10 June 2005
The Audit Commission has outlined how it will measure local authorities' efficient use of resources when it introduces the revised Comprehensive Performance Assessment framework later this year.
The public spending watchdog said the methodology for marking councils against the new 'use of resources' block, which will be one of the main elements of the revised CPA regime, will 'challenge' even the best performers.
Authorities will have to produce self-assessments that will then be marked by external auditors against five criteria: value for money, financial standing, financial management, financial reporting and internal controls.
This will lead to an overall score for resource management, which will then have a decisive influence on each authority's overall CPA ranking.
The commission published the methodology on June 7, along with its key lines of enquiry for each of the five categories.
An Audit Commission spokesman said councils' scores would reflect their track record in managing their finances and providing value-for-money services for their residents.
'The new approach to this assessment will be challenging for many councils. To do well, councils will need to demonstrate sound financial management and plan ahead to make sure that resources are directed to priority areas,' he added.
The commission published the 'use of resources' assessment criteria one week before it is due to unveil the changes to the overall CPA framework.
The new regime will be used for the first time to produce the December 2005 CPA rankings.
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