Local Policy
English local authorities are key players in the delivery of DCMS' strategic objectives. Each year they spend some £3 billion on cultural and leisure services, and have a front line role in co-ordinated service delivery and engagement with communities.
The Local Government Team aims to forge strong, positive relationships with local authorities and their representative bodies in order to help them meet national and local priorities. We work with stakeholder organisations to cultivate a stronger evidence base for culture, to identify and spread good practice, and to provide better support for those arguing the case nationally and locally for funding cultural and leisure services.
Our key partners in this endeavour include DCMS colleagues, the Local Government Association (LGA), the Improvement and Development Agency (IDeA), the Audit Commission, specialist cultural and leisure organisations and our strategic non-departmental public bodies.
The team has an important role to play in the cross-Whitehall implementation of the December 2001 White Paper "Strong local leadership - quality public services". We work with colleagues in other Government Departments to ensure that DCMS sectors contribute to:
- Shared priorities for local government
- Emerging performance management framework for local government
- Community Strategy process
- Improvement Planning across local government
What we do:
The Local Government Team provides briefing for meetings of the High Level Central Local Partnership (CLP) and Ministerial Committees relating to local government. The team also co-ordinates the Department's contribution to urban and rural issues and social and economic aspects of migration.
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The Government is committed to the concept of using public private partnerships (PPP) in a variety of forms wherever it promotes best value in the delivery of public services across the country. The Private Finance Initiative (PFI) is a form of PPP that enables local authorities to gain access to new or improved capital assets. DCMS currently sponsors 20 PFI projects, each of which is at various stages of development.
DCMS, in collaboration with the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) and the Department of Health, has issued guidance for the 2004/05 PFI bidding round. DCMS has £130 million PFI credits available to support new schemes in this bidding round. This will use all of the resources available over the 2004 Spending Review in one year, allowing maximum flexibility in supporting the widest possible range of schemes. As such, DCMS will not be hosting a further bidding round next year.
Our priority for this bidding round is projects that will promote the modernisation of public library services and the creation of multi-sport facilities. Projects can be either standalone or linked to other DCMS sectors (arts, museums, heritage, tourism, archives) or to other public services (e.g. joint service centres, schools). Projects which attract funding from two, or even three, of the departments involved in this joint bidding round will increase the spread of resources and thus are likely to be favoured if other considerations are equal.
The bidding round operates as a two-stage application process. The first stage involves an evaluation against policy criteria, although the Department will also look for assurances that proposals are viable and that the financial elements are sufficiently robust. Authorities whose proposals are selected as a result of this bidding round will be invited to develop and submit an outline business case. The second stage will focus on the more technical and financial aspects of the project.
Outline proposals for new schemes should be submitted no later than 12 March 2005. Subject to the number of bids and the level of evaluation required, it is hoped that the process can be completed and authorities notified of the results in June 2005. For further information on the bidding round, please contact Rebecca Besalel at: Rebecca.Besalel@Culture.gsi.gov.uk
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The European Regional Development Fund (EDRF) was established in 1975 with the aim of stimulating economic development in the EU's least prosperous regions. DCMS has been allocated approximately £216 million ERDF funds over the period to 2008 (when programmes must complete spending). This equates to £31million per year.
ERDF projects are initially submitted to the relevant Government Office (GO) for consideration. GOs are responsible for assessing and approving all projects under £1 million ERDF. Any project that falls within our remit and is over £1million ERDF must be submitted to the Local Government Team for final approval.
The Local Government Team will assess whether an ERDF application reflects DCMS, national and regional objectives and offers value for money before considering it for approval. Applications are also considered by the relevant policy divisions to ensure that they meet sector-specific objectives and priorities.
Organisations wishing to access ERDF funds should contact their Government Office in the first instance.
Examples of ERDF projects that fall within DCMS' remit include:
- The National Marine Aquarium in Plymouth
- National Railway Museum in Shildon
- Yorkshire Sculpture Park
- Business Support for the Creative Industries
- Advancing Tourism in the Black Country
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Performance Framework, including:
LPSAs are voluntary three-year agreements between the Government and an individual local authority, or a county in partnership with its Districts. Authorities propose approximately 12 stretching targets to improve their performance. Some of the targets will be drawn from the national PSA for Local Government, but all cultural targets are local and have therefore been chosen by authorities as their own priorities, or because of the contribution that they will make to achieve the shared priorities.
So far, more than 40 Local Authorities have included cultural targets in their local public service agreements. The majority relate to libraries or sport and physical activities, although there have also been heritage, arts and tourism proposals.
In total, authorities will receive over £4 million in pump priming grant to support these targets and to help them to substantially improve outcomes for their communities. Further substantial performance reward grants will be payable, provided that authorities achieve their targets.
The LPSA prospectus and other information as well as copies of agreements that have been concluded are available from ODPM.
Most 'round 1' agreements have been concluded and all the counties, Metropolitan, Unitary and London Authorities have had the opportunity to negotiate. The Government is working on proposals for LPSA0 'round 2' drawing on the lessons from the first round, but retaining its key features.
At this stage, DCMS is encouraging authorities to think as early as possible about the sort of targets they might propose. Those authorities who are considering targets in our sectors will be offered a range of opportunities to discuss and develop their proposals.
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The Government's aim is to encourage thriving, inclusive and sustainable communities right across the country. The standard of services that councils provide are central to achieving this aim.
The CPA provides a wide-ranging overview of performance. It is part of one of the key themes for public service reform introduced in the local government white paper, and will:
- Provide a basis for better local decision making
- Inform the interaction between central and local government
- Give local people a clear idea of how well their council is serving them
- Start the process of improvement planning that will deliver better services, improving the quality of all our lives
The first results for counties, Metropolitan, Unitary and London Borough Councils were available at the end of 2002. These results will be refreshed each year, and the first results for Shire Districts will follow over the next two years.
Information about the assessment models, current results and future programmes can be found at audit-commission site.
The results for the Libraries and Leisure Service block of the CPA showed that approximately 44% of authorities provided good or excellent services, and this is a sound base on which to build. However, the majority of services are only fair or poor. Over the coming months, DCMS will be working with the LGA, the Improvement & Development Agency (IDeA) authorities and specialist cultural organisations to encourage and support all authorities as they strive to improve their own performance and match the quality achieved by the best.
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The DCMS recognises the need for robust and comprehensive performance information about cultural services. The duty of Best Value has increased the desire of local authorities for clarity about what cultural services are expected to achieve and how they are performing. There has been no effective means for senior managers and elected members to know how well their cultural services perform, whether they are improving overall or how they compare with other authorities.
In autumn 2003 the DCMS commissioned Angela Watson and Associates (AWA) to develop a performance management framework to assist local authorities to:
- Demonstrate the contribution that cultural services make to cultural, social, economic and environmental objectives
- Evaluate how well their services are currently performing
- Highlight achievements and service improvements
- Identify the right actions to support and improve cultural services in the future
Consultation was carried out with 88 stakeholders representing 72 organisations, including the non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) with responsibility for the cultural sectors, professional associations, the Local Government Association, the Improvement and Development Agency and the Audit Commission.
The DCMS responded to the consultation by asking AWA to develop a Performance Profile for Cultural Services. AWA will present their final report to the DCMS in the summer of 2004 and it will appear on the DCMS website in due course.
AWA's contact details are as follows:
AWA, 3 Ormes Lane, Ratcliffe Culey, Atherstone, Warwickshire, CV9 3PB.
Tel/Fax: 01827 714 733; Mobile: 07949 258 638
Email: awatson.awa@ukgateway.net
Excellence Framework for Sport and Recreation
DCMS is working with Sport England, the Audit Commission, the Institute of Local Government Studies (Birmingham University), the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) and local authority officers to develop an Excellence Framework for Sport and Recreation Services.
The Framework has been devised to achieve three key objectives:
- To provide a basis for self-assessment that will enable Sport and Recreation Services to achieve continuous improvement
- To provide the basis for robust and consistent benchmarking and assessment of Sport and Recreation Services
- To provide a vehicle through which a national strategy for sports development or national priorities for Sport and Recreation could be developed
The Framework is primarily aimed at Local Government Services. The Framework could also be adapted to apply to other organisations such as Sport Governing Bodies and Sport Partnerships, other leisure and cultural functions, or more generically to integrated Leisure Services Departments.
Additional information on the development of the Excellence Framework for Sport and Recreation can be found at: www.nottinghamcity.gov.uk/emsports/excellence.asp.
Best Value Performance Indicators (BUPI) are a set of national indicators determined by the Government which provide valuable information on the key services delivered locally. The outturn data has enabled authorities to assess where they are and to set meaningful targets for further performance improvements. The indicators have also provided local people with the opportunity to make an informed assessment of the quality and value of the local services they are receiving.
The ODPM will publish the results of the 2003-04 Best Value User Satisfaction Surveys in the form of a "topline" report on 30 June 2004. There are five surveys, which are conducted every three years, forming part of a wider suite of BVPIs. The report published on 30 June contains information about public satisfaction with regard to local authority delivery of cultural and recreational services.
There are currently three Cultural and Related Services BVPIs and two User Satisfaction Performance Indicators.
Since BVPIs were introduced in 2000-01, the performance management framework has developed substantially and in January 2004 a fundamental review of BVPIs was undertaken to ensure they continue to inform the Comprehensive Performance Assessment ratings and key performance data. The review is now complete and a revised set of indicators is due to be introduced from April 2005, following a period of consultation with local authorities during the summer. The consultation document will be issued early in July 2004 and can be found on the ODPM site
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Leading the Good Life, a new publication from the DCMS, aims to promote the integration of cultural and community planning. It reflects the belief that integration will strengthen the ability of local authorities and their partners to meet community needs.
Integration of cultural and community planning will help local authorities utilise their new power to
- Promote the well-being of their areas
- Promote their contribution to national and local governments' Shared Priorities
- Help them respond to new developments within Comprehensive Performance Assessment
Leading the Good Life identifies four key opportunities for integration. It explores the issues that must be addressed, these key actions that can be taken and sets out many case studies of good practice and useful sources of information. It will be of use to everyone involved with both cultural and community planning.
The Guidance on Integrating Cultural and Communtiy Strategies and executive summary is available online.
The Beacon Council scheme is much more than a badge. It is a voluntary scheme, open to all best value authorities, which recognises excellent services and innovation within a service theme and good practice overall. The Government awards Beacon status to a number of Councils each year, and key aspects of the scheme are the opportunities provided to share and promote good practice, and for councils to learn from each other.
The background to the Beacons scheme is available at www.local-regions.odpm.gov.uk/beacons/index.htm, while all the latest information is at www.idea.gov.uk/beacons
Cultural Sector Themes of the Beacon Council Scheme PDF (48kb)
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The Local Government Team has a range of stakeholders (either organisations or groups of individuals) each with a different part to play in taking forward our objectives. Our main stakeholders are:
The Department has agreed meeting cycles with some of our stakeholders and is currently considering this with other organisations.
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The Local Government Team works with other government departments to realise the potential of cultural / leisure services to contribute to the Shared Priorities, Community Strategies and to the work of Local Strategic Partnerships.
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