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- Local Area Agreement
- Multi Area Agreement

Local Area Agreement: Eric Pickles, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government) announced in his letter to Leaders of all Councils sent on 13th October 2010 that he was ending the Local Area Agreements (and not paying any of the anticipated reward grant), and replacing the National Indicator Set "with a single comprehensive list of all the data we expect local government to provide to central government."  South Gloucesterhsire Partnership will be discussing the way forward in the near future and deciding what to do about the Local Area Agreement.

South Gloucestershire's Local Area Agreement (updated 2010)

Local area agreements (LAAs) signal a new relationship between central and local government.  LAAs bring together the Government’s national standards and priorities (public service agreements PSAs) with local priorities informed by the vision developed by the local authority and its partners in the local strategic partnership (LSP). LAAs are the new mechanism to shape innovation and improvements in local services over the next three years; they are about building the sort of place people want to live in.

The development of the South Gloucestershire Local Area Agreement was the responsibility of the South Gloucestershire Partnership which comprises senior representatives of keystakeholders in the area including the Voluntary and Community sector, the Council, South Gloucestershire Primary Care Trust, Avon and Somerset Constabulary, business and the further education sector.  Town and Parish Councils are also represented.  Specific proposals have been drawn up in consultation with a range of local partners in negotiation with Government Office South West.

The new LAA replaces the previous one developed in 2003 which has now come to the end of its life.  The ideas behind the new LAAs are to:

– recognise that ‘one size does not fit all’ and that local services should reflect what local people want;

– reduce red-tape and improve value for money;

– make local authorities and other public services more accountable to local people; and

– enable local people to get more involved in decisions about local services.

Each LAA captures up to 35 priorities chosen from a menu of 198 in the National Indicator Set; in addition to 16 statutory indicators for education and early years development, plus any local priorities decided on by the South Gloucestershire Partnership (SGP).

The choice of priorities are based on the SGP’s understanding of what matters to local people as identified in the Sustainable Community Strategy (South Gloucesterhshire 2026 - A great place to live and work).

South Gloucestershire’s new LAA has now been designated and approved formally by the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on behalf of Government.

The priorities chosen are also published on a new public website: www.localpriorities.communities.gov.uk

Agreeing the LAA means that everyone in our area is now working towards an agreed set of priorities.  From June 2008, local partners will be working towards the targets they have set in the LAA and local people will be able to see what the Council and its partners plan to do in the area.  They will also be able to check how well things are going because this information will be publicly available through the council’s own channels and on the Local Priorities website.

What local people think about the place they live in will be the subject of a new Place Survey, which will ask them about their perceptions of an area. Whereas previous surveys carried out by local authorities (such as the Best Value Performance Indicator satisfaction surveys) focused on the council and its services, this survey looks at local people’s experience of living in a place. The aim is to focus on outcomes - such as whether people feel safe and healthy, and are engaged in their local community.

The survey will enable the Council and its partners to build up a picture, over time, of how local residents view the area in which they live. By measuring people’s perceptions, and how these change over time, local agencies will be able to track whether interventions they have made are having a real impact on the lives of local people.

Key Documents

Local Area Agreement updated 2010

LAA and SCS six monthly progress report January 2010.pdf

Archived Documents

Local Area Agreement 2007
Local Area Agreement 2006
Annual Peformance Report 2007/08
Annual Peformance Report 2006/07

(If you have any queries or comments, please contact the Strategic Planning and Partnerships Team on 01454 8635433 or via strategicplanning@southglos.gov.uk)

Multi Area Agreement: In September 2009 the four West of England authorities (South Gloucestershire Council, Bath & North East Somerset Council, Bristol City Council and North Somerset Council) signed a Multi Area Agreement (MAA) with:

Rt Hon Rosie Winterton, Minister for Local Government Jim Knight MP, Minister for the South West the Regional Development Agency the Homes and Communities Agency the Highways Agency the Learning and Skills Council Jobcentre Plus.

A Multi-Area Agreement is a framework that aims to encourage partnership working across local authority boundaries at the regional and sub-regional level. They bring together key players to tackle issues that are best addressed in partnership at a regional and sub-regional level. It is a voluntary agreement between the four West of England unitary authorities, their partners and the government to work collectively to improve local economic prosperity.

The MAA is tailored to the specific challenges of the West of England area and is grounded in capacity, skills and robust partner relationships. There are clear lines of accountability which add value and do not overlap with other existing policies.

In the MAA, the West of England authorities have signed up to deliver a number of actions to: 

mitigate the impact of the current economic recession and act to support an early upturn plan and manage the growth in homes and jobs to build mixed and sustainable communities  improve access and reduce traffic congestion to increase competitiveness and quality of life  attract business investment to increase economic growth and competitiveness  improve skills and reduce worklessness to increase competitiveness, growth and regeneration.

In addition the four authorities have committed to reaching key performance relating to skills and worklessness and transport.

In return the government and agencies will provide greater freedom and flexibility in its approach to issues such as: 

agreeing simplified checks and controls and more flexibility in the use of resources  streamlining the approach to major transport schemes approvals  establishing a formal engagement agreement with rail industry partners and stakeholders  formal joint planning with the Highways Agency.

To view the full MAA, please use the following link  http://www.westofengland.org/multi-area-agreement

The signed agreement contains tables with freedoms and flexibilities the Government will deliver in return for the improved outcomes that the authorities have signed up to in three areas: 

plan and manage growth in homes and jobs to build mixed and sustainable communities.  improve access and reduce traffic congestion to increase competitiveness and quality of life.  improve skills and reduce worklessness to increase completeness and regenerate communities. 

The delivery of the MAA is monitored by the West of England Partnership Board and the latest MAA progress report is available on this link  http://www.southglos.gov.uk/_Resources/Publications/CEX/10/0200/CEX-10-0024

For more information on the West of England Partnership please see their website www.westofenglandpartnership.org.uk