems and has failed to take adequate action to address them, then the Secretary of State retains the discretion to abbreviate the procedures outlined above as he sees necessary.  When exercising his powers in this way, the Secretary of State will notify the authority and the LGA immediately of the intervention that is necessary and the reasons for intervention, and will provide a full explanation of his reasons for curtailing the procedures.