Local Strategic Partnerships (LSPs) are single non-statutory bodies that bring together local public, private, community and voluntary organisations, generally at the level of District, County and Unitary councils. They work with the local community to identify and tackle key issues such as crime, unemployment, education, health and housing in a more co-ordinated manner than has happened before.
More information on the national picture
Community Strategies
The Local Government Act 2000 placed local authorities under a duty to prepare a Community Strategy to enhance the quality of life of local communities through action to improve the economic, social and environmental wellbeing of an area and its inhabitants.
LSPs provide a means of joining up services and tackling issues in a coherent and integrated way. They play a significant role in developing Sustainable Community Strategies and are instrumental in the negotiation of Local Area Agreements; the instrument through which central government and local authorities and their partners agree a limited number of improvement targets for each area.
LSPs and Local Area Agreements
The Local Government White Paper 'Strong and Prosperous Communities' (October 2006) set out ambitious proposals for a new local performance framework. It identifies the need for strategic leadership, bringing together local partners to focus on the needs of citizens and communities and shape the places where they live.
Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act
The Government is currently consulting on the draft statutory guidance which sets out how many of the key measures in the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act will enable local authorities to engage their citizens, lead their communities, and find new and more effective ways to deliver high quality services with their partners.
The draft guidance explains how local authorities and partners will co-operate in the future to agree targets for improvement on the local priorities that matter most and how authorities can use the new duty to ensure that citizens can play an active role in shaping the future of the place where they live – for example through setting up citizens' panels, participatory budgeting, or transferring under-used buildings to community groups. The final guidance will be published in July 2008.
