Targets 'distort' local services, report claims
Author: Civil Service Network - Feb 2, 2010
Government targets are to blame for public disengagement from local politics, a think-tank has claimed.
A report from Localis, a right of centre think-tank concerned with local politics, says compliance with the Comprehensive Area Assessment (CAA) costs £2bn a year and has called for the system to be scrapped.
Localis chief executive, James Morris, said: "Local authorities are more accountable to central government than to their residents. Without doubt this has been a contributing factor in the disengagement of local people.
"The new system we propose can turn this underwhelming system of performance and assessment on its head."
The CAA, introduced last year, combines the reports of six inspectorates - covering local government, social care, police, prisons, probation and education - to give an overall view of local services on the Oneplace website.
Localis has argued that that the system has bred a "culture of compliance" and failed to deliver improvements to services, and argues that the CAA's 25 indicators should be scrapped.
The think-tank's report argues that local authorities would save more than the £2bn it calculates is spent on compliance because CAA-created distortions to the system would also be removed.
Instead, councils should be able to set their own performance measures and also be required to release more data, such as all spending over £500, and the attendance - a proposal previously mooted by the Conservative leader David Cameron - and voting records of councillors.
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- "Localis is fast gaining a reputation for pre-empting the localist agenda, producing thought provoking research and practical policy ideas"Anthony Seldon, author and political commentator
- "Localis’ commitment to decentralisation crosses party boundaries, and their research illuminates policy problems with new practical thinking"Prof George Jones, LSE
- "Localis offers a great blend of a passion for innovation, grounded practical ideas and unswerving belief in the possibilities of local governance"Derek Myers, Chief Executive, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea
