Delivering Regulatory Excellence in Councils

1. Delivering Regulatory Excellence in Councils Derek Allen, Executive Director LACORS Local Authorities Coordinators of Regulatory Services

2. LACORS – who and what we are We enhance the reputation of local government by informing policy development as well as guiding supporting & improving the delivery, coordination and consistency of council regulatory services • Raising the profile • Supporting & promoting service excellence • Lobbying for positive changes in legislation • Develop an intelligence-led approach • Disseminate high quality advice , guidance & best practice

3. Background • Comprehensive Review of LACORS in 2005 identified:- “There should be more explicit criteria to define underperformance (in council regulatory services) and a more explicit process by which LACORS identifies the main target local authorities” • LACORS decision to commission Tavistock to undertake a similar piece of work for regulatory services in April 2006 completed in September 2006

4. Regulation for Excellence The focus and outcomes of the Tavistock Project have evolved into the Regulation for Excellence (RfE) initiative with three main themes: How LACORS can more effectively:- • Lead the Debate • Support Improvement • Change LACORS to meet the future challenges

5. Leading the Debate in 2007 • Mapping immediate priorities – Better Regulation, LG White Paper • Horizon scanning of future issues and debates • Mapping of LACORS and regulatory services environments • Greater leadership role • Alignment with key national priorities including LAA’s & the new performance framework • Engagement with LBRO and Rogers Review

6. Supporting Improvement in 2007 • Engagement with new post-CPA framework • Mapping of existing improvement support • Understanding drivers and barriers to improvement • Engagement of Hampton principles • Appropriate national measure of regulatory service performance • Identification and elaboration of characteristics of poor, competent and excellent services

7. An Excellent Regulatory Service • Strategic • Glocal • Reflexive • Integrated • Empowered • Balanced • Communicative • Collaborative • Autonomous

8. Challenges for LACORS • Better understanding of these characteristics, by developing a deeper comprehension of poor, competent and excellent • Build a picture of how the regulatory sector is performing nationally and which councils fall into which categories • Identification of drivers and barriers within council regulatory services • Development of an ‘improvement architecture’ to decide where LACORS key interventions should be directed

9. LACORS Initiatives for 2007 - 2008 • Develop further the work we have done on Local Areas Agreements to help regulatory service contribute better • Lead, lobby and influence the government’s better regulation agenda to reduce burdens on councils • Expand our ‘Leading by Listening’ initiative by regularly visiting councils from across the country backed with online survey • Collect and analyse data to identify poor, competent and excellent council regulatory services

10. LACORS Initiatives for 2007 – 2008 (cont) • Improve our support and interventions; promote models of good and best practice • Develop support to address current and future recruitment and retention crisis • Align with LGA’s ‘Our future’ Prospectus, proposals and ‘raising our game’

11. Thank youComments, questions, views?