What is Comprehensive Performance Assessment(CPA)?
What is CPA?
CPA was introduced by the Government in 2002 as a way of measuring the performance of all councils in a clear, fair and public way. The intention was to help local authorities improve, and provide a proportionate and risk based approach to regulation. The star system is now well recognised as the way to measure how good a council is.
How does it work?
The Audit Commission is responsible for carrying out CPA inspections. The Commission has developed specific frameworks for single tier and county councils, district councils and fire and rescue authorities. The frameworks pull together a range of information in a fair way so that it can be compared to reach an overall judgement on a council's performance. The frameworks have four common parts:
- corporate assessments
- use of resources assessments
- service assessment
- direction of travel assessments.
The essence of a CPA framework is that it draws on a range of information such as performance indicators, assessments of corporate capacity, audit and inspection reports, and stakeholder opinions to reach a single judgement about the performance of a local body. It then gives it a star rating from 0-4 which translates as:
0 stars - poor
1 star - weak
2 stars - fair
3 stars - good
4 stars - excellent
The future of CPA
In 2009 CAA will take over from the Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA) of local government. CAA will continue to provide assurance about how well run local public services are and how effectively they use taxpayers’ money.
However, it also aims to be relevant to local people by focusing on issues that are important to their community. It will develop a shared view about the challenges facing an area, such as crime, community cohesion, a sustainable environment or public health issues such as obesity. It will also create a more joined up and proportionate approach to public service regulation.
Our CPA Assessments
For more information about our past and forthcoming assessments, click on the links on the left hand side of the page.
