CORPORATE PLANNING
The Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA) is a key element of the performance framework for local government. The inspection is scheduled for every council in the country and will look at an authority’s finances, the strength of its senior management and the standard of its services. The results will give residents a snapshot of their local authority's overall performance.
The assessments will judge how well a council is performing against the Government's set of performance indicators. The process will also take account of results of best value inspections in key services such as benefits, housing, environment, leisure and culture.
The assessments will also be used to sort councils into one of five new league table categories: excellent, good, fair, weak or poor.
Councils ranked as "excellent” or “good" are likely to benefit from a range of flexibilities and freedoms e.g. relaxations from future inspections, more control over their budgets and more freedom to trade. In contrast, those ranked in the lowest category may be exposed to tough Government directions and face the possibility of ministerial intervention.
The testing of the districts and boroughs in the country will be rolled out over the next two years as the Audit Commission teams complete their work on a county by county basis. Horsham is one of the first district councils to be inspected.
Please use the navigational links to your left to view other areas of the Comprehensive Performance Assessment.