Issue - meetings

A presentation will be made.

The Board received a presentation on the forthcoming Comprehensive Area Assessment (CAA).

An overview was given of the scope of the CAA and it was noted that this was comprised of two key strands:

Area Assessment

This strand would consider how effectively local public services delivered local priorities, economic prospects, community safety and potential for future improvement.

Organisational Assessment

The second strand would consider the use of resources and performance management and how the Council delivered value for money through the combined use of resources and performance management.

It was noted that Partners would be inspected by their own inspection regimes and that these would liaise with the Audit Commission.

In assessing this four key themes would be considered:

• Management of finances
• Governing business
• Managing resources
• Managing performance

In terms of the Area Assessment the following key areas would be focussed upon:

• How well do local priorities express community needs and aspirations?
• How well are the outcomes and improvements needed being delivered?
• What are the prospects for future improvements?

It was noted that the Local Authority would be required to produce and publish an Annual Summary, which would include an overview of key priorities, overall successes, challenges and future prospects. It was envisaged that these would form a tool for members of the public wanting to obtain an overview of the Borough.

In addition to this a system of red and green flags would be used to indicate areas where arrangements were considered inadequate to deliver improvement or where exceptional or innovative practice was demonstrated.

The Board was advised that that the CAA would take a more holistic approach to assessing performance and would gather evidence over the course of a year rather than focussing on a limited period.

The Chair noted that partners would need to be able to demonstrate that they understood the CAA process in order for the Partnership to be assessed positively. Unlike previous assessment regimes the CAA placed more emphasis on the processes and in place to address local issues and it was recognised that this demonstrated a good understanding of the needs and priorities of the local community.

RESOLVED:

That the presentation be noted.