04 November 2005
Councils will be able to track more accurately their success at reviving their local economies after a new set of performance indicators were launched this week.
The indicators, which are voluntary, have been drawn up by the Local Government Association in conjunction with the Audit Commission.
Tony Rich, programme manager at the LGA, who helped develop the indicators, told Public Finance: 'Local authorities weren't sure what they were measuring. There were different ways of defining economic regeneration and they couldn't learn from each other. These indicators allow us to get a good picture of what's happening in each area.'
The indicators are divided into nine themes measuring factors from local employment and earnings levels to property prices. Local authorities will be free to use only those indicators they feel are relevant to them.
The indicators have been piloted in 17 authorities over the past year. Rich said: 'The Audit Commission is going to help in terms of collection of data and it ties in quite well with Area Profiles.'
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