Consultation on the 'Later life' public service agreement

The Local Government White Paper, ‘Strong and Prosperous Communities’ introduces a new performance framework for local government. This will be less bureaucratic and have fewer, but more meaningful, performance indicators.

A number of public service agreements (PSAs) will be set up to drive improvement in high-priority, cross-cutting areas. One such PSA proposal is for ‘later life’. This focuses on improving outcomes and quality of life for older people.

Initial consultation with government stakeholders has spotlighted four priority outcomes, which are:

• tackling pensioner poverty
• promoting healthy, and longer, living
• supporting independence
• improving the home and neighbourhood.

Each PSA has to be supported by a maximum of five tangible performance indicators. It is vital that these represent ‘real’ improvement and are not merely viewed as a data collection exercise.

In partnership with the LG Improvement and Development (previously the IDeA), the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is embarking on extensive consultation with councils throughout the country. This will determine what the indicators should be.

At each site we will facilitate discussion groups with:

• senior managers
• partners in local strategic partnerships (LSPs)
• frontline staff
• performance management specialists
• representative groups of older people from the local community.

We will also use the visits to capture and disseminate innovative practice that has improved quality-of-life outcomes for older people.

The timescale of submitting PSA indicators to Communities and Local Government is incredibly tight. However, we are keen to capture as many views and examples of good practice in relation to the four outcomes as possible. Please contact me if you would like to bring a particular council or area to our attention.

This is an excellent opportunity to influence national policy. Central government is committed to ensuring the new performance framework drives real improvement. To achieve this we need the views, knowledge and experience of local government staff, their partners and the public.