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How it works

 
The Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA) initiative aims to categorise the overall performance of every Council in the country.

It's the responsibility of the Audit Commission, the independent Council watchdog, to assess and categorise each Council’s performance.

Councils are placed in one of five categories:

  • four star
  • three star
  • two star
  • one star
  • no stars
The scheme was revised to the Audit Commission's 'harder test' in 2005. The new scheme from 2005 also had a 'direction of travel' element. A Council's 'direction of travel' is assessed as:

• improving strongly
• improving well
• improving adequately
• not improving adequately or not improving

History

The Audit Commission began the initiative in 2002 with the 150 largest Councils in the country.

In December 2002, all 150 Councils were allocated a rating of excellent, good, fair, weak or poor (these were the categories used before 2005).

During 2003 and 2004, Metropolitan and District Councils were assessed and categorised.

Subsequently, for the 150 top tier Councils, there have been annual re-assessments in December each year.

New process

Under the new, 'harder test' framework, all Councils are scored by combining a number of elements:

Corporate Assessment

Every three years, the Audit Commission and other inspection bodies undertake an in-depth inspection to determine how well the Council is managed.

This is the Corporate Assessment Inspection.

It covers the Council's ambitions, priorities, capacity to deliver on ambitions and priorities, and performance management arrangements.

It covers achievements across five areas of activity:

  • sustainable communities and transport
  • safer and stronger communities
  • healthier communities
  • older people
  • children and young people
The Council is allocated an overall score out of four, which lasts until the next Corporate Assessment Inspection.

Annual service assessments

The Council's service performance in environment, culture, housing, children and young people, adult social care and benefits is assessed each year. The Council's management of its financial assets is also assessed. These service assessment areas are called service blocks.A combination of service inspections, performance information and audit work in these service blocks is used to score the Council's performance.

Bringing the scores together

Service block scores are recalculated each year and combined with the Corporate Assessment Inspection score for an overall 'star' rating as described above. Year on year changes are also assessed in the 'direction of travel' judgement.

The scores and the Council's Corporate Assessment report are published on the Audit Commission’s website.

Revising the framework

The final CPA judgement on Councils will be published in February 2009 and relate to the year 2008. 

The Audit Commission is working with the government and local councils to design a new approach called the Comprehensive Area Assessment which will bring in an assessment of the whole area and the key organisations (such as health and the police) not just the Council. 

The Comprehensive Area Assessment will be introduced from 2009.  You can read more about the progress with developing this on the Audit Commission’s website Transition from CPA to CAA.

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