The government published proposals for further streamlining of the performance plans prepared by 'best value' local authorities. The proposals included reducing the statutory requirements for information from all authorities, and allowing better performers further discretion about the content and format of their plans.
Source: Guidance on Best Value Performance Plans: Consultation paper, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (0870 1226 236)
Links: Consultation document (pdf) | ODPM press release
Date: 2003-Dec
A research study evaluated the effectiveness of scrutiny committees established as a result of the Local Government Act 2000. It found that performance management and evaluation techniques could be better used by councils to improve services, and that the scrutiny function was not operating as intended.
Source: Rachel Ashworth, Evaluating the Effectiveness of Local Scrutiny Committees, Economic and Social Research Council (01793 413000)
Links: Report (pdf) | Summary (pdf)
Date: 2003-Dec
The government announced a second generation of local public service agreements. The new agreements involved a bigger focus on local priorities for improvement compared to national targets, and a greater emphasis on involving local partners within and beyond local government to improve services for local people. (Local PSAs were developed by the government, in partnership with local government, in 2000. Councils agree performance targets with government and earn a reward grant for meeting them.)
Source: Press release 4 December 2003, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (020 7944 3000) | LPSA 2G: Building On Success, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (0870 1226 236)
Links: ODPM press release | Guide (pdf) | LGA press release | Guardian report | APSE briefing (pdf)
Date: 2003-Dec
Researchers assessed the extent to which involvement in the 'beacon council' scheme led to learning, better practice and service improvements, during year one of the scheme. The scheme s principles had been welcomed, and successful beacon councils had found their experience to be worthwhile. Knowledge of the scheme had helped more broadly with other aspects of modernisation, particularly 'best value'. There was evidence of learning and change, some of which had been attributed to the scheme.
Source: Jean Hartley, Lydnsay Rashman, James Downe and Marta Fisher, Monitoring and Evaluation of the Beacon Council Scheme: Final process outcomes report, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (0870 1226 236)
Links: Report (pdf)
Date: 2003-Dec
The Audit Commission said there had been a 'marked improvement' in the performance of the largest local authorities in England, according to the second year of the 'comprehensive performance assessment'. Almost three times the number of councils moved up a performance category as fell; 26 rose at least one performance category compared with 9 that declined. Progress was most rapid among the worst councils; over one-third (14 out of 34) of councils ranked as 'poor' or 'weak' in 2002 moved up a category. Improvements were concentrated in services that met the needs of the young, and older and vulnerable people - education, social care for adults, housing and housing benefits.
Source: Comprehensive Performance Assessment: Scores and analysis of performance for single tier and county councils in England, 2003, Audit Commission (0800 502030)
Links: Report (pdf) | Report | Audit Commission press release | ODPM press release | LGA press release | Guardian report (1) | Guardian report (2) | APSE briefing (pdf)
Date: 2003-Dec
The government said that where a council fell below the 2002 threshold for 'excellent' status through the comprehensive performance assessment, it would be allowed to retain its freedoms and flexibilities for at least a year to give it time to tackle areas where performance had weakened.
Source: House of Commons Hansard, Written Ministerial Statement 5 November 2003, columns 31-32WS, TSO (0870 600 5522) | Press release 5 November 2003, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (020 7944 3000)
Links: Hansard | ODPM press release
Date: 2003-Nov
Drawing on qualitative research conducted as part of a long-term evaluation, researchers examined ten case studies of organisational change within local authorities.
Source: Tom Entwistle, Lynne Dowson and Jennifer Law, Changing to Improve: Ten case studies from the evaluation of the Best Value regime, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (0870 1226 236)
Links: Report (pdf)
Date: 2003-Nov
The Audit Commission launched a public consultation on its strategic plan for 2004-2007. It promised a 'more focused and more risk-based' approach to delivering its remit, and said it would scale back activity in several areas where the cost was no longer justified by the value added.
Source: Strategic Plan 2004-07: Consultation, Audit Commission (0800 502030) | Strategic Regulation: Minimising the burden, maximising the impact, Audit Commission
Links: Strategic plan (pdf) | Strategic regulation (pdf) | Audit Commission press release | Guardian report
Date: 2003-Nov
A paper concluded that local authority performance was 'significantly constrained' by external circumstances beyond the control of local politicians and managers.
Source: Rhys Andrews, George Boyne, Richard Walker and Jennifer Law, External Constraints and the Comprehensive Performance Assessment Exercise, Centre for Local and Regional Government Research/Cardiff University (029 2087 4000)
Links: Report (pdf)
Date: 2003-Oct
The baseline report was published of an official evaluation of the implementation and impact of the 'best value' regime. It was found that implementing best value was seen as a major challenge for most local authorities, though many saw a positive impact, for example by enhancing inter-departmental working. Most authorities developed a corporate framework for implementing best value before or during the first year of the regime, and those that did not made slower progress with the regime. Many local authority officers and members had high expectations from the regime, believing that it would deliver on ambitious targets.
Source: Steve Martin et al., Evaluation of the Long-term Impact of the Best Value Regime: Baseline report, Centre for Local and Regional Government Research/Cardiff University (029 2087 4000)
Links: Report (pdf) | Summary (pdf)
Date: 2003-Aug
A paper examined whether the organisational characteristics of English local authorities varied between the five 'comprehensive performance assessment' groups. Only around a quarter of the statistical tests indicated significant differences in the organisational variables across the five groups, largely in the areas of performance management and clarity of priorities. In these respects, excellent and good councils were markedly superior to fair, weak and poor councils. However, even on these characteristics, the poor were statistically indistinguishable from the fair and the weak, and the excellent were very similar to the good. The view that different councils ended up in different CPA grades because of their organizational attributes was, therefore, highly questionable.
Source: George Boyne and Gareth Enticott, Are the Poor Different? An empirical analysis of internal characteristics of local authorities in the five CPA categories, Discussion Paper 11, Centre for Local and Regional Government Research/Cardiff University (029 2087 4000)
Links: Paper (pdf)
Date: 2003-Aug
Official research found that more needed to be done to improve diversity and equality in local authorities in England. There were examples of good practice, but the overall picture was 'patchy'. Equality and diversity were often seen in terms of ethnic minorities and people with physical disabilities, rather than wider issues such as gender, sexuality and part-time workers. There was a lack of a 'joined-up' approach to handling equality and diversity issues; a focus on employment issues rather than the wider agenda; and a focus on process rather than outcomes.
Source: Office for Public Management, Equality and Diversity in Local Government in England, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (0870 1226 236) | Office for Public Management, Equality and Diversity in Local Government in England: Literature review, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister
Links: Report (pdf) | Summary (pdf) | Literature review (pdf) | ODPM press release
Date: 2003-Jul
A report said that local 'public service agreements' needed to be fully integrated with the wider improvement strategy of a local authority if they were to work effectively.
Source: Teresa Payne, Anna Randle and Natalie Arend, Improvement and the Use of Local Public Service Agreements: Lessons from Kent and Middlesbrough, New Local Government Network (020 7357 0051) and Improvement and Development Agency
Links: IDeA press release | Summary
Date: 2003-Jul
The government announced that the number of separate plans and strategies English local councils would have to produce for central government would be dramatically reduced. By the end of 2005-06 councils would only be required to produce six major service plans, in addition to the 'best value performance plan' and the 'community strategy'. The best performing councils - those classed as 'excellent' - would be freed from the requirement of producing any major service plans. At the same time it was also announced that councils would face significantly fewer inspections: the average number of days local government inspectors spent in councils would drop by a third during 2003-04, to almost half the level of 2001-02.
Source: Reducing Local Authority Plan Requirements, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (020 7944 3000) | Press release 22.7.03, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister
Links: Report (pdf) | ODPM press release | Audit Commission press release
Date: 2003-Jul
A survey of 'best value' by public services campaigners found that sharing best practice, networking, benchmarking and forging partnerships were invaluable in trying to soften the blow of difficult changes and in preventing feelings of isolation taking hold where progress had been uneven.
Source: Perceptions of Best Value: APSE survey 2003, Association of Public Service Excellence (fax: 0161 772 1811)
Links: Report (pdf)
Date: 2003-Jun
A new guide examined the contribution that scrutiny roles could make to effective local democracy. It described examples of the work done by councils in this area, discussed the new skills that councillors needed to develop, and summarised the legal framework for scrutiny.
Source: Jo Dungey, Scrutiny Solutions, Local Government Information Unit, available from Central Books (020 8986 5488)
Links: Summary
Date: 2003-Jun
The Audit Commission announced (following consultation) a number of changes to future 'comprehensive performance assessment' (CPA) procedures for local authorities in England and Wales. It said that the threshold for points needed on core service performance would be reduced; and that councils could request a further corporate assessment (measuring overall council ability) if they could demonstrate services had improved across the board. Local authorities complained that insufficient account had been taken of the views of district councils.
Source: CPA The Way Forward: Single tier and county councils, Audit Commission (0800 502030) | CPA for Districts: Final Assessment Framework, Audit Commission | Press release 12.6.03, Local Government Association (020 7664 3000)
Links: Report (pdf) | Summary (pdf) | Districts report (pdf) | LGA press release 12.6.03 | LGA press release 25.6.03
Date: 2003-Jun
A report by public services campaigners argued that local authorities were succeeding in delivering better services across a wide range of functions. It included eight detailed case studies.
Source: The Ingredients for Success: How in-house teams are delivering 1st class services, Association of Public Service Excellence (fax: 0161 772 1811)
Links: Report (pdf) | Summary
Date: 2003-Jun
A literature review examined how local authorities in England had dealt with issues of equality and diversity. Three themes were covered: representation and participation, employment, and services.
Source: Sarah Morgan, Equality and Diversity in Local Government in England: Literature review, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (0870 1226 236)
Links: Report (pdf)
Date: 2003-May
Researchers developed a 'satisfaction index' for local services, based on responses to a survey of the three largest English metropolitan areas. They argued that local councillors could do more to satisfy their voters if they applied the findings to their spending decisions: London councillors could make their voters happier within existing budgets by re-allocating funds to bus and rail services: but the average Manchester voter would prefer more spending on job creation, while Birmingham residents would prefer more funds spent on cleaner streets.
Source: Thanos Mergoupis and Keith Dowding, Local Government and its Discontents: Citizens' preferences for local services, Economic and Social Research Council (01793 413000)
Links: ESRC Press Release
Date: 2003-May
A survey found that, across all sectors, people were generally positive about the quality of local public services. Around 70 per cent of people rated the quality of service from local National Health Service hospitals as good and only 14 per cent said it was 'poor'. Police services were rated 'good' by 60 per cent and 'poor' by 15 per cent. But local authorities were rated as 'good' by only 40 per cent, and 'poor' by 30 per cent. People were generally critical of the level of information provided by the public sector, the quality of leadership and management, and public bodies' lack of openness when they made mistakes.
Source: Trust in Public Institutions, MORI Social Research Institute (0207 347 3000) for Audit Commission
Links: Report (pdf) | Guardian report
Date: 2003-May
The Audit Commission began consultation on further development of comprehensive performance assessment ('CPA') in local government. A think tank called for those local authorities affected to be allowed to request a further corporate assessment rather than await their next scheduled CPA. Local councils said that proposals to raise scoring thresholds from those used in the first year (2002) would mask the true extent of improvements, leaving many councils having to 'run to stand still'. Social services directors raised doubts about the validity of some indicators used in the assessment. Local authority chief executives said the requirement to align CPA with existing performance frameworks significantly reduced the feasibility of achieving other stated objectives.
Source: CPA The Next Steps: Consultation on single tier and county council CPA strategy 2003 to 2010, Audit Commission (0800 502030) | Press release 28.5.03, New Local Government Network (020 7357 0051) | Press release 23.5.03, Local Government Association (020 7664 3000) | ADSS Response to Consultation Document 'Comprehensive Performance Assessment The Next Steps', Association of Directors of Social Services (020 8741 8147) | SOLACE Response to the Audit Commission document: CPA the next steps, Society of Local Authority Chief Executives and Senior Managers (0845 601 0649)
Links: Consultation document (pdf) | NLGN press release | LGA press release | ADSS response | SOLACE response (Word file)
Date: 2003-May
A report tracked the development of quality of life indicators, and looked at how they could be given a more central role in influencing policy. It said that fewer than half of all local authorities in England and Wales had used the indicators, and that there were examples of authorities starting to use them and then discarding them.
Source: Sarah Higginson, Florian Sommer and Alan Terry, Making Indicators Count: Using quality of life indicators in local governance, New Economics Foundation, available from Central Books (020 8986 5488)
Links: Report (Word file)
Date: 2003-Apr
A report drew lessons from the first 'comprehensive performance assessment' exercise for local authorities. It said that councils performed well when they had: political leadership that focused on change and continuous improvement; strong community leadership based on a shared vision for delivering local priorities and joint strategies with partners; clear frameworks for managing performance; people management strategies that harnessed staff energies and skills; a 'robust' approach to procurement; and a good understanding of the local context and diversity within local communities.
Source: Patterns for Improvement: Learning from comprehensive performance assessment to achieve better public services, Audit Commission (0800 502030)
Links: Report (pdf) | Summary (pdf) | LGA press release
Date: 2003-Apr
A briefing paper analysed the impact of deprivation on the results of the 'comprehensive performance assessment' exercise for local authorities.
Source: Understanding the Relationship between CPA Outcomes and Deprivation, Audit Commission (0800 502030)
Links: Paper (pdf)
Date: 2003-Apr
The government published (following consultation in 2001) a set of tests that parish and town councils have to meet in order to be awarded 'quality' status.
Source: The Quality Parish Council Scheme: The Quality Tests, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (020 7944 3000) | House of Commons Hansard, Written Ministerial Statement 18.3.03, column 40WS, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Tests (Word file) | Hansard
Date: 2003-Mar
The government published a circular on best value and performance improvement, containing guidance for principal local authorities about how to achieve best value and secure continuous improvement in delivering local services. It consolidated and replaced previous guidance.
Source: Best Value and Performance Improvement, Circular 03/2003, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, TSO (0870 600 5522) | House of Commons Hansard, Written Ministerial Statement 13.3.03, columns 26-28WS, TSO
Links: Guidance (pdf) | Press release
Date: 2003-Mar
The government published a protocol setting out the general principles that will underpin the engagement of central government with individual local authorities whose performance, including their capacity to improve, is categorised under the system of comprehensive performance assessment as poor or weak with little or no prospect for improvement.
Source: Protocol on Central Government Engagement and Intervention in Poorly Performing Local Authorities, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (020 7944 3000) | House of Commons Hansard, Written Ministerial Statement 26.2.03, column 19WS, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Protocol (pdf) | Hansard
Date: 2003-Feb
The government published 'best value' performance indicators for 2003-04. It said that the exercise provides 'valuable information on the key services delivered locally', 'enables authorities to assess where they are and to set meaningful targets for further performance improvements', and 'provides local people with the opportunity to make an informed assessment on the quality and value of the local services they are receiving'.
Source: Best Value Performance Indicators for 2003/2004, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (020 7944 3000)
Links: Indicators
Date: 2003-Jan
An agreement was announced between the Welsh Assembly Government, local authorities in Wales, and the Audit Commission on a 'protocol' for improving public services in Wales.
Source: Press release 20.1.03, Welsh Assembly Government (029 2082 5111)
Links: WAG press release | WLGA press release
Date: 2003-Jan
An audit report singled out nine organisations for their good work in engaging and consulting with local people. It highlighted work in fields including health, criminal justice and social care, and provided details of innovative and successful projects.
Source: Connecting with Users and Citizens, Audit Commission (0800 502030)
Links: Report | Audit Commission press release
Date: 2003-Jan
A project was launched offering a free, web-based library of local government performance indicators. The project involves collecting together the thousands of statistics, measurements and pieces of information about local government services generated by councils through the performance indicators process.
Source: Press release 28.1.03, Improvement and Development Agency (020 7296 6693)
Links: Press release | Library of Local Performance Indicators
Date: 2003-Jan