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.