Archived decisions

Contact: Jill Lovelock, ext 7591, [email protected]
Paddy Hillary, ext 7391, [email protected]

1. Introduction

1.1. The guidelines have been published for the second round Local Public Service Agreements (LPSAs). There are significant changes to the rules and procedures for the original LPSAs which are to be welcomed:

_ Local - LPSA2 should reflect local circumstances and priorities. There is no requirements for national targets. LPSA2 should reflect the priorities of the local strategic partnership and community strategy, CPA outcomes and local performance information. This must be evidenced.

_ Partners - Government will not agree LPSA with counties without the involvement of those Districts that are willing to be involved. There is also the expectation that other public sector agencies, community and voluntary sectors and LSPs will be partners. The LPSA will still formally be an agreement between the government and the County Council.

_ Government - Government Departments are committed to greater involvement with potential for local arms of government and the opportunity for `explorer' partnerships where government works alongside local authorities on specific targets.

1.2. LPSA 2 retains the same system for pump priming and a potential award grant of 2½% of budget.

2. Process

2.1. The aim is to start LPSA2 in 2005 as the current LPSA finishes, but the preparation required will be considerable.

2.2. The stages will be:

_ prepare strategy and agree desired priorities and outcomes with partners

_ agree strategy with government


These would be done several months before starting negotiations on performance and stretch


_ develop indicators to measure outcomes for priority areas to be targeted, including data collection issues

_ agree indicators with government

_ agree performance targets with government

_ agree how government will work in partnership

2.3. The basis of the agreement will still be a negotiated assessment of performance without LPSA2 and the stretch that will be achieved through LPSA2.

3. Implications

3.1. This is a real opportunity to work on key priorities for Hampshire and there is already a good measure of agreement within the HSP, CPA Cabinet priorities and corporate strategy on what the themes and issues are. Without the requirements to work to national targets and PIs it is also a chance to develop more innovative and cross cutting targets and to focus on specific parts of the county.

3.2. However, the requirement for stronger partner involvement means more effort to consult and involve partners and the process of developing meaningful and measurable indicators for the areas we want to target will be complex.

4. The Way Forward

4.1. It is suggested LPSA2 is developed around the four main themes of the draft Hampshire Community Strategy, it is important that Cabinet satisfies itself that these are in line with County Council priorities. These themes and the issues underpinning them that could be developed into target areas for LPSA2 are:

Strong and safe communities, which fits with the Corporate Strategy aim to build strong and safe communities.


· community facilities and support to help people be self supporting

· access to services and choice of facilities

· local involvement in decision making

· crime, fear of crime, home safety, road safety

· quality of life for communities in deprived areas and targeting services in areas of need

· active citizenship

4.2. Health and well-being, which fits with the Corporate Strategy aims of improving services and providing stewardship of the environment.

· affordable and accessible health and social care

· opportunities for culture, leisure and recreation

· social cohesion and contributions to society

· preventive action and reduce demand on services

4.3. Economic prosperity and lifelong learning, which fits with the Corporate Strategy aims of achieving economic prosperity and maximising life opportunities.

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· recruitment of staff with appropriate skills

· opportunities for lifelong learning

· sustainable movement of goods and service and work travel

· contributions of voluntary sector to local economy

· promotion of Hampshire as attractive place to visit, work and live

· sustainable support for business and communities

4.4. Environment, infrastructure and transport, which fits with the Corporate Strategy aims of providing stewardship of the environment and building strong and safe communities.

· appropriate number and categories of housing

· development of sustainable communities with appropriate facilities, especially for new development

· high quality environment with access for all to leisure, recreation and open space

· choice of safe and sustainable transport modes

· understanding and awareness of natural resources and their management

4.5. These have been drawn from a wide consultation exercise using information from District LSPs as well as other local sources and of course they reflect the Cabinet priorities. There is already a strong evidence base to support these themes.

4.6. This approach needs approval in principle from Cabinet and then discussion both internally and with partners on desired outcomes and development of specific targets and indicators. The key consultees should be:

_ Districts

_ HSP

_ District LSPs

_ others as appropriate depending on targets.

4.7. Partners must be prepared to contribute time and resources to developing the priority actions, targets and indicators and to demonstrate how they will help meet them. This is likely to be a resource intensive process and the difficulty should not be underestimated, however the result should be a range of targets that will improve performance and meet already identified priorities.

4.8. HSP is just about to start developing its detailed action plan to support the draft Hampshire Community Strategy so the timing is good. Similarly District LSPs are developing their strategies, and in 2004 Community Safety Partnerships will be undertaking audits and preparing new community safety strategies. These exercises need to come together and the agreed shared priorities reflected in LPSA2.

Recommendation

That Cabinet agree the way forward and the themes and issues as outlined above for developing LPSA2 for Hampshire and discussion with partners.

Section 100 D - Local Government Act 1972 - background papers

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