Comprehensive Area Assessment and Organisational Assessment Edwina Child Area Assessment Lead (for Suffolk) Robert Davies District Auditor

Comprehensive Area Assessment – What is it? New power for regulation introduced by Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2008 (with ‘duty to co-operate’): Ambitious – joint regulators’ assessment of how public sector partners impact on real issues for the public:

Key CAA principles Proportionate – use available evidence to target any additional work: –What don’t we know, but need to? –Is it available from our partners/the public domain? –If not, how can we obtain it in the most efficient way? What works locally, not a fixed national model: –Self-evaluation –Linked to local context, local needs and aspirations

Key CAA principles - cont Citizen and service user focused: –Use nationally available evidence as well as local sources; –Quality of engagement and what impact it has; –Focus on what matters to local people (including most disadvantaged); –Clear, straightforward public reporting;

Area Assessment (Joint) RED flags and GREEN flags Managing Performance Use of Resources: Managing Finances Governing the Business Managing Resources Shared evidence Organisational Assessment National Indicator Set

Organisational Assessment Managing performance: How well is the organisation delivering sustainable improvements in its priority services and outcomes that are important to local people? Does it have the leadership, capacity and capability it needs to deliver future improvements? Managing finances: How effectively does the organisation manage its finances to deliver value for money? Governing the business: How well does the organisation govern itself and commission services that provide value for money and deliver better outcomes for local people? Managing resources: How well does the organisation manage its natural resources, physical assets and people to meet current and future needs and deliver value for money? Joint inspectorate assessment Use of resources assessment

Managing finances Governing the business Managing resources 1.1 Financial planning & financial health 2.1 Commissioning & procurement 3.1 Natural resources 1.2 Understanding costs & performance 2.2 Data quality & use of information 3.2 Asset management 1.3 Financial monitoring & reporting 2.3 Good governance & ethical behaviour 3.3 Workforce 2.4 Risk management & internal control

What is different? Moves away from a checklist of criteria to illustrative characteristics of performance included within the guidance; Emphasis on a rounded professional judgement by the auditor against the headline KLOE – ‘top down’ rather than ‘bottom up’ approach; Less focus on prescriptive arrangements and process and more focus on outcomes – what difference have the arrangements made? Scores of 4 reserved for excellence and genuine leading edge performance

Key Area Assessment 3 Qs How well do local priorities express community needs and aspirations? How well are the outcomes and improvements needed being delivered? What are the prospects for future improvement?

Area Assessment – Q.1 How well do local priorities express community needs and aspirations? –Understanding diverse communities; –Engagement and empowerment, including those ‘harder to hear’; –Understanding local inequality; –Are LAA2 and Sustainable Community Strategies appropriate and ambitious enough?

Area Assessment – Q.2 How well are the outcomes and improvements needed, being delivered? –Progress against LAA2 and Sustainable Community Strategies and key national priorities; –Focus on people in vulnerable circumstances and where inequality is greatest;

Area Assessment – Q.2 How well are the outcomes and improvements needed being delivered? How safe is this area? How healthy and well supported are people? How well kept is this area? How environmentally sustainable is the area? How strong is the local economy?  How strong and cohesive are local communities? How well is inequality being addressed?  How well is housing need met?  How well are families supported? How good is the wellbeing of children and young people?

Area Assessment – Q.3 What are the prospects for future improvement? –Drawing on Qs 1 and 2 – this is the key question on which we make judgements; –Where necessary, look at capacity and capability to inform judgement on sustainable improvement; –RED FLAG – current arrangements are inadequate to deliver necessary improvement. More or different action needed – with recommendations –Significant impact if not addressed –GREEN FLAG – promising innovation or successful practice – promote learning (NOT a formal judgement)

Area Assessment over time: SubjectInformation Area assessment Action Review 1 What is the issue? 2 How significant is it? 3 How big is it? 4 Is it getting better? Will it get better? 5 What will help it get better? 8 Has it got better? 7 What’s changed? 6 What’s new? Future years -