Local Area Agreements Selecting 35 targets from 198 national indicators Leeds 30th November Paul Fol

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Local Area Agreements - Selecting 35 targets from
198 national indicators Leeds 30th
NovemberPaul Foleypdfoley_at_btinternet.com

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Overview

• Background 1998, LAAs, LSPs and 198
• Flexible Policy making?
• 198 indicators
• Innovative and responsive service delivery
• Robust evidence base?
• Tips and pitfalls
• Conclusions

a big step in turning the rhetoric of devolution
into reality Hazel Blears 2007
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Context

• The two strategic reports have overlapping
  themes. These include-
• Flexible policy making
• Innovative and responsive service delivery
• Use of a robust and shared evidence base

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Where have we been?

• The 1998 White Paper introduced a tight
  performance regime. Numerous targets and
  indicators were introduced to establish goals and
  monitor performance.
• Local Strategic Partnerships (LSPs) first
  mentioned in official government guidance in
  2001. They were primarily introduced to overcome
  the lack of joint working at the local level.
• Local Area Agreements (LAAs) were piloted in 21
  areas in 2004/05 and they were introduced in all
  upper-tier authorities in England in April 2007.

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Where are we going?

• The new regime will require Local Strategic
  Partnerships to develop Local Area Agreements
  with up to 35 core priorities to be chosen from
  198 indicators (CLG, 2007a), plus 17 statutory
  education and early years targets.
• The adoption of 198 indicators is a response to
  studies highlighting the need to decrease the
  reporting burden. Central government departments
  demanded between 566 (CLG, 2006b) or 1,200 (CLG,
  2007a) performance measures from authorities.
• The national indicator set will be the only
  measures on which central government will
  performance manage outcomes delivered by local
  government working alone or in partnerships.
  BVPI gone.

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Flexible Policy making?

• Interestingly, the Best Value Performance
  Indicators, which preceded the new approach,
  focused on improving the efficiency,
  effectiveness and economy of their service
  delivery. The new LAAs have the dual role of
  improving local services and increasing economic
  propserity for local people
• Strategic goals and service improvement goals are
  discussed, but regarded as largely
  interchangeable.
• Nearly all authorities and Local Strategic
  Partnerships have been undertaking both roles for
  many years, but it is intriguing that both are
  now linked in a single policy making process.
• New strategic choice methods are required (35
  from 198).
• SIC

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The 198 Indicators

• Seven headings-
• Stronger communities (14 indicators)
• Safer communities (35)
• Children and young people (69)
• Adult health and well being (21)
• Tackling exclusion and promoting equality (11)
• Local economy (34)
• Environmental sustainability (14)
• District or neighbourhood focus?
• NRF funds are being rolled into the pot, but
  the primary reporting level is the district.
• Will there be a requirement to target
  neighbourhoods?

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The 198 Indicators

• Real problems or perceptions? 8 per cent
  perceptions)
• Safer communities section examples
• Perceptions of anti-social behaviour (NI 17) and
  Satisfaction with the way police and council
  dealt with anti-social behaviour (NI 24)
• vs.
• People killed and injured in road traffic
  accidents (NI47)
• Arson incidents (NI33)

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The 198 Indicators

• Strategic or operational goals? (13 per cent
  strategic)
• Children and young people section examples
• Emotional health of children (NI 50)
• Services for disabled children (NI 51)
• vs.
• Child protection cases reviewed in the required
  timescale (NI67)
• Children who have experienced bullying (NI69)

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Innovative and responsive service delivery

• LAAs can also include local targets which will
  not be seen as second order by Government
  Offices (page 25, CLG 2007b) and which carry
  equal weight . . . . as the other LAA targets
• It appears that innovative activities and
  responsive delivery mechanisms can be
  accommodated beyond the 198 indicators provided
  by CLG.

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Robust evidence base

• One of the key lessons from the dry run pilot
  exercise concerning evidence was the
  requirement to work, wherever possible, with a
  shared data set
• In most regions and localities this does not
  exist. For example in the South West at the
  regional level the Regional Assembly, Government
  Office and Regional Development Agency each have
  their own data observatories.
• At the local level less than half the
  population of England is covered by a local
  information system or observatory.
• Information utilisation amongst the 360 Local
  Strategic Partnerships in England is poor (ODPM,
  2006).

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Robust evidence base

• One of the key lessons from the dry run pilot
  exercise concerning evidence was the
  requirement to work, wherever possible, with a
  shared data set
• In most regions and localities this does not
  exist. For example in the South West at the
  regional level the Regional Assembly, Government
  Office and Regional Development Agency each have
  their own data observatories.
• At the local level less than half the
  population of England is covered by a local
  information system or observatory.
• Information utilisation amongst the 360 Local
  Strategic Partnerships in England is poor (ODPM,
  2006).

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What are local systems?

• 73 systems meet the definition (below) for a
  fully functional local information system. This
  is 19 per cent of the 388 UK Local authorities.
  183 authorities are served by a system.
• A computerised, automated or manual information
  system organised and/or accessed by a local
  authority alone or in partnership that
  systematically collects, processes, stores,
  displays, transmits and disseminates topical
  local or sub-regional information about
  individuals, household, businesses or
  geographical areas for strategic and operational
  policy making.

48 per cent of the English population
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Norfolk Data Observatory
15
Bristol State of the Neighbourhoods
16
Rotherham Neighbourhood Statistics
17
Yorkshire and the Humber Local Information
Systems
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Interchange The New World
Inspectorates
OGDs
DCLG
DCSF
Home Office
ONS
Audit Commission
Places dB
CentralServices
Reg Obs
GSi
Internet
Methods System to System
LA
LA
LA
LA
LSP
LSP
LSP
LSP
Hubs
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Discovery Service

• Each repository has an associated catalogue
• Each Catalogue is registered with a central
  search engine
• Within your own portal you initiate an enquiry
• The enquiry is sent to the central search engine
• The Central Search Engine polls all the
  registered catalogues and returns a list to your
  portal
• You select an item to view in detail
• You then click to view the associated data

DCLG
Places dB
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CentralSearch Engine
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3
2
Repository
Catalogue
LA
LA
LA
LSP
LSP
LSP
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Tips for success

• Two recent pilot LAA studies provide useful
  analysis about elements of best practice for
  developing local targets. Key foundation
  elements for the policymaking process include-
• Accommodation of both local vision and
  performance improvement
• Robust data and information that are part of a
  shared evidence base
• Government Office (GO) relationship managers need
  to become key partners working with the
  partnership to deliver its vision

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Potential problems

• Potential problems observed in dry run
  authorities and elsewhere include-
• Is adequate supporting intelligence available?
• Technical elements of indicators will not be
  agreed until February(ish).
• 198 indicator data will be available in
  April/May.
• Initial negotiations with GOs to be completed by
  February.
• Will the process focus on problems, performance
  or both? (what role for BVPI personnel)
• Strategists vs. performance managers
• Government Office (GO) are relationship managers
  and arbiters.
• Focus on the real problems or low hanging fruit?

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Help through the haze?
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Conclusions

• The number of indicators for review has been
  substantially reduced from 1,200 to 198.
• Select up to 35 from 198. But how?
• Scope exists for local innovation if additional
  indicators can be agreed with Government Offices.
  
• The previous emphasis on service delivery is now
  combined with a requirement to consider strategic
  priorities.
• Robust evidence is hard to find. Precise details
  of the 198 indicators are yet to be announced.
• Will GOs with a functional and thematic approach
  be able to adopt a district focus?
• How much low hanging fruit might LAAs be able to
  get away with?

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Local Area Agreements - Selecting 35 targets from
198 national indicators Any Questions?Paul
Foleypdfoley_at_btinternet.com