Housing and the new Local Performance Framework

Introduction

In October 2007 the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government announced a new set of 198 national indicators for English local authorities and local partnerships. The set underpins the new performance framework for local government and meets the Government's commitment, as set out in Strong and Prosperous Communities - The Local Government White Paper, to introduce a clear set of national outcomes and a single set of national indicators by which to measure them.

Housing plays a key part in the new local performance framework through:

the 14 performance indicators
those LAAs that have identified housing as a priority and where housing contributes to other local objectives such as economic development, cohesion, regeneration, improved environment etc
Comprehensive Area Assessment (CAA)
Regional Improvement and Efficiency Partnerships (RIEPs)

The National Indicator Set

The new National Indicator Set includes the following indicators (denoted with prefix NI) to enable local authorities to measure performance on the delivery of housing and support services:

NI 138 Satisfaction of people over 65 with both home and neighbourhood (PSA 17)
Satisfaction levels reflect the areas that people live in and the suitability of their housing. It is a particularly important contributor to overall independence and well-being: as they get older, people become increasingly more likely to spend more time in their homes and in their immediate neighbourhoods.
NI 141 - Number of vulnerable people achieving independent living
aims to measure the extent to which housing related support helps people move on in a planned way to more independent living. The indicator will measure the number of people receiving a Supporting People service, who have moved on from supported accommodation, as a percentage of total service users who have left the service.
NI 142 - Number of vulnerable people who are supported to maintain independent living
the number of service users who have established or are maintaining independent living (ie living in their home or in long stay accommodation), as a percentage of the total number of service users who have been in receipt of Supporting People services during the period.
NI 156 - Number of households living in temporary accommodation
will monitor progress towards halving the number of households in temporary accommodation provided under the homelessness legislation from 101,000 households in quarter 4 2004, to 50,500 households by 2010. This indicator will measure the numbers of households living in temporary accommodation provided under the homelessness legislation.
NI 158 - Percentage of decent council homes
will measure the number of non decent council homes and the proportion this represents of the total council housing stock. This is being calculated in order to demonstrate the progress towards making all council housing decent.
NI 160 - Local Authority tenants' satisfaction with landlord services
will measure local authority tenants' satisfaction with landlord services. Local authorities that have retained all or part management of their housing stock (including those with ALMOs) are required to report on this national indicator. Further information on this indicator, including guidance on reporting and frequently asked questions are available on the National Housing Federation (external link) website.

Other (wider housing) related indicators

There are, however, a wider number of indicators to which housing interventions will contribute and authorities are expected to report on them. A list of these indicators including their descriptions, is available below.