Future guidance
The future shape of LAAs and LSPs is currently being reviewed.
There will be a few pilot areas this year and we expect new
guidance to be available and ready to use from April 2008. We
expect the mainstreaming of LAAs, with the inclusion of local
authority funding (including formula grant and council tax), to
make them even more important vehicles for local improvement and
engagement.
Key summaries of what is being suggested are:
DCLG's
Developing the future arrangements for local area
agreements
IDeA's A
very English revolution: delivering bolder and better local area
agreements
Current guidance
Current government guidance on local area agreements was issued
on 31 March 2006.
Besides a brief explanation of local area agreements it
includes:
- a list of mandatory and potential outcomes and indicators. The
VCS has been successful in many areas, particularly with outcomes
relating to stronger communities (see Safer and Stronger
Communities list).
- an outline of what Government, Government Offices, local
authorities, LSPs, local people and the local VCS, private sector
and the NHS should or could do as part of their LAA. This includes
a short outline of what should be covered by a 'Statement of the
involvement of the VCS and local people in the design and delivery
of the agreement' (p. 30).
- an outline of the LAA's performance framework which includes
six-monthly performance reviews by the Government Office to assess
and assist with progress. It should also assess "continued strength
of partnership working, with the VCS and local people in
particular" (p.41). In addition to this review, elements of the LAA
will be used, eg by the Audit Commission, to assess how the council
and partners deliver in partnership. Government has issued a
further guidance note
about six-month reviews.
- an outline of funding that will and can be pooled to deliver,
or could be aligned with, LAA outcomes.
- how to apply for an
'
Enabling measure' (previously called 'freedoms &
flexibilities').
- an outline of the Reward Element of LAAs.
Local public service agreements (LPSAs) are being incorporated
into LAAs as the reward element: a set of challenging targets with
substantial financial rewards. Agreed LPSAs will remain as they are
and aren't open to alteration. Some LPSAs will have ended in April
2007, however, there has been no decision on whether there will be
a new round of reward funding - this depends on the 2007
Comprehensive Spending Review (news in the autumn), with an
earliest start of April 2008. If this happens, it is a great
opportunity to tackle the greatest problems in your area.
- a plea (annex G, p.65) to consider community cohesion and
tackling social injustice as cross-cutting aims of your
LAA.
A very
short addendum was issued in June. It includes a slight
amendment to the wording of the outcome to 'Empower local people'
and ends the mandatory indicator to 'Increase total entrepreneurial
activity among the population in deprived
areas'.