Meeting documents

Cabinet
Tuesday, 19 December 2006

CA191206-10

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ITEM CA10

CABINET – 19 DECEMBER 2006

LOCAL GOVERNMENT WHITE PAPER: Governance proposals for the Oxfordshire Partnership and LOCAL AREA agreement.

Report by Head of Partnership Working

Introduction

  1. This report sets out the proposed governance arrangements, which come into effect from January 2007, for the county Local Strategic Partnership (to be known as the Oxfordshire Partnership) and the county Local Area Agreement.

  2. The governance arrangements set out a framework for strategic partnership working in the county, and for the management and delivery of the Local Area Agreement.

  3. These arrangements were developed in consultation with the Local Strategic Partnership (June to September 2006) ahead of the Local Government White Paper: Strong and Prosperous Communities (published October 2006). This was done in order to develop:

    • a view of what Oxfordshire organisations want from strategic partnership working ahead and independent of any government advice;

    • a county-wide response to the significant changes required of local authorities in order to lead on and manage the challenges for local government and partnership working which are proposed in the White Paper.

  1. The Local Government White Paper proposes that upper tier authorities shall:

    • lead Local Strategic Partnerships, develop Local Area Agreements and a Sustainable Community Strategy with partners.

    • Choose the chairman of the Local Strategic Partnership (LSP) and ensure that elected members are fully involved in the executive board of the LSP and in the governance of the thematic partnerships within the LSP framework.

Background The Local Strategic Partnership: The Oxfordshire Partnership

  1. Local authorities are required to maintain a Local Strategic Partnership (LSP) of organisations from the public, community and private sectors. The purpose of an LSP is to improve the well-being of local people and the sustainability of local communities through action on issues which cannot be resolved by Councils or others working alone.

  2. The LSP in Oxfordshire was established in 2002 and is called the Oxfordshire Community Partnership - to be known as the Oxfordshire Partnership from January 2007.

    3. Local Area Agreements

  3. Oxfordshire County Council signed a Local Area Agreement (LAA) with Government in April 2006. The LAA sets out targets for the Council and partner organisations – including the health service, police and district Councils – to improve outcomes for local people in the areas of Children and Young People, Safer and Stronger Communities, Healthier Communities and Older People and Environment and the Economy. Twelve of these targets have financial rewards attached. The total amount of reward grant is £16.6M if all targets are fully met over the three years of the LAA (2006-2009).

  4. A Public Service Board was set up in August 2005 to oversee the LAA.

    5. Local Government White Paper: Strong and Prosperous Communities

  5. The Local Government White Paper: Strong and Prosperous Communities, was published in October 2006. It has increased the duties of Councils and elected members to lead Local Strategic Partnerships and Local Area Agreements.

  6. The key points in the context of partnership working are:

    • A greatly increased emphasis on place-shaping by which we mean our current projects that involve working closely with partners in Bicester and Banbury to identify local issues and solutions;

    • the LAA becomes more significant and will include up to 35 targets negotiated with Government, as well as a number of targets which are determined by the LSP;

    • elected members are encouraged to take a leading role in the LSP Board, the Public Service Board (PSB) and in the thematic partnerships in the wider LSP such as the Children and Young People’s Partnership, the Safer Communities Partnership and others;

    • elected Members shall also play an increased role in scrutinising the work of strategic partnerships;

    • new duty to form a Health and Well-being Partnership (social care and health partnership);

    • closer alignment between major thematic partnerships within the LSP framework – including the Children and Young People’s Partnership, Safer Communities Partnership, Health & Well-Being Partnership and economic development, learning and skills, environment and culture partnerships;

    • a seven-fold increase in the amount of Government funding that will be pooled and put at the disposal of the LSP / LAA to meet local priorities;

    • efficiencies are expected to be found through closer working and co-operation between Local Authorities, particularly in 2-tier counties, the wider public sector and with the voluntary/community and private sectors;

    • Comprehensive Performance Assessments (CPA) of local authorities will be replaced by Comprehensive Area Assessments (CAA). Increased emphasis will be placed upon the ability of local authorities to demonstrate positive outcomes for local people by working effectively LSP and LAA arrangements. This will be tested through a system of local peer reviews.

The Implications of the White Paper for Partnership Working

  1. The White Paper aims to influence the way in which Councils currently deliver services. There is an emphasis on elected Members providing leadership impetus and strategic direction in order to enable other organisations, agencies, sectors and communities to develop sustainable solutions to economic development, environmental issues and social cohesion – this is described by Sir Michael Lyons as place-shaping. In particular that:

    • Councils should take steps to move away from their traditional role as direct providers of services towards the management of service provision through a wider variety of contractual arrangements with third party providers in all sectors.

    • County Councils should work more closely with District Councils through joint / shared service arrangements to improve efficiency and the quality and accessibility of services.

  1. The LAA becomes more central to the relationship between local Government and central Government. It is an agreement to meet mandatory targets and links performance to financial reward and other potential freedoms and flexibilities. It is one of the levers the government will use to drive their efficiency agenda and it is likely that future LAAs will include efficiency targets for the public sector. In return LSPs will be able to add priorities to the LAA which are locally determined.

  2. Councils are expected to lead within the LSP/LAA and it is important that they do so because LSPs, and not Councils alone, are expected to determine the strategic priorities for an area through the development of a sustainable community strategy – a single, high level plan that sets the strategic priorities including the LAA targets.

  3. As well as working more seamlessly with district Councils there is also an expectation that district LSPs will work in a more co-ordinated way with county LSPs – with the district LSPs focusing on local priorities and the county on the wider strategic issues that also affect some or all of the districts.

  4. Actively leading the LSP and LAA has many advantages. It is an opportunity to be proactive in:

    • leading and shaping the strategic vision for the county;

    • ensuring that the LAA works to the best advantage for the county;

    • developing more capacity to tackle serious local issues and priorities by working more closely across the public sector and with the business and voluntary/community sectors.

    • get upstream of the Government’s forthcoming drive for more efficiency and joined-up working across the public sector which is likely to be set out in Sir Michael Lyon’s forthcoming report on local government finance.

The Governance Proposals for the Oxfordshire Partnership and Local Area Agreement

  1. The proposals are attached as Annex 1 (download as .doc file) and describe the role and purpose of the Oxfordshire Partnership as the senior, overarching strategic partnership for the county which ;

    • has the active involvement and leadership of local elected members;

    • ensures close co-operation between local authorities (all Councils, police, the health service), and between local authorities and the voluntary / community and private sectors, in order to improve the quality of life for local people;

    • is responsible, through the Public Service Board, for the development of the Local Area Agreement;

    • ensures that the organisations involved in the Local Area Agreement are delivering on its targets;

    • develops a single overarching strategic plan for Oxfordshire which is agreed by the members of the Partnership (a sustainable community strategy).

  1. Consultation on these proposals took place between June and September 2006. The proposals were circulated to all members of the Oxfordshire Community Partnership. 21 organisations responded including all district Councils and LSPs, health, the police and representatives of the voluntary, faith, community and business sectors. Further meetings were held with consultees who raised matters of substance. A summary of the consultation responses is available in the Members Lounge at County Hall.

  2. The proposals are compliant with the new duties and guidance in the Local Government White Paper.

  3. The proposals were adopted by the final meeting of the Oxfordshire Community Partnership Strategy Group on 7 December 2006, subject to Cabinet approval.

    4. Key Changes

  4. The Oxfordshire Community Partnership Strategy Group shall be replaced by the Oxfordshire Partnership Board which will be chaired by the County Council in the first instance. The membership will include senior representatives of the police, health service, higher education, learning and skills, and the business, rural, voluntary, community, faith and BME sectors. All tiers of local authority will be represented. Its role shall be to set the strategic vision for the county and articulate this in a sustainable community strategy.

  5. The membership of the Public Service Board changes to ensure that all organisations who are responsible for delivering the Local Area Agreement are represented. The Chairman shall be a senior elected member (Leader or Deputy Leader). Its role shall be to oversee delivery and performance in meeting the LAA targets.

  6. The original Ambition Groups have been overtaken by the work of the thematic partnerships who are responsible for delivery of the LSP’s sustainable community strategy. These include the Children and Young People’s Partnership, Safer Communities Partnership, Health & Well-Being Partnership and economic development, learning and skills, environment and culture partnerships. It is anticipated that elected members with a cabinet portfolio shall, if they are not already doing so, be members of the executive bodies of these thematic partnerships.

  7. There is an opportunity to rationalise existing thematic partnerships – for example in the area of learning and skills - in order to ensure their effectiveness and to reduce any duplication of effort.

    8. Implications Policy

  8. The governance proposals support effective partnership working, the delivery of the Local Area Agreement and the development of a sustainable community strategy for Oxfordshire.

    9. Financial and Staff

  9. The Local Area Agreement has a potential reward grant of £16.6M if all the LAA targets are fully met over the 3 years of the LAA (2006-2009). Effective partnership working contributes to efficiency savings by enabling closer co-operation between local authorities, the public sector in general and with the business and voluntary / community sectors.

    10. Legal

  10. The governance proposals provide the framework for working more effectively with other organisations. The partnership will adopt more detailed governance early in 2007 to clarify the roles, responsibilities and duties of the members of the partnership within the current legislation.

    11. Equality and Social Inclusion

  11. The Local Strategic Partnership includes senior representatives of the public, business and voluntary/community sectors in order that they can work together to improve the well-being and quality of life of everyone who lives in, works in or visits Oxfordshire.

    12. Sustainability

  12. The Local Strategic Partnership shall develop the Sustainable Community Strategy – a strategic plan for sustainable social, environmental and economic development and well-being in Oxfordshire.

    13. Risk Management

  13. Risk assessments have been carried out for strategic partnership working and the Local Area Agreement and these are managed within the corporate risk assessment system.

    14. RECOMMENDATION

  14. The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to adopt the proposals for the governance of the Oxfordshire Partnership and Local Area Agreement as outlined in Annex 1 to the report.

PAUL JAMES
Head of Partnerships
Chief Executive’s Office

Background papers: Local Government White Paper: Strong and Prosperous Communities.

Contact Officer: Paul James, Head of Partnership Working, Tel: (01865) 816031

December 2006

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