Archived decisions

Contact: Robert Ormerod, Tel: (01962) 845122, email: [email protected]

1. Summary

1.1 This report sets out the arrangements for meeting new statutory requirements regarding the preparation, submission and modification of a draft Local Area Agreement.

Recommendation:

That the functions relating to the preparation, submission and modification of a Local Area Agreement under sections 106, 110, 111 and 113 of the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 are made the responsibility of the Executive, and that, therefore, the following wording be added to the table in Part 2 Chapter 1 Paragraph 1.3 of the Constitution:

1. Function: the preparation, submission and modification of a Local
Area Agreement under sections 106, 110, 111 and 113 of the Local
Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007
2. Decision-making Body: Executive
3. Taking the Decision: Cabinet
4. Delegation of Functions: Chief Executive

2. Background

2.1 The Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 requires that the County Council, as the responsible body, prepares and submits to the Secretary of State a draft local area agreement (LAA) specifying:

(i) a range of improvement targets

(ii) the respective partner bodies; and

(iii) the period of the agreement.

2.2 In preparing the draft LAA, the County Council must consult each of the specified partner bodies and any other partner as appropriate; co-operate with these partners in determining the improvement targets; have regard to the community strategy prepared under section 4 of the Local Government Act 2000 and any guidance issued by the Secretary of State. These partners are under a duty to co-operate with the County Council and have regard to guidance.

2.3 The Government has recently issued the Local Authorities (Functions and Responsibilities) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2008 which came into force on 31 March 2008 so that functions relating to the preparation, submission and modification of a LAA under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 will be added to the schedule of functions which may be (but need not be) the responsibility of the Executive of the County Council. A decision of the County Council is required to reflect this in its constitution. Such a decision would normally be considered by the Governance Committee, but given the conflict of timescales, the Chairman of the Governance Committee has consulted with the members of the Committee in correspondence.

2.4 It is proposed that it would be appropriate for the preparation, submission and modification of the LAA to be deemed an executive function since it is concerned with implementing the Sustainable Community Strategy which is approved by full Council as part of the policy framework.

2.5 The County Council has worked with partners to review the Hampshire Community Strategy published in 2004 (the review will be known as the "sustainable" community strategy [SCS]). This will be presented to the County Council for approval in July 2008 as part of the County Council's Policy Framework. The emerging draft SCS has been used to help shape the specific priorities for the current draft Local Area Agreement.

2.6 For the LAA covering 2008-11, given that guidance has been emerging very recently against a very tight development timetable from HM Government, the framework has been developed through existing partnership arrangements and with the Cabinet of the County Council and the Corporate management Team. The Cabinet have been asked to approved the draft in its current state at their meeting on the 12^th May. By virtue of a statutory direction by the Secretary of State, the draft LAA must be submitted to the Government Office by the end of May 2008 and the Secretary of State will then consider this and may either approve it or require the County Council to prepare and submit a further draft.

2.7 The LAA targets will provide a focus for the future comprehensive performance assessment, although there will also be a wider annual judgment against the wider set of 198 performance indicators in the new national performance framework.

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.

File FM Exec Member Location: Community planning/committee reports