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Local Government: Local Area Agreements

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Communities and Local Government (Baroness Andrews): My honourable friend the Minister for Local Government and Community Cohesion has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.

The Government today announced the successful rollout of local area agreements (LAAs) across England.

In October 2004, 21 pilot LAAs were announced for implementation from April 2005. A further 66 LAAs were signed in March 2006 and a further 62 were signed this month. This achieves the Government’s target of having LAAs in every area in England (apart from the Isles of Scilly) from April 2007.

A local area agreement (LAA) is a three-year agreement that sets out the priorities for a local area as agreed between central government and the local authority and local strategic partnership (LSP).

The primary objective of an LAA is to deliver genuinely sustainable communities through better outcomes for local people. As set out in the local government White Paper, Strong and Prosperous Communities, the Government are strengthening the role of LAAs and placing them at the heart of the new performance framework for local authorities. LAAs will now apply to all outcomes delivered by local government working alone or in partnership with other organisations. The White Paper puts in place a new framework for strategic leadership in local areas, bringing together partners to focus on the needs of citizens and communities. It offers a deal where the local authority and local partners co-operate with each other on agreeing and delivering the improvement priorities for places.

In 2008, all areas will have moved to a new LAA, enabling them to work with even greater flexibility over resources to respond to local priorities. The new LAAs are all about practical solutions for issues that really matter for local people. We are working across government, with the LGA and with authorities to implement the new arrangements over the course of the next year.

Microgeneration

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Communities and Local Government (Baroness Andrews): My honourable friend the Minister for Housing and Planning has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.

The Government will shortly be issuing a consultation paper on this subject. Copies of this paper will be made available in the Libraries of both Houses.

UN: Convention on Disability Rights

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Work and Pensions (Lord McKenzie of Luton): My honourable friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Anne McGuire) has made the following Statement.

The United Kingdom played an active role in negotiating a new convention on disability rights, which was adopted by the United Nations on 13 December 2006. On 14 December, the Prime Minister said that he hoped that the UK would be among the first states to sign the convention (Official Report, Commons; col. 1288W)

The convention opens for signature on 30 March, and our signature tomorrow and that of other states will mark a significant step forward to ensuring that around 650 million disabled people worldwide will enjoy their human rights on an equal basis with everyone else. It is the culmination of negotiations lasting more than four years, in which disabled people have played a central role in the content of the convention.

Work is under way to check the UK’s legislation, policies and practices against the convention’s obligations. Before ratification, the convention will be laid as a Command Paper before both Houses of Parliament, together with an Explanatory Memorandum. It will also be sent to the Joint Committee on Human Rights for it to consider. Either or both Houses might decide to hold a debate.

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