Bridging the accountability gap - Audit Commission

Governing partnerships | Governing partnerships for better accountability 49
managers, because the council does not recognise that it has any responsibility to
take on that governance role. There are examples of high-performing ALAs where
governance and partnerships are robust and sustainable but these are currently in the
minority.
In weaker ALAs Supporting People lead officers cannot secure a sustained
commitment from senior officers in partner organisations, ensure a strategic approach
across all partners, nor can they ensure the joint planning of Supporting People and
wider budgets. Responsibility for dealing with the consequences of service failures or
closures is not always shared and neither are partner resources pooled to address
those consequences. At worst, vulnerable users can lose services altogether with no
clarity about who is responsible for the service loss and for any corresponding failure
to find a replacement service.
Source: Audit Commission (Supporting People, October 2005)
113 Integration has proceeded furthest in pooled budgets arrangements and other flexibilities I
under Section 31 of the 1999 Health Act (Figures 8 and 9, overleaf).
I Along with pooled budgets, partners can enter agreements that specify a lead commissioning role for one
partner, or join commissioning roles between them.