Should you have any queries relating to this page, please contact Lydia Crow:
Email: lydia.crow@suffolkcc.gov.uk
Direct Line: 01473 260105 


What is a Local Area Agreement?
A Local Area Agreement (LAA) is a three-year agreement between a local area (Suffolk) and central government. It is designed to improve local services and increase economic prosperity for local people. The three-year ‘deal’ sets out the priorities and targets agreed by partner organisations in Suffolk, including all local councils, the Police, Health, and Voluntary sector.  This will be Suffolk’s second Local Area Agreement (LAA2).

Why do we have an LAA?
Under the Local Government and Public Improvement in Health Act 2007 all local authorities in England have a duty to work with partners to develop an LAA.  In two tier areas such as Suffolk, the County Council is the lead authority and is accountable for the LAA, but district and borough councils must be involved at all stages. It also places a duty on specific named partners to co-operate in the preparation of the LAA and to have regard to it in their everyday functions within their own organisation.

What is a Sustainable Community Strategy?
We have a statutory duty to prepare a sustainable community strategy. Suffolk’s sustainable community strategy (Transforming Suffolk 2008-2028) sets out the long term ambition and priorities for the county over the next twenty years. It looks ahead to the issues and challenges we face over the coming years and articulates a vision that all partners are committed to achieving:
   A Prosperous and Vibrant Economy
   Learning and Skills for the Future
   The Greenest County
   Safe, Healthy and Inclusive Communities

How do we deliver this vision?
Suffolk’s LAA will form part of the action plan for delivering the community strategy priorities. LAA focuses on a small number of priorities which will deliver specific elements of the long term vision. It does this by translating the long-term (20yr) ambitions set out in the strategy into short-term (3yr) targets that will help us deliver improvements in local services. The Community strategy priorities are much wider than LAA alone and there are a number of other partnership and organisational activities that will also contribute to this agenda.

What’s in Suffolk’s LAA?
Suffolk’s Local Area Agreement reflects the issues and priority areas where we are either already performing well but want to improve even further or, where there is an evidenced need for improvement. Suffolk’s LAA is slim and practical. It contains 28 targets chosen from a national ‘menu’ of 198 National Indicators, as well as 10 locally developed targets which capture priority areas not in the ‘menu’ but are pertinent to Suffolk. It also includes 16 statutory children and early years targets which are directed by central government. Examples include:
   Reducing re-offending rates of young people
   Reducing the number of 11 year-olds who are obese
   Increasing the number of people who stop smoking
   Reduce the number of people claiming out of work benefits
   Build more new homes
   Reduce the amount of Co2 emissions
   Increase the number of people aged 16-64 with a level two qualification or higher
   (GCSE or equivalent)

How do we fund LAA?
Unlike previous rounds of LAA there is no dedicated funding for LAA2. It has been replaced with an Area Based Grant which is paid directly to county and district/borough councils as single non-ring fenced amounts. It is part of each council’s overall budget, and funding to support LAA priorities and activities will need to be determined locally. In Suffolk there is a commitment to collectively achieve LAA targets through pooling and aligning funds, expertise and resources.

What are the benefits of LAA?
LAAs give local areas more freedom and flexibility to work towards priorities identified by local people rather than being centrally prescribed by government. They provide a dramatic reduction in the number of performance measures against which areas are assessed (from over 1200 to approx. 200) and gives areas greater flexibility to spend money how and where it is needed locally, removing much of the red tape.

What will success look like?
The Local Area Agreement itself is a written agreement. It represents the opportunity for partner organisations to work together to achieve common priorities over a three-year period. It will allow us to work more flexibly and innovatively looking outwards to communities rather than inwards to Whitehall. Success will not only be about achieving the targets, but making real improvements on the ground in areas that we know matter to local people.

Introduction to Local Area Agreements (PDF: 174kb)
For more information please do not hesitate to contact us.