From April 2009, the
Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA) was replaced by
a new Comprehensive Area Assessment (CAA). Whereas
the CPA was a retrospective assessment of performance and
processes, the new CAA is a forward looking assessment of the
prospects for the future achievement of shared priorities by the
council and other local partners.
CAA looks at how well local services are working together to
improve the quality of life for local people and provides
straightforward independent information to people about their local
services, helping them make informed choices and influence
decisions. CAA looks at what matters locally. It
may cover issues like improving access to healthcare, increasing
the availability of affordable housing, reducing the fear of crime,
improving educational achievement, attracting investment or
reducing the area's carbon footprint. The issues assessed in
each area will reflect local priorities for improving quality of
life and protecting people at most risk of disadvantage.
CAA comprises two assessments:
- an area assessment which considers the
prospects for improvement, focussing primarily for the City on the
Local Area Agreement and
The City Together Strategy, the sustainable community strategy
for the City of London. This is reported as a narrative with red
and green flags to draw attention to performance issues and
innovative practice
- a scored organisational assessment for all
local authorities (and other partners).
CAA and the City of London
The 2009 CAA results were announced on 9 December 2009:
For the 2009 Area Assessment Ken Davis,
Oneplace spokesperson for the City of London at the Audit
Commission, said:
“The City is a very good
place to live and work. Excellent support is given to
business in the City to help it flourish and remain the world
leader in international finance and business services.
Residents are some of the most satisfied in the country. It
is an outstanding place for culture and leisure. It is a well
kept place and the streets are some of the cleanest in
London, Crime rates are low and reducing in many categories,
local people are healthy and children receive a good
education. Older people are given very good support to live
independently. Care is taken of the local environment to keep
its character at the same time as making sure that it meets the
challenges of the future – including reducing the impact of climate
change.”
The City of London was awarded two Green Flags
(for exceptional performance or improvement that other public
services could learn from) for:
- Culture for Everyone
- Supporting small businesses and local communities across
borough boundaries
No red flags (to signal significant concerns about performance)
have been identified for the City of London.
For the 2009 Organisational Assessment, the
City of London Corporation is judged to be “performing
excellently”.
View
our News Release (9 Dec 2009)
The Government requires all local authorities to collect data
against all 188 indicators in the National Indicator Set. For
other authorities the Audit Commission and Inspectorates will use
the NIS data as the central basis for determining an authority's
direction of travel in terms of performance as part of the annual
CAA review. However, for the City a large majority of
indicators in the National Indicator Set (including those that use
residents as the baseline comparator) either do not apply, produce
skewed results or the definitions do not work for the
City. Consequently, it has been agreed to use the Action Plan
from
The City Together Strategy as the main vehicle for
demonstrating delivery of Government and City
priorities. The Action Plan identifies the
top priorities for the City and these are linked, where possible,
to equivalent indicators drawn from the National Indicator
Set. Where NIS indicators cannot be linked to priorities
indicators and targets have been identified from existing
service area business plans.
Further details on CAA process and policy can be found on the
Audit Commission website