Comprehensive Area Assessment and LEA

A new way of assessing local public services

Suki Coe

Regional Lead Economy and Environment

HeadlinesFive key CAA characteristics:

1. It assesses how well people are being served by their local public services

2. It looks at how public services work together – as well as individual organisational performance

3. It focuses on local, as well as national, priorities

4. It provides robust, but proportionate, assessment of local services

5. We will report our assessments directly to the public in straightforward language

Why CAA? Big issues need joined up, coordinated action

Need to concentrate on outcomes achieved for local communities

Reflect what matters most to local people, with particular focus on people whose circumstances make them vulnerable

But needs to stimulate continuous improvement

And must continue to provide independent assurance that local bodies are effective and providing value for money

How is CAA working?

Area assessmentForward looking, focused on outcomes in local priorities

Answers three questions:

1. How well do local priorities express community needs and aspirations?

2. How well are the outcomes and improvements needed being delivered?

3. What are the prospects for improvement?

These questions will be underpinned by four themes that run through the assessment: sustainability, inequality, vulnerable people and value for money

• Green will signal exceptional improvement or innovation that others can learn from

• A red flag indicates where there are worries about the ability to deliver and sustain priority improvements

• Judgement agreed across inspectorates

Sustainable Development at the heart of our approach

“CAA is inherently about sustainability. Sustainable development is as much about long term social and economic benefits; ensuring a strong, healthy and just society, as it is about environmental concerns. Sustainability considerations will be integral to the three main area assessment questions. Our assessments will embed sustainability by asking explicitly if improvements in outcomes are demonstrably sustainable.”

Organisational assessment These assessments inform (and are informed by) the area

assessment

Different public services will continue to be assessed by the relevant inspectorate – these join up to form the area assessment

Focus on the contribution local bodies make to improving outcomes, as well as individual performance and value for money

Council organisational assessments will be scored 4 = performs excellently to 1 = performs poorly

Evidence & working together CAA will consider:

Local performance management information, including that used for monitoring performance against Local Area Agreements and Sustainable Community Strategies

Performance against 188 national indicators (National Indicator Set (NIS))

Evidence from inspection and audit

Information from government offices and other agencies

Views of local people, the third sector and local businesses

Providing the evidence for a shared judgment by inspectors working together

Reporting CAA New oneplace website from 9 December

Website is main communication tool, with summaries of each assessment written in straightforward, jargon-free language

also provides non web-based reporting

Green flags help share good practice

Users can drill-down for more detail

Links to Local Economic Assessment

• LEA must be based on good quality data, evidence and reflect the local strategic partnerships priorities for the economy

• Links with Sustainable community Strategy, LAA, MAA, LDF etc part of a suite of strategies

• Identifies economic priorities• Each organisation in the LSP has economic activity that

contributes – partnerships• Assessment of success – NIs, local performance

indicators, impacts• Feed into review of LEA• Outcomes and impact assessed through CAA

Contact details

Suki Coe

s-coe@audit-commission.gov.uk

07876 144852