The Gloucestershire Local Area Agreement

 

What is the Gloucestershire Local Area Agreement?

A Local Area Agreements (LAA) is a 3-year agreement between Central Government and a local area working through its Local Strategic Partnership (LSP).  It sets out the priorities for a local area that partners will work together to address and translates these priorities into a set of improvement targets.

Why is it important?

The LAA is an important for a number of reasons:

  • It translates the long-term vision for a local area into a number of priorities and targets.

  • Government has agreed that it will be the only place where it agrees targets for County and District Councils.

  • Because it sets out the priorities for an area, it will influence decisions about how and where resources are allocated and services are designed and commissioned.

  • It is ’owned’ by all key delivery partners, including the voluntary and community sector.

  • The main public sector organisations have a statutory ‘duty to co-operate’ in the development and delivery of the LAA.

  • It will be the main way that Government judges how well an area is performing.

  • Some of the LAA targets have a reward grant associated with them.  If all of the targets in the current LAA are delivered, the county will receive £16m additional Government funding.

  • Its ultimate aim is to improve outcomes for local people.

 

Who is involved and who does what?

  • Gloucestershire County Council is responsible for leading the development and delivery of the Local Area Agreement.

  • All other public sector partners (district councils, NHS Trusts, Police, Learning & Skills Council, Job Centre Plus) are involved in helping to agree and deliver priorities.

  • The Voluntary & Community Sector is involved through the Voluntary Sector Assembly.

  • In Gloucestershire, the partnership which co-ordinated the whole process is called the Gloucestershire Conference JOHN link back to Gloucestershire Conference page.   The Gloucestershire Conference is the county Local Strategic Partnership for Gloucestershire.

  • Government Office for the South West is responsible for representing Government in LAA negotiations, and for making sure that the LAA reflects national as well as local priorities.

 

What are the main priorities in the Gloucestershire LAA?

The Gloucestershire LAA is structured around 5 main themes, each of which is supported by a priority outcome.  These are as follows:

Children & Young People Theme Example Priorities:

  • Improve education attainment for children & young people, including vulnerable children and young people

  • Help vulnerable children and young people to have improved life chances by maximising their potential for safe, healthy, happy and successful lives

  • Improve choices and support for 14-19 year olds suitable to their age-group

Economic Development & Enterprise Theme Example Priorities:

  • Increase the number and quality of jobs

  • Increase the number and range of skilled employees by improving the skills of local people

  • Realise the economic potential of Cheltenham and Gloucester and the surrounding area

  • Develop a stronger, more diverse and sustainable rural economy.

Healthier Communities & Older People Theme Example Priorities:

  • Improve health and reduce health inequalities

  • Contribute to the reduction of obesity levels

  • Support independence, health and wellbeing for vulnerable people

Natural & Built Environment Theme Example Priorities:

  • More resilient homes (i.e. tackling fuel poverty)

  • More resilient communities (waste reduction, road maintenance, sustainable transport, renewable energy)

  • More resilient natural & built environment (adapting to climate change)

Safer & Stronger Communities Theme Example Priorities

  • Improve quality of life in the most deprived neighbourhoods

  • Promote fairness, equality, community cohesion and inclusion

  • Give local people having more influence and choice over local decision making and service delivery

  • Increase the capacity of communities to take voluntary action

  • Reduce the harm caused by illegal drugs and alcohol

  • Build respect and reduce anti-social behaviour

  • Reduce crime and the fear of crime

  • Make the county’s roads safer

 

How does the LAA get delivered?

  • Some LAA targets will remain the responsibility of an individual partner, and will be managed by them.  For example, the LAA includes a target for the condition of the County’s roads, which will be delivered by Gloucestershire Highways.

  • Some targets require several partners to work together in a co-ordinated way.  For example, our targets around fuel poverty require the Severn Wye Energy Agency, the 6 district councils, the county council and the Primary Care Trust to work together.  One of the partners takes a lead role in co-ordinating, managing and reporting the activity on behalf of the partnership.

  • Other targets are so broad that they require all partners to contribute.  For example, the LAA includes a target to increase public satisfaction with the local area (measured by annual survey).  Again, a single organisation is identified as the lead, but there is so much activity which could contribute to the target, it would not be possible to keep track of it all.  Instead, the LAA action plan will focus on the main strategic partnership activity which is taking place to help achieve the target.

 

How is the LAA resourced?

  • The LAA does not come with additional funding.  Instead, Government expects partners to work together to deliver it using their own resources.  By working together, the LAA aims to deliver improvements more efficiently.

  • Collectively, the partners involved in the LAA are responsible for billions of pounds of public money.  The LAA aims to encourage them to look for opportunities to work together in a more co-ordinated, more effective way.

 

How do we know if it’s working?

  • Each of the LAA’s outcomes is supported by one or more performance targets.  These form the basis of the agreement with Government. 

  • Performance is monitored quarterly against these targets in order to identify areas that need additional attention or where the delivery plans we have put in place aren’t working.

  • We report performance annually to Government and the public.

  • In its first year, 70% of the targets in the Gloucestershire LAA were achieved in full.  Many of these were in areas where we would not have achieved success without working in partnership.

 

What is the role of the VCS?

  • Governance and Decision Making: The VCS is represented at all levels of the Gloucestershire Conference as an equal partner.  As such, the sector plays an important part in setting priorities, planning strategy and agreeing delivery arrangements.

  • Leading and Co-ordinating: In Gloucestershire, the VCS has taken the lead in a number of areas where it is best placed to do so.  For example, it led the development of the Environment Theme of the LAA and is currently responsible for co-ordinating activity under the Safer Communities Theme.  The VCS also leads on delivery of targets on volunteering, affordable warmth and renewable energy.

  • Delivering Services: VCS organisations are responsible for delivering a wide range of services that in turn contribute to LAA targets.  In some cases, these will be services that are delivered under contract to one of the public sector partners, in other cases, voluntary sector organisations will use their own resources or grant funding to help achieve LAA targets.  Some of this activity will be making a significant impact on targets, and so will be captured in the LAA delivery plan.  In other cases, the target will be met by literally hundreds of organisations, each playing a small part.  For example, if your organisation uses volunteers in any of its activities, you are already contributing to our volunteering target, whether you knew it or not!

  • Strengthening Communities:  The LAA is all about making Gloucestershire a better place to live, work and play.  Good quality public services contribute to that aim, but can only do so much.  It’s also about strong communities where people feel a strong sense of belonging and where individuals can thrive.  The VCS is a critical part of what makes communities strong.

  • Gloucestershire has received national recognition for the outstanding role played by the VCS in all aspects of the LAA.

 

How can I get involved?

  • In Gloucestershire, the VCS Assembly is our means of co-ordinating and representing the sector’s involvement in the LAA. 

“I want to influence the priorities in the LAA”

  • The Assembly Team co-ordinates representation from the VCS Assembly onto the Gloucestershire Conference multi-sector partnerships who are responsible for overseeing the delivery of the LAA.

  • To influence the priorities in the LAA, you can make your views heard by attending the relevant VCS Strategy Group, your district VCS forum (if you have one) or by contacting the Assembly Team John please insert relevant links for the VCS SG, Forum and Assembly Team.

“My organisation can help deliver an LAA target”

  • The LAA identifies an Accountable Manager for each LAA target whose role is to co-ordinate delivery of the target. 

  • The LAA team doesn’t need to know about every project, scheme or initiative that might contribute – only those that will have a significant impact on achieving the target.  The Accountable Manager should be the first point of contact for an organisation that thinks they have a significant contribution to make.  (For example, if you run a youth club in Stroud, the chances are you are helping to reduce anti-social behaviour, but we would not need to know about that.  If, however, you were introducing a referral scheme to work with every young person who has an Anti-Social Behaviour Order in Cheltenham, then we would want you to be involved in the LAA, so that we can help make sure that other agencies are making the right links to the work you are doing).

  • Remember, the LAA Delivery Plan does not need to co-ordinate or map all activity that is contributing to a target, just those key activities that are designed to make a big difference to performance across the county.

“I am interested in providing a service that contributes to the LAA.  How will services be commissioned?”

  • Remember, the LAA is not a bidding document - there is no extra funding.  Instead, it is about organisations working together in a more co-ordinated way and using their resources more effectively.

  • If the partnership decided it wanted to commission a particular service from a VCS provider, it would first need to identify one of the partners to act as the lead commissioner.  Then that organisation would use their standard commissioning processes and procedures.

  • The Gloshub bulletin John link to the Gloshub bulletin will publicise news and opportunities relating to funding for the VCS.

“I’ve got a great idea for a project/service or initiative that would help achieve an LAA target.  Who should I tell?”

  • You can either:

    • Contact the Accountable Manager for that target – their details will be listed alongside the target in the LAA.

    • Contact the VCS Assembly representative for that particular partnership – you can get their details by contacting the Assembly Team John link for AT here

  • Do remember that the normal rules will apply with regard to commissioning services and awarding contracts. 

“I don’t feel I need to get involved but would be interested in staying in touch.  How do I do that?”

 

Gloucestershire LAA News

Guide to National Indicators

A revised set of definitions for the National Indicators for Local Authorities and Local Authority Partnerships has been published by the Department of Communities and Local Government.  VCOs should take particular note of indicators NI4, NI6 and NI7.  Download the guidance here.