The Local Government Association (LGA) has developed an approach to self-regulation in the local government sector that will help councils strengthen their accountability and revolutionise the way they evaluate and improve services.

Taking the lead

Following extensive consultation with the sector, the LGA has published an approach to how self-regulation and improvement will work in practice. This offer joins the work of three LGA boards together – improvement, children's and wellbeing:

Taking the lead: self-regulation and improvement in local government – summary (PDF, 8 pages, 828KB)

Taking the lead: self-regulation and improvement in local government: our offer (PDF, 22 pages, 1.6MB large file)

'Taking the lead' sets out a seven-point support offer that the LGA is making on a free of charge and or subsidised basis to enable councils to exploit the opportunities that this new approach to self-regulation and improvement provides.

Find out more about the seven-point offer

Councils are encouraged to consider how they might take advantage of this seven-point offer, although we do expect that the sector will take steps to enhance the way they are locally accountable. In addition, councils will continue to support each other through, for example, the use of peers. Through our offer, we will provide approaches to help councils with these objectives. We will also ensure that inspection does not creep back by keeping an overview of the performance of the sector and the wider regulatory regime.

 

The LGA will continue to keep sector colleagues informed about the progress of this work, but if you would like more information or to contribute, please contact Dennis Skinner at dennis.skinner@idea.gov.uk.

'Taking the lead' also provides the context for new approaches to self-regulation and improvement in Children's services and in Adult Social care.

Towards excellence in adult social services

The new Promoting Excellence in Councils' Adult Social Care Board is developing the key elements of the new approac to self improvement in adult social services. The board is chaired by Richard Jones, Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) and includes the LGA, SOLACE, Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE), Care Quality Commission (CQC), the Department of Health and 'Think local, act personal'.

Improvement in children's services

The new approach to sector-led improvement in children's services is being developed by the Children's Improvement Board, a partnership board set up by the then LG Group, the Association of Directors of Children's Services (ADCS), SOLACE and the Department for Education (DfE). 

Find out more about the Children's Improvement Board

Taking the lead: culture, tourism and sport

This publication sets out how the LGA is supporting members and officers to lead self-regulation and improvement in the culture, tourism and sport sector.

Taking the lead: self-regulation and improvement in culture, tourism and sport (PDF, 8 pages, 426KB)

Independent Advisory Board

An independent Advisory Board has been established to provide independent oversight of sector self regulation and improvement – giving both advice and challenge to the

Independent Advisory Board – further information and details of the board membership

Peer challenge

Our offer also includes the delivery of free peer challenges. For more information contact:

Andy Bates
Head of Programmes
Telephone: 07919 562 849
Email: andy.bates@local.gov.uk

Peer challenge

Background

In October 2010, the LGA conducted a consultation with the local government sector on a new approach to self-regulation and improvement. The consultation solicited one of the best response rates to an LGA consultation, with 120 responses from individual councils and almost 200 additional council responses made through regional improvement and efficiency partnerships (RIEPs). Councils agreed with our proposed principles:

• that councils are responsible for their own performance
• that stronger local accountability drives improvement
• that councils have a collective responsibility for performance in the sector as a whole.

Respondents also agreed that the role of the LGA should be to support councils through things such as peer challenges and that there are a small number of key areas in which the sector needs to work together:

• developing an ability to compare key performance information
• supporting councils that need help.

Sector self-regulation consultation: an analysis of local authority responses

Sector self-regulation consultation document, September 2010 (PDF, 6 pages, 202KB)

---

Share:

21 February 2012