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ITEM EX7

EXECUTIVE – 30 APRIL 2002

COMPREHENSIVE PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT

Report by Director for Strategy

1. This report seeks approval of a "self-assessment" submission to the Audit Commission as part of the "comprehensive performance assessment" (CPA) process which is being introduced to assess and classify all local authorities. The timescale for carrying out and completion of this phase of the CPA process is very tight, and although work is in hand on the preparation of the submission document, it was not feasible to produce it in time for inclusion with the agenda and it will therefore be circulated later. In the meantime, this report sets out the background to CPA and outlines the basis on which the self-assessment submission is being drawn up.
2. At the request of members of the Executive, the Corporate Governance Scrutiny Committee are being invited to make any comments on the draft self-assessment submission before consideration by the Executive. This report and the draft submission (when available) are being made available to the Scrutiny Committee, who are due to meet on Monday 29 April.

Background

3. Members will be aware that proposal for CPA comes from the White Paper ‘Strong Local Leadership – Quality Public Services’. The assessment process – to be conducted through the Audit Commission – will grade every local authority as either high performing, striving, coasting or failing. The Audit Commission definitions for these categories are attached.(Annex 1)
4. Each service within each local authority is to be assessed individually, mostly on the basis of a desk study conducted by the Audit Commission. Each service assessment will result in a numerical score, which will be fed into a mathematical model. The cumulative service scores will enable the overall assessment to be made. The assessment is to be carried out in stages:

• self-assessment;
• initial challenge to the self-assessment;
• fieldwork – essentially a peer review.

5. We have been notified that the self-assessment for Oxfordshire County Council must be completed and submitted to the Audit Commission by 1 May 2002. This will be followed by:

• Initial Challenge to self-assessment: 14 May
• Fieldwork: 8 days within a 2-week period starting 20 May
• Corporate Inspection Feedback / Challenge: 10 – 24 June
• BVPI data provided to Audit Commission: by 30 June
• CPA judgement released

6. This timescale is very demanding particularly, in the first stages, in carrying out the self assessment for submission by 1 May. Intensive efforts are being made to draw up a submission in consultation with other departments, and a draft will be circulated as early as possible before the meeting.
7. In accordance with advice from the Audit Commission, the self assessment process will cover 6 elements:

1. Context – placing the County’s current position and plans into an environmental, historical and financial context and describing the key issues facing the authority.
2. Explaining what the Council is trying to achieve.
3. How has the Council set about delivering its priorities for improvement?
4. What has been achieved and not achieved to date.
5. What does the Council plan to do next?
6. An outline action plan for the next 3 years.

8. Our objective is to construct a document that demonstrates that Oxfordshire has a good record of service improvement, that it is far from complacent with current performance, and has undertaken a detailed analysis of its position. We can cite a range of successes during recent years – for example: OTS and other transport partnerships; Fire Service and Trading Standards achievements; the HOPS externalisation process – and we aim to produce persuasive arguments that will at least lead to a classification of "Striving".

RECOMMENDATIONS

9. The Executive is RECOMMENDED to:

STEPHEN CAPALDI
Director for Strategy

Background papers: nil

Contact Officer: David Lines, Tel Oxford 810150

Debbie Dent, Tel 01865 815267

April 2002

 
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