The new legal and policy framework for LSPs

Davy Jones14th March 2008 Hampshire

National policy context• Green Paper - Governance of Britain 2007

• “Better enable local people to hold service providers to account”• “Aims to put governing back into local governance”• Central/local government concordat

• Recognising that “every place is different” with distinct needs

• Space for “local priorities and local innovation”

• Commitment to “deepen the involvement of local communities”

• Councils as strategic leaders & “convenors of wider governance”

• Focus on “co-ordinated action tailored to needs of each place and its people”

New context for local services• CSR 2007 signalled end to big rise in spending• PSA Delivery Agreement 21 (Build more cohesive,

empowered & active communities)• “Unprecedented freedom for local authorities… needs strong

links to local communities”• Bottom-up accountability replaces centralised control of local

services • Broad consensus across main parties on need for:

• More localised community power and less centralism• Less targets, PIs, inspections etc• Multi-agency and area focus

• Not just “latest fad” - likely long-term agenda

Legislation, guidance & consultations• White Paper - Strong & Prosperous Communities

• Sustainable Communities Act private member bill

• Local Government & Public Involvement in Health Act & draft statutory guidance

• New performance framework - 198 PIs /35 (+17) targets for local areas and Places local survey

• Local Area Agreements operational guidance

• Comprehensive Area Assessment consultation

• Empowerment Action Plan, Charters, Petitions, and Councillors Commission

Local Government & Public Involvement in Health Act

• Structural reform - more unitary councils• Changes to electoral arrangements• Council executive arrangements inc mayors• Changes to parish councils• Local Area Agreements (LAAs) for all English

unitary areas from April 2008 • New “duty to inform, consult & involve”• Changes to local service audit & inspection and

role of Audit Commission• Local Involvement Networks (LINkS) in health

Duty to” inform, consult & involve”• New duty on “best value” authorities to “inform, consult

and involve” from April 2009• Does not apply to police or to Wales• Where “best value authority considers it appropriate”, it must

involve representatives of local persons or local persons in the exercise of their functions by:– Providing information on the exercise of the function– Consult about the exercise of the function– Involve in another way about the exercise of the function

• “Appropriate”: guidance states “as much as possible” for “routine functions” and “significant one-off decisions”

Local Involvement Networks (LINks)• Local Government & Public Involvement in Health Act

• LINks replace Patients Forums: to promote/support involvement of people in commissioning, provision & scrutiny of care services

• Local Involvement Networks: council contracts “host” to run LINk tailored to local needs

• Extensive powers: to enter premises, request information, make reports & recommendations

• LGPIH also enhances S242 of NHS Act 2006 to involve and consult patients and the public in planning/developing services

Local Area Agreements (LAAs)• LGPIH Act imposes LAAs on all upper tier areas, April 2008• Previous pilots mainly with 4 “blocks”

• Safe/strong; health/old; children & young; economy (& environment)

• All now “single pot” with funds able to be spent sector boundaries on local priorities

• Based on SCS, determines key priorities and targets for local area (up to 35 + 17)

• Citizens to be involved in shaping the LAA• LSPs self assess progress annually against LAA & report to

local citizens and to Government

Performance management framework

• Rationalisation of local services performance management

• New national set of 198 PIs linked to LAAs for each area

• Up to 35 targets (+17 statutory DCSF) in each LAA

• Bi-annual LSP-based Places survey for views on key quality of life issues for PI set, eg:• Extent to which citizens feel they can influence local decisions

• Whether people locally get on well together

• The extent of civic participation and volunteering

Local Strategic Partnerships • Existed since Local Government Act 2000 esp

Neighbourhood Renewal areas

• “Partnership of partnerships” - umbrella for sub-partnerships eg CDRPs, Childrens Trusts, optional local neighbourhood structures

• Public, private & third sector partners

• Always had lead role on Sustainable Community Strategy (SCS)

• Long-term vision for local area, links to Local Development Framework (LDF), Strategic Needs Assessment & other plans

New role for LSPs • LSPs given crucial (broader) role in new agenda

• New additional key role on Local Area Agreement (LAA) - three year delivery plan for SCS

• New statutory “duty to co-operate” for key named partners in LSP around Local Area Agreements

• Aligns resources and reviews performance

• Guidance on local “neighbourhood charters”

• Planned capacity-building programmes through Government Offices (GOs) to strengthen LSPs

• But remain ‘non-statutory’ & largely unaccountable (except via local council)

Duty on local councils and other local partners to work together to agree a single set of priorities through a Sustainable Community

Strategy and a Local Area Agreement

Three year delivery plan:Local Area

Agreement (LAA)

Council

Local Neighbourhoods

Local Strategic

Partnership

Long term Sustainable Community

Strategy (SCS)

Service Charter

Service Charter

HealthPolice Private sector

Community sector

Local Neighbourhoods

Comprehensive Area Assessment• New annual joint inspectorate independent assessment of

the prospects for local areas and the quality of life of people living there

• Other judgements remain eg annual direction of travel statement – council & annual use of resources judgements on councils, police, fire, health trusts

• Targeted inspection activity not rolling programmes

• Tailored improvement programmes from CAA

• CAA consultation 2nd sentence: “CAA will put experience of citizens (esp vulnerable), service users and taxpayers at centre of new assessment framework”

From CPA to CAA….• CPA looked primarily at past performance of council• CAA is forward-looking - assessing risks to delivery of

agreed outcomes from LAA (& SCS) for local area• Risk assessment will address key risks eg:

• Does LSPs understand and assess needs of its communities now and in the future?

• Does it use this understanding to inform its priorities?• Does LSPs adequately engage and empower local citizens and

service users• Does LSPs have adequate risk management processes or an

inflated sense of its own progress/success?

Engagement cycle in new agenda• Citizens involved in debate on local priorities, services &

budgets

• Feeds into Sustainable Community Strategy, Local Area Agreement & neighbourhood charters

• Annual self assessment by LSP

• Independent inspectorate assessment of risks in the area, using customer feedback, PIs etc

• LSPs produce annual report for citizens which feeds back into involvement process

Participatory Budgeting • Brazil/Latin America … Europe…300 cities worldwide

• Meetings, votes on priorities/budgets/projects

• Blears announcement of 22 pilots

• Every local authority area in 5 years

• Modest UK pilots over past 5 years• voluntary sector or youth “pot of money” agreed on by sector

• local neighbourhood “pot” voted on by local citizens

• broad budget consultation approaches

• linking to all or part of LAA/SCS process

Coherent new approach• Local services focus on ensuring excellent citizen intelligence about their

local communities

• New national LSP Places / Quality of Life survey to gather citizens’ views on key local issues, and LSPs develop an integrated comprehensive programme of surveys & consultation

• All local services routinely consult their users (& non-users) about the services provided to gather feedback & user experience

• All local services & LSP develop a thorough communication strategy to keep citizens and service users fully informed

• LSPs pick from a menu of options (PB, Citizens Panel etc) for ensuring cyclical involvement in developing & reviewing the Local Area Agreement (LAA) and Sustainable Community Strategy (SCS)

Davy Jones

07932 616843

davyjones@boltblue.com