What is CPA?
The Local Government Act 2002 requires the Audit Commission to undertake a comprehensive performance assessment (CPA) of each local authority to establish whether arrangements are in place to secure 'continuous improvement' as well as categorise authorities according to their relative performance. From 2002-2004 Councils were rated as either excellent, good, fair, weak or poor but from 2005 the categorisation has been as follows:
4 star
3 star
2 star
1 star
0 star (lowest)
The Audit Commission works with other regulatory bodies, including OFSTED and the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI), to arrive at an overall judgement. In 2002, CPA was applied to top tier authorities only (150 county councils and unitary authorities). Since then it has also been rolled out to 238 district / borough councils.
The classification determines whether, at the top of these categories, additional flexibilities and freedoms are offered to authorities while, at the bottom, external intervention is a real possibility.
2008 will be the last year that the comprehensive performance assessment (CPA) is undertaken in its present form. After that it will be assessed against a different set of criteria which will focus more on how it works with partners to deliver good value public service for the people of Hampshire, not just those provided by the County Council.