Merton’s new-style Local Area Agreement (LAA)

Briefing note

Background

What is an LAA?

·         An LAA is an agreement between central Government and a Local Strategic Partnership, the primary objective of which is to deliver better outcomes for local people.  Other objectives include promoting better partnership working and delivering efficiencies.

·         Merton’s current LAA was agreed with Government in April 2007 and has an overarching theme of ‘bridging the gap’. 

·         The LAA is broken down into four ‘blocks’.  Each of these has a number of outcomes with performance indictors and targets set over the three-year period.  Twelve of the targets are ‘stretched’ which means that Government will give the LSP performance reward grant if we achieve the stretched performance.

·         Like all other local authorities, Merton is required to negotiate a new LAA with Government in 2007/2008. 

Why do we need to develop a new LAA?  

The LAA model has been reconfigured to meet the following objectives:

• To move LAAs from the margins to the mainstream in all Partner organisations
• To place greater emphasis on area based service delivery - LAAs are intended to become key to ‘place shaping’, and will sit at the centre of a new national performance management framework
• To reduce the number of central targets and reporting systems: ‘LAAs will be the only place where targets agreed with government on outcomes delivered by local government on its own or in partnership - with a radical reduction in overall target numbers’ (Department for Communities and Local Governement)
• To provide more freedom in spending decisions.  Funding will no longer be linked to specific outcomes and targets.  The area will, instead, use all of the funding available to support the LAA.  The majority of this will be un-ringfenced.

Merton completed negotiations on its first LAA in March 2007.  The LAA was, to a large extent, based upon Merton’s Community Plan that was developed using wide-ranging consultation and a sound evidence base of local need and concerns.  Therefore, in the transition to the new-style LAA we expect to build on the existing LAA rather than replace it with a new set of priorities.

Key features of the new LAA landscape

• The LAA will include up to 35 agreed performance indicators plus 18 mandatory children and young people indicators.  For each indicator, the Partnership will negotiate targets to help us achieve the desired outcomes for local people by 2011. 
• The LAA ‘themes’ (note they are no longer referred to as ‘blocks’) are:
  
  • Children and Young People
  • Economy and Environment
  • Safer and Stronger Communities
  • Healthier Communities and Older People

• It will become a statutory requirement for certain ‘named partners’ to co-operate in the development of the LAA and to have regard to the LAA targets in their locality.

• The 35 indicators and targets will be negotiated with Government from January 2008.  They will be derived from a new National Performance Framework which is due to be published in the autumn.  This will consist of 200 indicators.  Merton Council’s performance will be monitored against all 200 indicators but the Merton Partnership will focus on delivery of the 35 (+18).
• The LAA may also contain indicators that are purely local.  Performance against these will not need to be reported to Government.
• The LAA will start from April 2008 but will not be formally signed off until June.  This is to tie in with the business and financial planning cycles in partner organisations.

What does the Merton Partnership need to do next?

·         At this stage, the Partnership should begin reviewing the priorities for Merton, as set out in the current Community Plan and LAA.  Questions should include:

o        Are the current objectives that the Merton Partnership is working towards (as set out in the Community Plan and LAA) still valid and supported by evidence?

o        Are there any emerging issues of underperformance or local concern/need in the borough that could be tackled through the LAA?

o        Will the LAA deliver what it is intended to?

·         Government will be looking for solid evidence to support the LSP’s view of local priorities; having accurate and up to date information will help in making the case with Government. The Partnership’s task is to develop a convincing ‘story’ of Merton as a place, with evidence and information that clearly identifies priority areas for improvement.  The LAA may also be used to drive innovation as well as addressing areas of under performance.

·         At the Executive Board meeting on 24 May, it was agreed that this review work would be taken forward by the Thematic Partnerships.  A template has been circulated to all chairs and leads to assist in reviewing LAA priorities.

·         Once the LSP has taken a view on the high level outcomes it wants to deliver for Merton, the focus will switch to deciding which of the 200 performance indicators available will best support the delivery of these outcomes.  When the performance indicators have been agreed between the LSP and Government, work will begin on negotiating the targets for the three-year period of the LAA (2008-11).

Key dates

Frequently asked questions

Will the new LAA contain stretch (reward) targets?

We do not know yet whether the new-style LAAs will contain any reward element.  Watch this space!

What will happen to the existing stretch targets?

Government has said that existing stretch targets will be honoured.

Will the LAA contain mandatory indicators?

We know that the Children and young people theme will include 18 mandatory education/early years indicators from the DfES.  There are likely to be some mandatory indicators in the other themes, most likely in the Safer and stronger communities theme.

Further information

·         Merton’s current LAA can be found at http://www.mertonpartnership.org/mp-home/mp-merton-partnership-documents/laa.htm

·         Merton’s Community Plan can be found at http://www.mertonpartnership.org/mp-home/mp-merton-partnership-documents/mp-communityplan.htm

·         More information on the new-style LAAs can be found on the website of the Department for Communities and Local Government at http://www.communities.gov.uk/index.asp?id=1510652