COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL
GOVERNMENT News Release (170) issued by The Government News Network
on 18 September 2007
Hazel Blears
unveiled the first phase of guidance for new Local Area Agreements
(LAAs) today marking a radical letting go of Whitehall controls to
give councils and communities more power to decide their own local priorities.
The first round of LAAs are already making a difference to local
communities. New LAAs will go even further by giving local
government more freedom to put greater energy, focus and funding
on the issues that matter most to their communities such as
tackling guns and gangs, getting people into work, improving
maternity services and support for older people.
All Local Strategic partnerships (LSPs) will now begin agreeing
which priorities they want to tackle by engaging with their local
communities. The targets agreed with Whitehall will be limited to
a maximum of 35, slashing the current myriad of Government targets.
Speaking at the Local Government Association conference
Designing and Delivering an excellent LAA Hazel Blears said:
"The Government is giving local leaders and local people the
power to decide how councils should prioritise and tackle the
issues that matter most to local communities. More local decision
making is the key to better services and greater public
satisfaction and will show what local democracy in action can do.
"This is a watershed moment for local government - here is
an opportunity to recognise the uniqueness of every local area but
also a challenge to make every town, city and village a place to
be proud of. I am delighted by the results of the work we have
done with Local Authorities and Local Strategic Partnerships to
develop the arrangements for new style Local Area Agreements.
"To be a success devolution must mean local action on the
ground, not an abstract theory. Local government must be ambitious
and seize this opportunity to make a real difference to their communities."
LGA Chair Sir Simon Milton said:
"Allowing local people a greater say over how money is spent
in their area represents a real step forward in devolving power .
The cutting back of central targets will genuinely allow councils
to respond to unique needs of specific areas and will let them
give people what they want."
The new guidance was developed with local councils, Whitehall
departments and other partners and is based on a dry-run of new
LAAs in 17 areas. A report on the dry run also published today
shows that the best arrangements are those firmly rooted in the
unique geography and culture of the local area; where LSPs bring
together schools, hospitals, the police and communities early on
in discussions to be clear about what sort of place they want to
see and how to achieve this.
Stella Manzie, Chief Executive of Coventry City Council who
participated in the dry run said:
"We have welcomed the opportunity to work with the CLG on
developing the new LAA framework. We hope today's
announcement will be the beginning of a new relationship between
central and local government. We want to work with Government to
help improve people's lives but we also want the freedom to
make decisions locally and concentrate on the issues that matter
most to our local communities and businesses."
Notes to Editors:
The new LAA Operational Guidance Phase 1 is available here: http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/localgovernment/negotiatingnewlaas
The new LAA dry-run report is available here: http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/localgovernment/laadryrunreport
A full list of performance indicators to select priorities from
will be published later this autumn, including some that are based
on a citizen's perspective and satisfaction ratings to ensure
that the views of local residents are integral to the process.
Negotiation of new LAAs will take place from autumn 2007 to
spring 2008 in all areas. They will last 3 years and be reviewed,
or where necessary revised, annually. The annual reviews will
take account of performance information and the Comprehensive Area Assessment.
To ensure that LSPs can tackle cross-cutting issues, local
partners, from schools to police to hospitals, will be required to
work together to deliver better services under a new duty to
co-operate in the Local Government and Public Involvement in
Health Bill currently going through Parliament. Business,
voluntary and environmental groups are also represented through
the LSP.
LSPs can agree as many additional priorities as they want to
further improve services. These will not be subject to performance
monitoring by the Government although we will provide support if
requested. Local authorities and their partners will continue to
be accountable to citizens for all their delivery.
Local partnerships participating in the LAA dry-run:
Barking and Dagenham
Bournemouth
Coventry
Cumbria
Derbyshire
Hartlepool
Kent
Leeds
Northamptonshire
Oldham
Sheffield
Shropshire
Stockton
Suffolk
Swindon
Westminster
Windsor and Maidenhead
Experience from the first round of LAAs shows they are already
making a difference to people's everyday lives.
* In Kirklees, the "Lighten Your Load" campaign has
helped nearly 900 pensioner households increase their income.
* Newcastle, Middlesbrough, and Thurrock have made it a priority
to cut their area's carbon footprint.
* Sefton, Ealing and Sandwell have reached out to those sometimes
excluded from decision-making - the very young, the elderly, faith
and Black and Minority Ethnic groups.
* And Bath and North East Somerset have enlisted the public in
everything from protecting the area's biodiversity to
designing playgrounds.
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