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Comprehensive Area Assessment (CAA)

From 2009 Comprehensive Area Assessment (CAA) will replace Best Value and Comprehensive Performance Assessment. The CAA will be an annual assessment of the whole area, although it will also include a component that looks in more detail at local authorities' performance.

Assessments will be undertaken jointly by seven inspection bodies, including the Audit Commission which is responsible for monitoring local government performance. CAA will focus more on outcomes than previous arrangements and assess "how well local public bodies work with each other, the private and voluntary sectors, other organisations working locally, and their local communities." (Comprehensive Area Assessment, Joint Inspectorate Proposals for Consultation, Summer 2008.)

CAA is still in development. The current proposals are that it will have two elements. (See box below.) Both elements will draw on available evidence, including: the national indicator set; self evaluations by councils and other public bodies; and the views of user, residents and other local organisations. Inspections will only take place where the CAA identifies issues of concern.

Two elements of Comprehensive Area Assessment
Elements	Bodies to which it applies	Proposals
Area Assessment	The local area and all public services operating in the locality.	Considers if local public services are delivering better results for local people and the likelihood of future improvement. Focuses on local priorities as expressed in the Local Area Agreement and Sustainable Community Strategies.
Organisational Assessment	Individual public bodies including local authorities.	For councils this will combine two themes - use of resources and managing performance - into a single assessment of organisational effectiveness. It will consider how well the counci: manages its finances to deliver value for money; governs itself; manages natural resources and physical assets; and manages performance to deliver services, outcomes and sustainable improvements in its priorities.