Performance framework

A new performance framework for monitoring and regulating local government was set out in the Local Government White Paper: 'Strong and Prosperous Communities', October 2006. It was implemented through the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 and various pieces of guidance. 

Local Government White Paper: 'Strong and Prosperous Communities'  – on the Communities and Local Government website

The Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 – on the Office of Public Sector Information website – scroll down to the act, which is available in several formats.

Key elements of the new framework included:

• proposals for local government sector-led challenge and support of improvement
• a new national indicator set of 198 performance indicators
• a new targets regime for local area agreements (LAAs).

Targets and indicators

In the Comprehensive Spending Review 2007, the Government announced 30 public service agreements (PSAs). These were cross-government national priority outcomes to be achieved in the spending review period of 2008-11.

30 public service agreements (PSAs) – on HM Treasury's website

These 30 national priority areas formed the basis of up to 35 targets to be agreed by central government – through government offices – and local areas through new mandatory local area agreements (LAAs). These LAAs were agreed by June 2008. There were also 16 Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) statutory targets. Local areas set their own local targets as well.

Local area agreements support service – on this website

Overview of local area agreements – on Communities and Local Government's website

A report for Communities and Local Government by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in July 2006, 'Mapping the local government performance reporting landscape' identified the costs of the burden based on four councils. It found that a unitary authority submits 566 ‘performance items’ to government and regulators, at a typical cost of £1.8 million to each council every year.

One local authority estimate put the reporting requirement at more than 1,200 data items per year. The new indicator set of 198 indicators are the only performance indicators that councils, working on their own or with partners, have to report to government. They replaced best value performance indicators, performance assessment framework (PAF) indicators and other programme-specific indicators.  

The reporting mechanism for the national indicator set is the ‘Data Interchange Hub’, which has two main aims: to reduce the burden on collecting data for local authorities and to ensure that local authorities have all the information that they need to gauge their own performance against the National Indicators.

Mapping the local government performance reporting landscape – on the Communities and Local Government website

The final definitions of  the 198 performance indicators (185 of which came into force on 1st April 2008), and other information on the national indicator set published on the Communities and Local Government website.

The Data Interchange Hub

'Lifting the burdens' task force

In 2006, Communities and Local Government established the 'Lifting the Burdens' task force, chaired by Michael Frater, Chief Executive of Nottingham City Council. It was an independent, practitioner body tasked with reviewing the bureaucratic and performance reporting burdens on local government.

Support for councils

There has been much work to support performance management and measurement generally, which underpins the new framework. This includes the outputs of key projects, from which many tools, techniques and guidance are available or developing. These projects are:

• Improvement Network 
• Performance Management, Measurement and Information Project (PMMI)
• Policy and Performance community of practice  

Key links

The Local Government Association (LGA) website

LG Improvement and Development's publications on performance frameworks

Download a copy of 'Mapping the local government performance reporting landscape' from the Communities and Local Government website

National indicator set 
published on the Communities and Local Government website 

'Lifting the burdens' task force
Access key information from the Communities and Local Government website

For further information, contact Adrian Barker at adrian.barker@local.gov.uk.

Page published 4 August 2010.