Archived decisions

Contacts:

Robert Ormerod, Community Strategy Manager Ext: 5122

email: [email protected]

Paul Carey-Kent, Deputy County Treasurer Ext: 7525

email: [email protected]

1. Summary

1.1 This report deals with the arrangements for allocation of funding through the LAA Grant process for 2006/7 and the Home Office element of the Area Based Grant for 2008/9.

2. Recommendations

a) To ratify the distribution of Local Area Agreement Grant for 2007-08

b) Subject to the County Council budget process, to approve an indicative initial allocation of £50,000 to each district council as the accountable bodies for their respective Crime and Disorder Partnership for year 1 of the Area Based Grant in order to ensure continuity of funding to prepare and deliver annual statutory assessments and delivery plans for crime reduction.

c) The County Strategy Group for Crime and Disorder be asked to advise the Executive Member for Policy Resources on how the remainder of the Home Office element of the ABG for 2008-11 can be most effectively used to support the achievement of county and local community safety priorities.

3. 2007-8 LAA Grant

3.1 The Hampshire Local Area Agreement runs from 2006 - 09. The targets agreed were supported by the Local Area Agreement Grant. This was a new single grant which consolidated a range of existing area based funding streams - that is to say there was no additional funding. The County Council was the recipient of and the Accountable Body for the LAA Grant although some of its component parts had previously been paid to other agencies in Hampshire, particularly District Councils for their input to Safer and Stronger Communities and Waste Performance Efficiency. The grant came with specific conditions relating to its expenditure towards the achievement of LAA targets. The County Council has worked with partners on the setting and delivery of targets and has agreed that due to the lack of lead-in planning time, funds would initially be passported to partners who had previously received them in accordance with indicative allocations from Government Departments. This is to say that no new pooled funding and joint commissioning arrangements have been developed to deal specifically with the LAA Grant, especially given that it has not been stable, it covers a wide range of service areas and needs to be considered alongside wider resources of partners. The approach thus far has been to encourage stronger alignment of wider resources behind shared priorities and improved partnership working.

3.2 The County Council was notified in the first quarter of the financial year that the indicative 2007-08 LAA Grant would suffer a 14% cut of the Home Office element. The Council mitigated some of this cut through a contribution from its own budgets and district authorities mitigated the impact on services locally. Final confirmation of the settlement was only received by the County Council in the third quarter of the financial year.

3.3 Due to pressures this created, the County Council passed funding to partners, both external and within the County Council, prior to this final confirmation on the basis of indicative allocations, adjusted for additional funding by the County Council to mitigate the effect of the Home Office cut. The payments were subject to confirmation of the LAA Grant from HM Government and ratification by the County Council.

3.4 The LAA Grant allocations are attached at Appendix 1.

4. 2008-11 Area Based Grant

4.1 The Comprehensive Spending Review 07 brought in new arrangements for area based funding. The LAA Grant was discontinued and Government Departments have channelled as much funding as possible through the Revenue Support Grant and a new un-ringfenced Area Based Grant (ABG) which does not come with specific grant conditions. The ABG is part of a three year settlement as per the RSG and is made to the County Council as one of its integral funding streams. The County Council can spend this as it chooses, although it should be recognised that this element includes monies previously paid to Districts by the Home Office to support the work of Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships under the heading of Safer and Stronger Communities. The indicative sum under this heading is £1,172,000 of which some £103,000 is in respect of the Drugs and Alcohol Advisory Team (DAAT) expenditure included in the Adult Services budget. The remaining £1,069,000 has previously been allocated to District Councils to support their CDRP activities.

4.2 A new statutory group is being formed at the county level to co-ordinate the setting and delivery of strategic objectives for community safety. This group includes a range of statutory agencies and the chairs of each district CDRP. It is anticipated that this group would have a significant role in the effective co-ordination of resources and could advise the Executive Member for Policy and Resources, inter alia, on how resources can be used most effectively to achieve strategic and local objectives. This may include further allocations to CDRPs.

4.3 In practical terms, it is likely that there would be a progressive development of commissioning arrangements but to ensure stability of delivery to achieve existing targets, the starting point would be that a significant proportion of these funds would continue to be directed to the district CDRPs. The CDRPs have agreed three year strategies with the Home Office for reducing crime and disorder in their area and have revised duties to prepare annual strategic assessments and delivery plans. In order to minimise risk at a local level in ensuring continuity of service, it is proposed that an initial indicative amount of £50,000 be allocated to each CDRP and that the new County Strategy Group for Crime and Disorder be asked to advise the Executive Member for Policy and Resources on further application of the remainder of the Home Office element of the ABG. It would be appropriate to review this process for 2009 and beyond recognising local and county-wide priorities. This allocation would be subject to the County Council budget process but would indicate the County Council's intentions and help local partners manage risk.

8. Conclusion

8.1 If it is possible to make indicative allocations at this stage, that would ensure the continuity of CDRP actions and enable partners to plan more securely.

Section 100 D - Local Government Act 1972 - background documents

The following documents discuss facts or matters on which this report, or an important part of it, is based and have been relied upon to a material extent in the preparation of this report.

NB: the list excludes:

1. Published works

2. Documents which disclose exempt or confidential information as defined in the Act.

(Quote list of documents here: either "none" if 1 or 2 above apply; or list the relevant letters, memos, etc. and their location)

Appendix 1

Local Area Agreement Grant 2007/08