47 Competent leadership is critical to the success of joint working arrangements (Ref. 26). Councils should provide that leadership (Ref. 1).
48 Council leaders chair most LSPs. This has become more common since the introduction of statutory LAAs. The executive (cabinet) of the relevant local authority formally agrees the chair's appointment (Ref. 12).
49 The choice of chair can send positive or negative messages to local stakeholders (Table 3). LSPs should consider how to mitigate negative messages by promoting the positive reasons for their choice and by building balancing arrangements (strong overview and scrutiny by the local council for example) into accountability arrangements.
| Table 3 Choosing a chair Does the choice of chair send the right or wrong message about LSP style? | ||
| LSP chair | Positive interpretation | Negative interpretation |
| Council leader or elected mayor | Democratic accountability | Council domination |
| Other cabinet member | Democratic accountability | Council domination, but not important enough for the leader or mayor |
| Council officer | Strong commitment to getting things done | Council domination but not important enough for an elected representative |
| Other public sector manager | Not council dominated; general commitment of local public services | Public sector domination |
| Private sector | Independent of party politics; businesslike | Lack of public accountability |
| Faith representative | Independent of party politics consensus building | Lack of public accountability |
| Third sector representative | Independent of party politics; concern for local people | Lack of public accountability |
| Other Source: Audit Commission, 2008 | Independent and above partisan politics | Lack of public accountability |
Source: Audit Commission, 2008
50 Another potential balancing mechanism is in the choice of members and chairs of executive and theme groups. Councils in some LSPs share leadership by appointing cabinet members to theme groups, but not necessarily to chair them. In most multi-tier areas the political leaders of district councils are members of the county-wide LSP board.
51 An important message to local stakeholders is that LSPs are democratically accountable to local people through councillors' roles in:
• the LSP and in partner organizations (police authorities, regional development agencies, and passenger transport authorities for example);
• representing communities and neighbourhoods; and
• overview and scrutiny of LSPs and partners (Ref. 12).I
52 Local authority chief executives play a crucial role in the strategic and executive levels of management and governance. They must develop partnership culture and negotiate commitment from others.
53 LSPs cannot make an impact across their objectives without partners' senior-level commitment to joint decision making and action. In half the case study areas this commitment was weak. In one area, the police were only interested in the CDRP, and in others the PCTs' involvement was patchy. In contrast, the Derby City Partnership Board expects personal commitment and does not allow substitutes at meetings (Ref. 27). PCTs in two case study areas (Hammersmith and Fulham, and Bolton) emphasised their expectation that newly recruited chief executives would support their LSPs.
54 Partnerships take time to mature. Derbyshire County Council's commitment to an inclusive partnership was recognised in an inspection report as early as 2000.
'The Authority's Chief Executive, together with the County's political leadership, is giving a high priority to developing an inclusive Derbyshire Partnership Forum. The development of an active, inclusive partnership underlines the importance given to effective partnership working by the Council as a means of working across boundaries to produce more effective service delivery.' Ref. 28, Page 58
55 Successful longer-term partnerships have used an overarching vision (now expressed as the SCS) to underpin partners' commitment to joint working that delivers benefits to local people and leads to action. Bolton Vision (Case study 4) is one example.
I A set of model overview and scrutiny questions is available at www.audit-commission.gov.uk/lsp