CPA - The Harder Test
On 26 April 2006 we published a consultation paper outlining proposed refinements to the single tier and county council framework for 2006.
On 15 December 2005 we published the CPA - The Harder Test, Scores and Analysis of Performance in Single Tier and County Councils 2005. The results reveal that Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA) has helped drive improvement in councils. Seventy per cent of councils are assessed as improving 'strongly' or 'well', although ten councils are failing to deliver services of an acceptable standard.
View the report as:
You can also find your council.
The new approach is similar in many respects to the original CPA for
single tier and county councils, with the three elements of annual
service assessment, use of resources and a periodic corporate
assessment brought together to give a single category. The key changes
include the renaming of the five overall categories, changes to aspects
of the way we determine service assessment scores and the fact that
alongside the overall category we will for the first time be reporting
a direction of travel assessment.
On 14 October 2005 we published the CPA - The Harder Test 2005 framework for single tier and county councils following extensive consultation with local government and other key stakeholders.
CPA - The Harder Test
(PDF, 667Kb) gives details of the CPA framework that will apply to
single tier and county councils in 2005. It sets out the changes which
make CPA a harder but fair test for councils and provides a more
complete picture for service users and taxpayers.
We also published two further documents setting out the detail of the service assessment framework and the direction of travel assessments for CPA reporting in 2005.
The service assessment framework technical guide for CPA 2005 sets out the detail of the methodology for the environment, housing and culture annual service assessment for 2005.
The direction of travel assessment - guide for CPA 2005 sets out the detail of the methodology for the direction of travel assessments for 2005.
Both these documents were the subject of widespread consultation with
key stakeholders. You can view the summary of the responses to the
consultation documents (published in June 2005) by clicking on the
links below:
Summary of responses to the Service Assessment Framework consultation
 PDF version (131Kb)
 Microsoft Word version (314Kb)
Summary of responses to the Direction of Travel Assessments consultations
PDF version (76Kb)
Microsoft Word version (182Kb)
CPA – The Harder Test explained
CPA – The Harder Test explained (PDF, 146Kb) will lead you through the different elements of the new CPA framework for single tier and county councils.
Reporting the outcomes of CPA – The Harder Test
Reporting the outcomes of CPA – The Harder Test
(PDF, 313Kb) explains what, where, when and how we will be announcing
the scores. This document also gives you a complete list of Audit
Commission communications team contacts.
CPA – The Harder Test quiz
CPA – The Harder Test quiz is an interactive multiple choice game that tests your understanding of the framework with ten key questions.
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