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| Local Strategic Partnerships | |
|---|---|
| Name | Local Strategic Partnerships |
| Formation | 2000s |
| Type | Multi-agency partnership |
| Region | United Kingdom |
Local Strategic Partnerships
Local Strategic Partnerships were multi-agency bodies established in the United Kingdom to coordinate local service delivery and strategic planning among councils, health bodies, police, business, and voluntary sectors. They sought to align priorities across actors such as Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, National Health Service (England), Home Office (United Kingdom), Local Government Association, and Big Lottery Fund to deliver outcomes linked to national frameworks like the United Kingdom government's New Labour agenda. Partnership arrangements drew on models from initiatives including the New Deal for Communities, Single Regeneration Budget, Best Value, Regional Development Agencies, and Neighbourhood Renewal Fund.
Local Strategic Partnerships were defined as voluntary alliances bringing together representatives from county council, metropolitan borough, unitary authority, parish council, Primary Care Trust, Strategic Health Authority, Police Authority (United Kingdom), Fire and Rescue Service, Jobcentre Plus, Learning and Skills Council, Chamber of Commerce, Confederation of British Industry, Trades Union Congress, Citizens Advice Bureau, National Trust (United Kingdom), Sport England, Arts Council England, and Housing Association sectors. Their stated purpose included producing a Sustainable Community Strategy aligned with frameworks such as the Local Government Act 2000, the Comprehensive Spending Review, and performance regimes like the Audit Commission inspection regimes and Local Area Agreement targets.
Origins trace to policy shifts under Tony Blair and the Labour Party (UK) administration after the 1997 United Kingdom general election, responding to critiques from reports by bodies such as the Audit Commission and think tanks like the Institute for Public Policy Research. Pilot partnerships were influenced by cross-sector experiments including New Deal for Communities and the Single Regeneration Budget. Subsequent policy instruments such as the Local Government Act 2000, Local Area Agreement pilots led by the Department for Communities and Local Government and investment streams from the European Regional Development Fund shaped diffusion. Reforms under administrations of Gordon Brown and later David Cameron affected their prominence, intersecting with initiatives such as the Big Society, Localism Act 2011, and restructuring of Primary Care Trusts and Strategic Health Authorities.
Typical governance featured a board with statutory and voluntary partners drawn from entities including county council, district council, unitary authority, Metropolitan County Council (England), General Practitioner (GP), Clinical Commissioning Group, Police and Crime Commissioner, High Sheriff of Greater Manchester, Crown Prosecution Service, Environment Agency, Natural England, Historic England, British Transport Police, Network Rail, NHS Foundation Trust, Universities UK members, Further Education Colleges, and representatives from Small Business Saturday (UK) networks. Secretariat support often came from local authority policy teams, corporate services overseen by elected leaders such as Leader of the Council (England) or Mayor of London-style figures. Decision-making mechanisms referenced statutory duties under the Local Government Act 2000 and accountability channels involving bodies like the National Audit Office and Standards Board for England.
Activities ranged from strategic needs assessment, producing a Sustainable Community Strategy, coordinating service delivery across agencies including National Health Service (England), Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs, Department for Education (DfE), Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government, and linking to funding streams like the European Social Fund. Operational work included partnership commissioning with providers such as Turnaround Charity, implementing regeneration projects akin to Thames Gateway, coordinating crime reduction programs linked to Neighbourhood Policing, supporting employment initiatives modeled on New Deal schemes, and collaborative planning with infrastructure bodies including Highways England and Homes England.
Funding sources combined core contributions from local authorities, pooled budgets from statutory partners such as Primary Care Trusts and Police Authority (United Kingdom), grants from central departments including the Department for Work and Pensions, Department for Communities and Local Government, as well as competitive awards from the Big Lottery Fund, Heritage Lottery Fund, and European programmes like the European Social Fund. Resource management required financial governance consistent with standards set by the Charity Commission for England and Wales when involving voluntary sector partners, and auditing by bodies such as the National Audit Office or local District Auditor arrangements.
Evaluations by the Audit Commission, academic researchers at institutions such as London School of Economics, University of Manchester, University of Birmingham, and think tanks including the Joseph Rowntree Foundation assessed outcomes against indicators used by the Index of Multiple Deprivation, public health metrics tracked by Public Health England, and crime statistics from Office for National Statistics. Findings varied: some partnerships demonstrated improved coordination in areas like regeneration (comparable to Liverpool Vision projects) and health inequalities reduction (mirroring work in Bradford), while others struggled with weak governance, overlapping mandates alongside Regional Development Agencies and Local Enterprise Partnerships.
Critiques emerged from scholars at King's College London and policy analysts at the Institute for Government arguing about democratic deficits, lack of clarity over accountability compared to elected council leaders, and uneven representation of stakeholders such as small charities and minority communities represented by groups like Equality and Human Rights Commission. Controversies included disputes over pooled budgets during austerity measures under Chancellor of the Exchequer policies, tensions with restructuring under the Localism Act 2011, and legal challenges invoking procurement law overseen by the Courts of England and Wales.