Local Area Agreement (LAA)

What is the LAA?

A Local Area Agreement (LAA) is a three year agreement that sets out priorities for a local area as agreed between central government and a local area represented by a local authority and Local Strategic Partnership (LSP). In Bristol the Local Strategic Partnership is called The Bristol Partnership.

National Indicator 7 - Environment for a Thriving Third Sector

The Office of the Third Sector has published a briefing note to provide Local Strategic Partnerships (local public, private and third sector representatives) with more information and guidance on National Indicator 7 – ‘An environment for a thriving third sector’. Click here to visit the cabinet office website to read the guidance on NI 7

National Indicator 7 - Survey of third sector organisations released

Now published on South West Forum - Third Sector Survey Headline Reports for the South West local authority areas.

Read the Bristol Report Here

This is the first set of information from the National Survey of Third sector Organisations conducted by Ipsos MORI on behalf of the Office of the Third Sector. Read this additional letter from Campbell Robb (Director General of the Office of the Third Sector).

The initial report concentrates on question (Q23) which measures NI7: "An Environment for a Thriving Third Sector".

This score will form the baseline against which progress on NI7 will be measured. You will see that the reports also contains an estimated target which is applicable if NI 7 is a designated indicator in the Local Area Agreement. This estimate is what we expect will be needed to achieve a real and recordable ( ie statistically significant) change. The estimate is subject to change depending on the response to the second wave of the survey in 2010.

The report also include an analysis of how question 25 (i.e., the amount of direct contact with the local authority) correlates with positive responses to the indicator questions (i.e., what impact does your local authority have on your activities). Over the coming weeks GOSW negotiation team will begin negotiating the target where this is applicable.

New Bristol LAA

The new Bristol Local Area Agreement (LAA) 2008 - 2011 has been submitted to the Government Office for the South West.

Click here to read the new Bristol LAA (2 June 2008)
Click here to read the 'Story of Place' that sets out the context for the new Bristol LAA
Click here to see which Bristol Partnership boards are responsible for which LAA target

Bristol's LAA

The first Bristol LAA came into force in April 2007. Bristol was in the third wave of Local Authorites to introduce a Local Area Agreement. Click here to read the 2007 - 2010 Bristol LAA. The government has now decided that it wants all LAA agreements to run on the same three year cycle and so in 2008 all Local Area Agreements will start again. The Bristol Local Area Agreement is currently being refreshed and revised ready for the updated LAA to come into being in June 2008.

Click here to read Voscur's guide to the 'refresh' of the LAA

Click here to read Voscur's guide to the first Bristol LAA (November 2006)

Click here to read Voscur's guide to the LAA Reward Targets (November 2006)

VCSE sector input into the new LAA

Voscur, the Care Forum and the Black Development Agency held 5 workshops during January 2008 for voluntary, community & social enterprise (vcse) sector groups to be able to engage with, and help to influence, what is in the new 2008 - 2011 Bristol LAA. Each workshop looked at a specific theme and included an excercise where participants were asked choose which of the 198 National Indicators they would like to be included in the new Bristol LAA. Click below to read the results from the prioritisation at each workshop and any additional notes :

Children and Young People (Tuesday 15 January 2008)
Results of prioritisation exercise
Notes from Children and Young People meeting

Economy and Enterprise (Thursday 17 January 2008)
Results of prioritisation exercise
Notes from Economy and Enterprise meeting

Safer, Stronger Communities (Wednesday 23 January 2008)
(This session included environmental sustainability)
Results from prioritisation exercise

Equalities Communities (Thursday 24 January 2008)
Results from prioritisation exercise
Notes from Equalities Communities meeting

Healthy Communities and Older People (Monday 28 January 2008)
Results from prioritisation exercise

The comments from the workshops have been fed into the full consultation document (see below).

Bristol LAA shortlist

Following on from consultation with a wide range of partners, negotiations have taken place between the Government Office for the South West and Bristol City Council to begin to draw up a shortlist of National Indicators for new Bristol Local Area Agreement.

Click here to read the full consultation report

Click here to see the LAA shortlist as of 11 February 2008

Click here to see which National Indicators prioritised at the VCSE workshops are included in the current shortlist

The Bristol LAA shortlist is still a working document and none of these National Indicators have been finalised yet. Negotiations will continue through February and March 2008 between Bristol City council and the Government Office for the South West to agree which indicators will form part of the shortlist for the LAA. Voscur, the Care Forum and the Black Development Agency will represent the VCSE sector at the negotiations.

The lead negotiators for the Bristol LAA are:

Overall Lead Officer, Helen Ball
Project Manager, Robin Kidson
Children and Young People, Pauline Marson
Safer Communities, Alison Comley/Rick Palmer
Stronger Communities, Helen Ball
Health and Well Being, Jackie Beavington (PCT)
Older People, Guy Robertson
Economy (which includes transport and housing issues), Ashy Mackay
Environment (which includes sustainability and waste issues), Steve Moore

Click here to see the full list of who is involved with negotiating the Bristol LAA

National Indicators

The Government has reduced the number of National Indicators that Local Authorites will have to report against from about 2010 to 198. Each LAA will contain around 35 targets (plus 16 statutory Children and Young People targets) selected from a list of 198 National Indicators. Click here to read the full list of 198 National Indicators.

The Government consultation on the precise definitions for the National Indicators ended on 21 December 2007. Click here to find out more about the consultation. The final definitions will be posted here when available.

Area Based Grant

In the new LAA the LAA Grant will be replaced with a new Area Based Grant. Click here to read the Bristol Area Based Grant settlement for three years - 2008/2009, 2009/2010 and 2010/2011 (announced December 2007)

The Area Based Grant includes the Working Neighbourhoods Fund (WNF) which Bristol will not receive and Neighbourhood Renewal transition funding (NRTF) that Bristol will recieve. Click here to link to the Department of Communities and Local Government list of Local authorities to recieve WNF and NRTF

Click here to read the letter from Communities Secretary Hazel Blears containing the list of previously ring fenced funds that will now be pooled in the new Area Based Grant.

Local Area Agreements and the Third Sector

The National Audit Office (NAO) has published a report, 'Local Area Agreements and the Third Sector: Public Service Delivery', which looks at value for money and the impact of LAA's on organisations. It states that local authorities should work more collaboratively with voluntary and community organisations to help them improve the delivery of public services. So far, "LAAs include only limited references to the third sector and there are as yet no visible changes in local patterns of service provision or in local public bodies’ funding practices towards the third sector." National Association for Voluntary and Community Action (NAVCA) was involved in the NAO review. See the press release with link to report at www.nao.org.uk, or see Charity Finance news alert at www.charityfinance.co.uk

Guidance on Negotiating LAA

Produced by the Department of Communities and Local Government, the guidance is designed to help with the process of developing an LAA and taken together with the statutory guidance which sets out more broadly the principles and approach.
> Download the Operational Guidance
> Download the Statutory Guidance