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Local Area Agreements: Phase 2

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (Baroness Andrews): My right honourable friend the Minister for Local Government has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
 
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I am today announcing the rollout of local area agreements (LAAs) to all local areas in England. LAAs are three-year agreements that set out the priorities for a local area agreed between central government, represented by the Government Office, and a local area, represented by the local authority and local strategic partnership (LSP) and other key partners at local level. LAAs represent a new approach to improve co-ordination and partnership working between central government and local authorities and their partners, working through the LSP.

LAAs were piloted with 21 areas last year. Sixty-six areas have been selected to negotiate their LAA this year. These agreements will come into effect in April 2006. These areas are listed in a table entitled Local Area Agreements—areas participating in summer 2005. Of these, 13 will be able to operate a single LAA pot. These areas are listed in a table entitled Single pot Local Area Agreement. Single pot LAAs will have freedom to spend any funding on the achievement of any of the outcomes that have been agreed as part of the LAA. All remaining areas will be eligible to agree LAAs during 2006–07 with an April 2007 start date.

Both tables Local Area Agreements—areas participating in summer 2005 and Single pot Local Area Agreement are available in both House Libraries and on ODPM website www.odpm.gov.uk.
 
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