Archived decisions

LOCAL PUBLIC SERVICE AGREEMENT (LPSA) - FINAL MONITORING OF LPSA1 AND PROGRESS WITH LPSA2

1. The County Council entered into a Local Public Service Agreement (LPSA1) with the Government in January 2002 to cover the period April 2002 to March 2005. The Agreement covered 13 targets comprising a mix of seven national targets, as prescribed by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM), and six local targets. In addition to receiving pump priming funds of just over £2m, it was possible to receive further funding in the form of Performance Reward Grant payable at the end of the Agreement period assuming that at least a 60% improvement in performance for the individual targets had been achieved. This represented a real challenge to the County Council - being an `excellent' rated Council in terms of the Government's Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA), the starting position was high and it was anticipated that delivery of some of the targets at the 60% level would be a struggle, and to reach 100% even more difficult.

2. The Cabinet considered the final outcomes monitoring report for LPSA1 on 25 July 2005 and welcomed the final position. Although it was not possible to deliver the base level of 60% on all the targets, there were some notable achievements such as:-

      · GCSE results at A*-C in deprived areas within Hampshire - 75% achievement

      · Reducing school truancies in targeted areas - North Basingstoke 100% achievement

      · Reducing exclusions in deprived areas in Gosport - 100% achievement

      · Helping older people to live as independently as possible: reducing delayed discharges achieved - the exact level of achievement is not currently known and confirmation is awaited from the Government. However a good result is anticipated and it is worth noting that delays from acute hospitals are at their lowest ever; in particular `whole system delays' including those waiting to transfer to other NHS services have reduced in the last year

      · Increased number of children looked after in permanent placements - 100% achievement

      · Diversion of waste from landfill through development of natural resource management approach - 100% achievement

      · Reducing fatal and seriously injured casualties on the road network - 100% achievement

      · Halt deterioration of the condition of the road network and reduce the backlog - 100% achievement

3. On this basis, the Performance Reward Grant that will be claimed will be in the region of £9.1m (subject to an audit view of the robustness of the data and agreement from the ODPM). Guidance on the arrangements for making claims for the reward grant are awaited from the ODPM, however subject to this guidance it is anticipated that a decision will be forthcoming in early 2006. The potential reward grant will be payable in two equal instalments during 2005/06 and 2006/07 and a decision was taken by the Cabinet, in principle, for allocation as follows:-

      · £1.5m of total reward grant earned allocated for the development of the Hampshire Local Area Agreement

      · £2.25m allocated for repayment of borrowing under unsupported credit approvals

      · the remaining reward grant allocated to departments in line with achievement in relation to targets

4. The main value of the LPSA process has been the focus, profile and priority of the exercise which has led to an overall improvement in performance and hence improved services in many areas. This improved performance will be sustained beyond the LPSA period, will inform the development of LPSA2, and will stand the County Council in good stead for the next round of CPA.

5. On 25 July 2005, the Cabinet also considered a report updating them on the latest position with the second Local Public Service Agreement (LPSA2), which will cover the period 2005/06 to 2008/09 to align with the Local Area Agreement (the ODPM announced on 22 June 2005 that Hampshire had been selected for the second round pilots). LPSA2 has been developed as a partnership agreement, in line with agreed priorities which reflect the Community Strategy and local outcomes for Hampshire, with district councils, the voluntary sector, health, police, fire and other partners. LPSA2 will be more complex to manage than LPSA1 and some areas of activity will be outside the County Council's control therefore, partners have been requested to indicate their level of support for individual targets on the basis of:

      · Level 3 - general sign up to LPSA2 overall but with no active contribution to the target

      · Level 2 - active contribution to meeting stretch in performance

      · Level 1 - target lead

    To date many of the partners have indicated a good level of support in agreeing targets, and in agreeing to lead on specific areas of activity. All partners have been asked to report to their decision making bodies at this stage to ensure approval to the sign-up of targets.

6. This Agreement also relates to the allocation of pump priming funds and the way in which Performance Reward Grant will be earned by those partners signed up to the LPSA as a whole and to individual targets. The negotiation stage with the ODPM is due to start in the autumn alongside the LAA. Discussions with partners have been on-going to establish the scope of the LPSA2 and the focus will be on four main priority areas of activity: tackling barriers to recruitment; helping people feel safe; healthy communities; and creating an environment to be proud of, with a further main cross cutting priority to improve transport. In total there will be 19 targets although this number is expected to reduce during negotiations. All partners have agreed management arrangements, and targets relating to the Hampshire Community Strategy will be monitored by the Hampshire Strategic Partnership by way of regular reports.

7. In support of Aim 5 of the Corporate Strategy (Improving services), the Cabinet endorsed the framework of targets and indicators (available upon request from the Chief Executive's Department); the use of the pump priming grant (just over £2m); and the proposed allocation of the Reward Grant (potentially £29m if every target achieves 100% stretch through the target). A considerable amount of work has been done to engage partners for each target and to develop robust indicators. The targets reflect local priorities; are innovative; will deliver sustainable outcomes and improved partnership working; and will provide a strong basis for the Local Area Agreement . Informal discussions with Government departments have been undertaken prior to the formal negotiations which have proved helpful and should speed the process up.