Announcing oneplace

Delegates at this week's Local Government Association (LGA) conference will get their first glimpse of the oneplace brand that will be the public face of Comprehensive Area Assessment (CAA). oneplace will be launched as a new website on 10 December and will be the home of all the reports put together as part of CAA.

Visitors to the site will be able to access jargon-free, easy-to-read summaries of how local public services are doing in their area and around the country. There will also be links to detailed information from the independent inspectorates behind CAA - the Audit Commission, Ofsted, Care Quality Commission and Her Majesty's Inspectorates of Constabulary, Prisons and Probation.

The new website will be launched in partnership with Directgov, whose website attracts some 18 million visits a month.

Audit Commission Chief Executive Steve Bundred said: 'The success and value of CAA will increase relative to how many people it reaches. Our aim is for oneplace to become the first-choice site for anyone seeking independent information on what is, and isn't, being achieved by local public services in their part of England. This alliance with Directgov and its already-established audience will be a major boost to oneplace, making it immediately accessible to millions of people who can benefit.'

Find out more and see a sneak preview of the website or visit the Audit Commission's stand at the LGA conference.

Working better together? Managing local strategic partnerships

For those of you working in local partnerships, the Audit Commission has published a new national study that will be of interest. "Working better together?" highlights the progress Local Strategic Partnerships (LSPs) have made in helping to deliver improved local public services.

Read the full report, 'Working better together? Managing local strategic partnerships'.

Download further supporting materials for LSPs and an interactive LSP improvement tool.

Ofsted launches CAA publications

Ofsted has launched five new publications on some of the new inspection and assessment arrangements that will contribute to CAA. The publications are:

• the arrangement and guidance document for local authorities on the new Ofsted annual rating of council children's services (which will form part of the CAA)
• framework for Ofsted unannounced inspection of children's social care contact, assessment and referral arrangements
• framework for Ofsted and CQC inspection of safeguarding and looked after children services
• evaluation schedule for Ofsted and CQC inspection of safeguarding and looked after children services
• grade descriptors for Ofsted and CQC inspection of safeguarding and looked after children services

All of the Ofsted CAA documents can be accessed on the Ofsted website.

CAA in the news

Round up of relevant stories in the press

CAA to be rebranded as oneplace
Local Government Chronicle. Oneplace is to be the public face of CAA.

CAAs tarnished by old data, say chiefs
Local Government Chronicle. Council chiefs fear the accuracy of the new performance framework given that the Audit Commission is sharing "inaccurate and out of date" information with other inspectorates. Editor - We are sharing information at as early a stage as possible, and 'new' data isn't always available. But we want to begin a conversation with local partnerships as soon as possible, so that we can focus on the issues that need tackling. As new data becomes available, or where partners hold more relevant information, we'll include it. But our main task is to start a discussion as soon as possible with local services, and by sharing what's available, begin to focus on the issues that matter for local people.

Making a difference
First Online. Cllr David Parsons on what CAA will mean to elected members.

Organisations should be judged on partnership working
The Guardian. Chris Ham, professor of health policy and management at Birmingham University, looks forward to how the CAA will encourage partnership working which will improve services for residents.

What the doctor ordered
Public Finance. Andy McKeon, managing director, health, at the Audit Commission, on how CAA will help improve the nation's health by focusing on local partnerships.

Gareth Davies

Managing Director, Local Government and Housing, answers your questions about CAA.

Our area is facing particular challenges because of the recession - does that mean we're likely to get a red flag?

Not at all. Red flags are not a measure of deprivation or poor outcomes or services. We will only use red flags where we believe that the response of local partners to a challenging issue is inadequate or needs to change in some significant way. A red flag means that inspectorates have jointly judged that something different or additional needs to happen to improve outcomes.

We scored 4 on the previous use of resources assessment. Does that mean that we'll be scored at that level under the new framework?

You may be, depending on whether the inspectorate teams consider that you have reached that standard against the new framework. We have not set out to reduce all use of resources or organisational assessment scores. The new approach with its emphasis on outcomes and challenging new areas (e.g. use of natural resources) means that audit inspected bodies scored as a 3 or 4 on the previous use of resources assessment should not assume they will be scored at that level under the new framework.

Do we have to submit a self assessment?

We do not require self assessments for any part of CAA. We're much more interested in using information that LSPs and audit inspected bodies use themselves rather than something created for us. Of course if you would like to provide a self assessment then we will use it.

Tony Eastaugh

Tony was Borough Commander for Barking and Dagenham, which was one of the CAA trial areas. He talks about his experience of CAA so far.

"Safety is one of the public's biggest concerns. Delivering safer communities and reassuring people about their safety relies on good partnership working.

CAA looks at the links between everyone involved in community safety and holds us all to account. There is real value for all partners as CAA provides a joint strategic analysis that shows how partners can support each other.

During the trial, I thought that the right questions were being asked of us, and that our partnership skills were being looked at. The inspectorates checked that we understood our business and, as a partnership, whether we were using our assets and resources where they will do the most good. The police can use CAA to become better and stronger and to understand how all partners can contribute.

CAA helped my partners to understand the expectations and limitations of the police service. The approach helped me understand the role for the police in community safety related issues that are not part of mainstream policing, such as the numbers of young people not in education or training.

It can point to work we can do which helps the partnership achieve its outcomes. For example, we are the biggest visible partner and when my officers talk to young people they give them information on education and apprenticeships.

I think CAA is an opportunity for the police to become better and more professional at a borough level and to deliver better services for the people who pay our wages - the public."

Jan Hunter

Jan, CAA Lead for South East London, is one of the Audit Commission's local assessors who have been working around the country gathering information for CAA.

"CAA work is really hotting up now as my team and I pull together document reviews and fieldwork. We'll use this in preparation for giving early feedback to my LSPs, as we continue our on-going 'conversation' with local services on the issues they face.

Use of resources assessments of the councils and primary care trusts is nearly complete, and the area assessment work is under way. We have already identified and shared with the LSPs the particular areas we would like to focus on for this year. These include those areas where we think that results are likely to be strong as well as those aspects where we have concerns about outcomes.

Most areas have provided us with a lot of useful and up-to-date information but some are expecting us to provide detailed document and interview lists rather than signposting us to the documents and people relevant to their particular delivery arrangements.

This is a new way of working for all of us and requires a much more collaborative approach. We have found presentations on the Place survey a particularly useful starting point for discussions about the area.

I am looking forward to LSPs using our feedback as an opportunity for an open and honest discussion with them. It will give local services an opportunity to say how they're addressing the issues they face, as part of our on-going conversation with the partnership."