Lancashire Local Area Agreement

What is it?

Local Area Agreements (LAAs) are an agreement between national Government and 'top tier authorities' - in our case Lancashire County Council - in the form of a three year action plan that set out what improvements will be made in an area. LAAs are now an important part of how local public services are designed and delivered.

The Lancashire Partnership has responsiblity for delivering our LAA.  It outlines how priorities identifed in Ambition Lancashire will be measured and how much improvement will be made over the three years from 2008 to 2011 through 73 performance management indicators.

• The LAA key priorities of the LAA are:
• the economy 
• the environment
• education, skills and training
• health and wellbeing
• community safety

The LAA themes are:

• children and young people
• community safety
• economic development
• the environment
• health & wellbeing
• older people
• people and communities

What's it got to do with the voluntary and community sector?

LAAs emphashise local people and groups having a greater say in decisions in their area. Giving local communities more power is seen as an important way to increase empowerment and strengthen local democracy.

If you're a worker or a volunteer in a voluntary or community organisation (even a small one!) you can, through the Community Network, be involved in making decisions about local services and can make a positive contribution. Local groups have unique knowlege, experience and insight into the problems of their local neighbourhoods and communities which can help idenify solutions which will work.  Local groups also have a key role to play in engaging communities who are often excluded, marginalised, or 'hard to reach'.

Greater flexibility through LAAs means that more and more services are being commissioned from the voluntary and community sector. 


If  you want to know how you can get involved please contact us.