Bridging the accountability gap - Audit Commission

1
The partnership landscape
Why do local public bodies work in partnerships
30 Both national and local stimuli account for the growth in partnership working. Nationally,
the policy impetus for partnerships comes from:
●
●
●
the perceived failure of separately defined and run services to meet adequately the
expectations of users and of the public; especially those of vulnerable groups, such as
children, older people and those with mental health problems;
the need to base planning and provision on holistic themes affecting whole
communities, such as community safety; the physical and economic environment and
health; and
the desire to enhance community engagement and civic renewal, especially through
local authorities’ community leadership role.
31 Partnerships often attract additional resources and this has been, and continues to be, a
strong incentive for collaborative working. Direct funding to partnerships includes the
European Social Fund; Single Regeneration Budget; employment, education and health
Action Zone funding and Invest to Save budgets. The Efficiency Review (Ref. 4) has
helped to renew interest in strategic procurement, shared service delivery partnerships
and shared service organisations. Legislative changes, notably Section 2 of the Local
Government Act 2000 and Section 31 of the Health Act 1999, have enabled public
bodies to work together to pool resources or purchasing power to increase efficiency and
effectiveness. In recent years, the three major partnership areas have grown (Figure 1).
Governing partnerships | The partnership landscape 13