Local Area Agreements - Summary

Local Area Agreements (LAAs):

• Are an agreement between Central Government and the local authority (the responsible LA) and its partners about the priorities for the local area, as expressed in the LAA targets.
  
• Will deliver the ambitions of the place and its people, set out in the Sustainable Community Strategy. They are ‘contracts’ between central government and local authorities and their partners to improve services and the quality of life in a place.
  
• Will apply to all single and upper tier LAs in England from April 2008. District Councils will contribute through upper tier councils (e.g. shire counties).
  
• Are a three-year vision of a sustainable community set out in a number of locally agreed targets (up to 35) that promote the economic, social and environmental well-being of the local area, which local authorities and their partners negotiate with the Government Offices, on behalf of central government.
  
• Will include targets selected from the national set of 198 indicators agreed by Department for Communities and Local Government (CLG) that reflect Public Service Agreements (PSAs) and Departmental Strategic Objectives (DSOs).
  
• May include additional local (non designated) indicators, although there will be no need to report on these to Government.
  
• Are the means by which local authorities and partners can strengthen their strategic leadership of communities, be they rural or urban, through focusing on the key priorities and challenges that they and their communities face, e.g. deprivation, poor health, obesity, etc.